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Major Controversy over Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
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Who's Fault?
Hacker
60%
 60%  [ 6 ]
RockStar
40%
 40%  [ 4 ]
Total Votes : 10

Author Message
Jeff Miller
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PostFri Jul 15, 2005 10:46 am    Major Controversy over Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Quote:
Sex controversy over GTA game

Best-selling game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is being investigated in the US over reports that it contains sexually explicit mini-games hidden in its code.

The controversy surrounds a download available on the net which is said to unlock secret sex scenes.

Game makers Rockstar said they were complying with the inquiry, by the industry body that sets age ratings.

If the findings were to lead to an adult-only age rating, it could limit sales from major retail outlets.

Explicit acts

The Grand Theft Auto series of crime games have proved phenomenally popular. They are credited with kick-starting the driving-and-shooting genre of gaming.

The PlayStation 2 version of San Andreas sold more than a million copies in the first nine days that it was on sale in UK last year.

But the game has also attracted criticism from those who say it encourages gratuitous violence as players immerse themselves in an underground world of LA gangs and gun-ridden ghettos.

Now it is under fire over whether the game contains hidden graphic sexual content.

Software code developed by GTA Dutch fan Patrick Wildenborg is said to have unlocked mini-games in the PC version of San Andreas that allows players to make game characters perform sexually explicit acts.

The industry body which regulates games in the US, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), said it had opened an investigation into the so-called Hot Coffee modification.

The aim is to "determine if there has been a violation of ESRB Rules and Regulations requiring full disclosure of pertinent content," ratings group President Patricia Vance said in a statement.

The results of the investigation could determine if San Andreas retains its M rating, which is given to games for ages 17 and older, or is reclassified as an adults-only title.

This kind of rating could lead big stores in the US to limit sales or take it off the shelves altogether.

'Leftover material'

Rockstar has said it is complying with the investigation.

"We also feel confident that the investigation will uphold the original rating of the game, as the work of the mod community is beyond the scope of either publishers or the ESRB," said Rockstar in the statement.

The fan at the centre of the controversy, Patrick Wildenborg, has said he did not create the sex scenes, but enabled them with his modification.

"But all this material is completely inaccessible in an unmodded version of the game," he said in a statement on his website.

"It can therefore not be considered a cheat, Easter Egg or hidden feature But is most probably just leftover material from a gameplay idea that didn't make the final release."

The PlayStation 2 version of San Andreas was one of the best-selling games of 2004. The title already has an 18 age rating in the UK


I would post the link but I had to run a search on the News sites Search engin. Just type in Grand Theft Auto Controversy. Its the first or second one that has BBC in the title.

I think that if it was a hacker responsible they should be dealt with to the full extent of the law. If it was RockStar's fault than they should pull the game, re rate it as AO (Adults only) and than put it back up for sale.

I voted that its the hackers fault because I don't think that Rockstar would do something like this. They know they would get in trouble.


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Joey
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Joined: 13 Jul 2001
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PostFri Jul 22, 2005 5:58 pm    

opps clicked the wrong button, i meant hackers so it should be 4 to 0

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LightningBoy
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Joined: 09 Mar 2003
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Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.

PostSat Jul 23, 2005 1:09 am    

Why the hell would rockstar add it in? Yeah, it needs to be hacked to get at, but hey; You don't throw pirahannas in a kiddy pool, just to watch the bubbles!

I mean, the idiots at Rockstar (who seem obsessed with constantly pushing the limits) have really brought a huge amount of scrutiny down on the Video Game world. If not for them, we wouldn't have so many problems, and now with these sensors going after 'the Sims 2" basically saying that people can make nude skins, it makes me want to point the finger at Rockstar.

They started this cascade, and now the ESRB will cave into the 'concerned mothers... We can basically say good bye to PC gaming, since they seem to be cracking down on modding now, ALL THANKS TO ROCKSTAR!


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Starbuck
faster...


Joined: 19 Feb 2003
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PostSat Jul 23, 2005 6:42 am    

I have this game, I play this game, and trust me its really not as bad as they make it out to be. The first grand theft auto is much worse in my opinion.

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Jeff Miller
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PostSat Jul 23, 2005 10:29 am    

Starbuck wrote:
I have this game, I play this game, and trust me its really not as bad as they make it out to be. The first grand theft auto is much worse in my opinion.


I agree I've been finding myself play the game more and more. I've been moding alot of cars. when you say the first was much worse do you mean the first for the Playstation or GTA 3 for the PS2?


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Starbuck
faster...


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PostSat Jul 23, 2005 11:59 am    

The first one for playstation, although my perception of it being worse could be because I was much younger when it came out.

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Jeff Miller
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PostSat Jul 23, 2005 12:17 pm    

Yea, the playstation versions of the game were pretty bad. I couldn't even really stand to play them and I'm a gaming freak. Little known fact I read somewhere on the net that GTA 3, GTA: VC and GTA: SA were all remakes of the original Playstation games.

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Lord Borg
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PostSat Jul 23, 2005 3:22 pm    

um... the ps one versions are not worse than the orgionals, I hear they are gonna recall San andreas, wal mart already has them off the shelves

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madlilnerd
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Joined: 03 Aug 2004
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PostSat Jul 23, 2005 3:33 pm    

The problem isn't with the game. In the UK, the game has an 18 rating, and game stores now have to (and do, because I know people whoe work in game stores) check that the person buying the game is over 18. The problem is with parents. When GTA Vice City came out, I happened to stroll into Game, just for a lookaround, I was thinking of buying Rollercoaster Tycoon, and I saw a guy asking his kid (who couldn't have been older than 6) what game he wanted. The kid pointed to GTA and the man bought it for him.

There have been reports of games such as Manhunt leading to teenagers killing each other. A fifteen year old allegedly killed someone because of that game. How did he get the game? His mother bought it for him. And if your stupid enough to make friends with a retard who copies what he sees in a video game that he wasn't old enough to own in the first place, then you deserve to suffer.


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Link, the Hero of Time
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Joined: 15 Sep 2001
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PostSat Jul 23, 2005 4:32 pm    

I'm quite sick of hearing people (not here) bash Rockstar for this. It was not their fault some guy with more time on his hands then god decided that he would exploit unused bits of code to create this. Also, it's a mod that you need to download, not something that was in the game to begin with. It's the modding community that's to blame for this. If they didn't try and hack every game created to add in more sex and violence, we wouldn't have these problems.

madlilnerd wrote:
There have been reports of games such as Manhunt leading to teenagers killing each other.


That's a misconception. It's not the game that's leading teens and such to kill each other, it's the teens. Any person who plays games and cant differentiate what is real and what is fantasy needs help.


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madlilnerd
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PostSun Jul 24, 2005 5:16 am    

/\ Yeah, the rest of my post implied that.

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Dirt
Exercise Boy


Joined: 19 May 2003
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PostTue Aug 02, 2005 9:00 am    

I think this is a load of crap, they obviously didn't intend for people to find these scenes and you have to go through a lot of effort to actually see them. If anyone does see them, they certainly can't take any offense from it as they wanted to themselves IMHO easy points for politicians to score here for them being "moral"

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The Delta Flyer
Commodore


Joined: 08 Apr 2002
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PostTue Aug 02, 2005 3:36 pm    

If it's not accessible then it shouldn't be included in the rating.

In my mind, it's like rating a film an 18 because of a scene concept designed but never integrated into the film. The idea is there but it's not included in the end product so surely this is the same thing here. Well in my mind anyway (it's a scary place I can tell you).

Whilst we're talking about it though, I was in Woolworths the other day just burning time before I met someone and I was looking at the games. This little kid and he must have still been about 6 randomly came up to me asking about the games. He pointed to "San Andreas" and said I want to get that one - we had Vice City but that's the new one.

I was shocked to have been holding a conversation about an 18-rated game with a 6 year-old.


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Puck
The Texan


Joined: 05 Jan 2004
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PostTue Aug 02, 2005 5:17 pm    

Anyone who buys this game, or lets their kids buy this game should not be at all surprised by this. I don't think it really matters how it got their, you should expect stuff like that if you are purchasing this game. If you don't, that's just stupid.

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