Sex and Video

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welsh

Junkmaster
Not sure how many of you are fans of Grand Theft Auto, but this might be interesting.

'Grand Theft' sex content reviewed

Industry group could change 'San Andreas' rating to 'Adult Only' if hidden simulated acts are found.
July 9, 2005: 10:59 AM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The industry group that sets ratings for video games is probing whether hidden features within the blockbuster title "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" allows players to make their characters engage in simulated explicit sex acts.

The series of criminal adventure games from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (Research) subsidiary Rockstar Games has been among the best selling in history, while drawing sharp criticism for encouraging gratuitous violence.

If the investigation were to lead to a rating change from M (Mature 17+) to AO (Adult Only), it could limit sales from major retail outlets.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board "has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 'Hot Coffee' modification for (the game) ... 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.

According to enthusiast sites, loading the Hot Coffee modification on a personal computer unlocks minigames that enable users to make game characters perform sexually explicit acts.

Rockstar confirmed in an e-mailed statement the existence of the ESRB investigation and said it is complying fully.

"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," Rockstar said in the statement.

"If after a thorough and objective investigation of all the relevant facts surrounding this modification, we determine a violation of our rules has occurred, we will take appropriate action," ESRB's Vance said.

There have been instances where ESRB has discovered undisclosed content in a video game and changed a rating, said an ESRB spokesman, who declined further comment on the current investigation.

The move from the ESRB comes just days after California lawmaker Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, blasted the game for its violent and sexually explicit content.

The legislator, also a child psychologist, wants the game's rating changed to AO. In the past he has pushed for restrictions on sales of violent video games to minors.

Of the 1,036 game ratings assigned by the ESRB in 2004, fewer than 1 percent received an AO rating.

The PlayStation2 version of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" was the No. 1 game of 2004, selling just over 5 million copies, according to NPD Funworld.
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So, they might be censored because an external source provided the possibility for sex.

Well, changing the rating seems logical, since that's their standard, however skewed it is (you can blow people up with rockets, but you can't screw someone), if there is actual sex in the game. But now the mod provides this, either through unlocking something which was built into the game, or by adding the content.
Either way, the content is unaccessable unless you personally add to or modify the game, which seems not to constitute a violation to me.
 
Aye, because if their argument is that Rockstar made it so it was possible FOR people to manipulate it so they could have sex in the game... couldn't you make the same case for any game that has a modding community?
 
The move from the ESRB comes just days after California lawmaker Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, blasted the game for its violent and sexually explicit content.
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why am i not suprised? ...i hate California... it needs to drop off into the Pacific already
 
ESRB revokes M rating for GTA: San Andreas

http://www.shacknews.com/docs/press/072005_gta_sa.x

after public heat about the "Hot Coffee" mod, the ESRB has changed the rating for GTA: SA to AO, and asks that stores stop selling it.

My opinion:
1. The ESRB ratings are all wrong
2. There's enough sex and violence in other games that should technically by AO, if this is true.

Your thoughts?
 
and on top of that it wasent even a mod created by rockstar, it was unautorized, so if there giving it an AO rating, they should give evey game on the PC an AO rating because i can download naked women patches for any game imaginable :P
 
So does this mean that all versions of the game will be AO, or just the PC version? The article seemed to cite the PC version exclusively.

This is pretty ridiculous, but to be honest, the ratio of console to PC gamers is pretty steep. I don't think it should do much damage to Rock Star's business.
 
Merged with the original thread.

Yes, this is ridiculous. They may have put that content in the game, but made it inaccessible, so basically they never sold the possibility to access that content, that was done b a mod maker.
 
Fireblade said:
I have only one question:

Is not Mature (17+) the exact same thing as being an adult ANYWAYS?
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Just out of interest, what is the age limit for AO?

Is it 18? 21?

Seems kinda pointless to create another age limit for the former and the latter is too old to start treating people like adults.

Considering that anybody able to get the mod would have to be on the net anyways, why are they worried about the influence of porn?

Surely anybody savvy enough to download a mod is savvy enough to have found out about free porn? It is, after all, the driving force of the internet and one of the first things people look for.
 
Mature is for Violence, Sex, Language, Nudity, and is not suitable for people under the age of 17. Adult Only is for "Extended" violence, sex, language or nudity, and not suitable for people under the age of 18.

Obviously an important and critical distinction.
 
Its not a mod, it is really just a bit of code that accesses the mini-game. The code is all right there, Rockstar just covered it up so no one could find it... well... someone did.

I don't think AO is sold in most retail stores. That could be a problem for a lot of kids.

Also, its for all versions because the code is also in the console version.
 
MadDog said:
Its not a mod, it is really just a bit of code that accesses the mini-game. The code is all right there, Rockstar just covered it up so no one could find it... well... someone did.
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And how does one access this code? Through some sort of mod? Or is it just a cheat code?

Does one year really make such a difference between NC17 and AO? Or is your development so tightly controlled? ;)
 
Unga Bunga, Games Bad

I'm surprised that nobody has posted anything after the San Andreas issue, but now that The Sims 2 have come under fire I might as well explain.

For those of you that don't know, The Hot Coffee mod is for the PC version of GTA: San Andreas that unlocks the sex minigames that were placed for the intercourse date endings. The code was left in the game, for whatever reason, though it couldn't be used before. The games can also be activated on the PS2 with a Gameshark, and because of the undisclosed nature of the game, politicians and media dogs have been crying foul over the ESRB. So, the ESRB revoked the game's rating and made it Adults Only, which means that all copies of the game will be recalled, as only a handful of retailers actually carry AO games.

Now, The Sims 2 have come under fire:

Sims 2 content "worse than Hot Coffee"

Miami attorney Jack Thompson claims cheat codes makes EA's life sim a pedophile's paradise by showing genitalia; calls for ban on T-rated game.

How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and anti-gaming activist has done his share to see that games do not fall into the wrong hands--and lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.

Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree GTA franchise. In the past, he has represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including a triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.

His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.

Thompson is on a roll--and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a game that doesn't involve guns, carjacking, or prostitutes. He's going after Electronic Arts' The Sims 2.

In a manifesto sent today to press outlets, Thompson focuses on dismantling the Entertainment Software Rating Board and exposing what he calls the industry's "latest dirty little secret." The secret's out now, and it involves nude Sims.

In the statement, Thompson says, "Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise... contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."

The Sims 2 is a "life simulator." In the game, players steer their digital beings around their cyber lives. The actions include everything from the spectacular (getting married, having children, promotions at work) to the mundane (cooking microwaved meals, going to the bathroom, mopping the floor). Such activities, as in real life, sometimes require nudity. EA circumvents inappropriateness by "blurring" out the nether regions, almost to a comical sense.

Knowing that the game is popular among all ages, EA has even taken steps to insure that Sims fans aren't exposed to indecent depictions. In the recent expansion pack, Sims 2 University, gamers can send their teenage Sims off to college. However, instead of packing the expansion with keggers and reefer, EA chose to use juice and bubble blowers.

Thompson doesn't seem to care. He cites a cheat code that can remove the blur which covers nudity. "The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called “the blur” which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."

It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobe. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."

Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and EA would be forced to recall all copies of the Sims 2. However, it's what's under the blur that Thompson's after, and what happens when the blur is lifted? A simple mannequin-esque smooth body, according to EA.

Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude Sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the Sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."

Thompson doesn't buy it. "The sex and the nudity are in the game. That's the point. The blur is an admission that even the 'Ken and Barbie' features should not be displayed. The blur can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."

The last time we checked, the Sims 2 is rated T for teen by the ESRB, which means that anyone 13-years of age with $50 can purchase the title.

By Tim Surette -- GameSpot
POSTED: 07/22/05 12:06 PM PST
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I wonder how far this is going to go before they start attacking all moddable content?

By the way, Sims without the censoring:

SimNudityFemale.jpeg
SimNudityMale.jpeg


Hawt eunich action!

So who's going to tell them that you could get rid of the bars in the first game?

Edit: British Gamer exposes Jack Thompson as a moron.
 
So I went to Gamestop today to sell my Playstation 2, accessories, and games, and they refused to take my copy of San Andreas.

"It's been recalled, we've been told to pull it from the shelves and not to buy or sell any copies."

Weak. I guess all of the copies with the "M" stamp on them are being sent back.
 
Big T said:
And how does one access this code? Through some sort of mod? Or is it just a cheat code?

Does one year really make such a difference between NC17 and AO? Or is your development so tightly controlled? ;)
Click to expand...

For the PC its accessible through the Hot Coffee mod, and on the Playstation you can unlock the minigames using a Gameshark.

The difference between M and AO is that stores can be fined for selling AO games to minors, so they mostly don't bother to carry them at all.

Carmageddon still illegal? ;)
 
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