Some breaking news has just come through regarding the sale and distribution of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The ESRB (Entertainment and Software Ratings Board) in America has prohibited the game from being sold without a new classification sticker or until the game has been re-released without the offending "hot coffee" code.
We've recieved no word yet on what will be happening with the sale and distribution of San Andreas in Australia, but know that the game is being scrutinised by the classification office right now.
We expect the OFLC to make an announcement regarding the game shortly, as soon as one is made we'll report back, but our advice is that if you want San Andreas, then it might be best to pick it up now, rather than pay an inflated price on Ebay in a fortnight.
Luke
21 Jul, 2005
21 Jul, 2005
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas banned in the US
PS2 News | Banned in America first for once.
20 Comments
Gtpod
6 years ago
6 years ago
Why ban the PS2 & Xbox versions? Surely, the "Hot Coffee" patch couldn't be used en masse on those versions, as console games are significantly harder to patch. Even if they banned the Xbox version (considering the Xbox is practically a PC anyway), surely they shouldn't ban the PS2 version?
Anyway, the whole Hot Coffee thing is odd, in my opinion. Hooray for endless political banter and tabloid, scare-mongering media release!
EDIT: GameShark/Action Replay, of course. Stupid me
. Oh well, it'll be over in a few months when they release it w/out the offending code.
Anyway, the whole Hot Coffee thing is odd, in my opinion. Hooray for endless political banter and tabloid, scare-mongering media release!
EDIT: GameShark/Action Replay, of course. Stupid me
. Oh well, it'll be over in a few months when they release it w/out the offending code.
6 years ago
Just read this article from gamespot on it...
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/15/news_6129301.html
Not to undermine PALGN's coverage of the situation which has been excellent, but this article seems a good wrap up and makes some good points. It sounds like the 'hot coffee' minigame on the ps2 version at least is pretty tame and wouldn't make it R even if it was just a normal part of it? That sort of thing is shown on any number of M15 or MA15+ tv shows and films. Many M and MA movies have breasts and reasonably realistic sex scenes in them anyway!
Some comments I read on a gta mod site were also good. They made the point that it is easy to download 'nude patches' for some of the sims games which then show all genitalia and and sex scenes. These games are rated teen yet the patches are easily accessed albeit not in the original code most likely. I still hear no uproar?? It seems that although the hot coffee minigame is in the original code I think anything more graphic than that on the xbox or pc versions would be mods made by hackers.
It's hilarious though...I work at a blockbuster store and suddenly everyone has streamed in to buy gtasa!! It's even been reduced in price so we can get rid of them!!
You can't rent it anymore though. Blockbuster, being the 'clean, respectable family video rental company' that they are (Based in america of course) don't want anything to do with it...although they have no problem renting softcore porn... They can stop the rental but they can't stop selling it yet in Australia. I bet sales of gamesharks and the action replay max will skyrocket as well! hilarious!
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/15/news_6129301.html
Not to undermine PALGN's coverage of the situation which has been excellent, but this article seems a good wrap up and makes some good points. It sounds like the 'hot coffee' minigame on the ps2 version at least is pretty tame and wouldn't make it R even if it was just a normal part of it? That sort of thing is shown on any number of M15 or MA15+ tv shows and films. Many M and MA movies have breasts and reasonably realistic sex scenes in them anyway!
Some comments I read on a gta mod site were also good. They made the point that it is easy to download 'nude patches' for some of the sims games which then show all genitalia and and sex scenes. These games are rated teen yet the patches are easily accessed albeit not in the original code most likely. I still hear no uproar?? It seems that although the hot coffee minigame is in the original code I think anything more graphic than that on the xbox or pc versions would be mods made by hackers.
It's hilarious though...I work at a blockbuster store and suddenly everyone has streamed in to buy gtasa!! It's even been reduced in price so we can get rid of them!!
You can't rent it anymore though. Blockbuster, being the 'clean, respectable family video rental company' that they are (Based in america of course) don't want anything to do with it...although they have no problem renting softcore porn... They can stop the rental but they can't stop selling it yet in Australia. I bet sales of gamesharks and the action replay max will skyrocket as well! hilarious!
it's hard to know where i stand on this issue...
personally i think Rockstar were extremely stupid to start making the code, then decide against it and leaving it in there...
on the other hand, they've obviously decided the sex was not intended to be seen, and was only through some external agent that they were found (and through technically "illegal" methods i might add... the GTA:SA game is closed-source... there are no official modding options, unlike, say, UT2004 or HL2 which encourage modding)... so i don't see how Rockstar can really be held accountable...
if this is to be the case, should ALL games be rated AO since ALL games have the potential to contain nudity and sex when in the hands of the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) modder?
and like it was mentioned, there are mods to remove the mosaic on nude sims... and given the purpose of the game is to watch the sim age, at certain stages this is tantamount to pedophilia
but like i said, it was pure stupidity that they left the code in the game... illegal or not, it was going to be modded
as for the eventual rating... i think this is an adult game anyway... goes to show how screwed "our" society is when gang violence, drugs and stealing cars is a teen activity... (as fun as the game is
)
personally i think Rockstar were extremely stupid to start making the code, then decide against it and leaving it in there...
on the other hand, they've obviously decided the sex was not intended to be seen, and was only through some external agent that they were found (and through technically "illegal" methods i might add... the GTA:SA game is closed-source... there are no official modding options, unlike, say, UT2004 or HL2 which encourage modding)... so i don't see how Rockstar can really be held accountable...
if this is to be the case, should ALL games be rated AO since ALL games have the potential to contain nudity and sex when in the hands of the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) modder?
and like it was mentioned, there are mods to remove the mosaic on nude sims... and given the purpose of the game is to watch the sim age, at certain stages this is tantamount to pedophilia
but like i said, it was pure stupidity that they left the code in the game... illegal or not, it was going to be modded
as for the eventual rating... i think this is an adult game anyway... goes to show how screwed "our" society is when gang violence, drugs and stealing cars is a teen activity... (as fun as the game is
)
You do make a good point, ObsoletE, that an external party uncovered this inappropriate material.
That said, and as you mentioned, this should not have been left in at all (or even created), so I still want an example made out of them.
If this slips through, it could open the floodgates.
I could be wrong, but from my perspective I'm usually right...
Seriously though, I personally wouldn't go easy on this if it were up to me... but that's just me...
That said, and as you mentioned, this should not have been left in at all (or even created), so I still want an example made out of them.
If this slips through, it could open the floodgates.
I could be wrong, but from my perspective I'm usually right...
Seriously though, I personally wouldn't go easy on this if it were up to me... but that's just me...
ObsoletE wrote
and like it was mentioned, there are mods to remove the mosaic on nude sims... and given the purpose of the game is to watch the sim age, at certain stages this is tantamount to pedophilia
GamePRO wrote
GamePRO">The Sims 2: A "Pedophile's Paradise"?
Following up to the continuing media frenzy of GTA San Andreas' Hot Coffee mod, now The Sims 2 is under fire for what Miami attorney Jack Thompson calls a "pedophile's paradise."
According to Thompson, The Sims 2, which he calls "the industry's latest dirty secret" (although The Sims 2 has been out longer than GTA), contains full frontal nudity, citing information from "video game news sites." The point of contention is with user-created mods, which allows users to create custom skins, models and furniture.
We contacted EA for comment, and the spokesperson flatly denied the accusations, saying, "this is nonsense. players never see a nude Sim in the game. We've reviewed all of the content in the game, as has the [classification board], and there is no content that would be inappropriate for a teen audience. When the Sims shower, their genital areas are pixilated. If someone with an extraordinary amount of technical knowledge and time on their hands were to remove the pixilation, they'd find that the Sims have no genitals. In that sense, they appear like children's dolls such as Ken and Barbie. Under their clothes, Ken and Barbie look like Sims. There is no anatomical detail beyond the torso, limbs and head. "
"Nude" textures without genital areas are common in 3D games - even mainstream hits such as World of Warcraft use "nude" skins to accommodate the variety of clothing articles. It is important to note that the "nudity" in The Sims 2 differs from the controversy stirred by Rockstar's GTA: San Andreas, which had the actual sex mini-game hidden inside the code itself. Hence, it is unlikely that The Sims 2 would face the same consequences of an Adults Only rating.
Following up to the continuing media frenzy of GTA San Andreas' Hot Coffee mod, now The Sims 2 is under fire for what Miami attorney Jack Thompson calls a "pedophile's paradise."
According to Thompson, The Sims 2, which he calls "the industry's latest dirty secret" (although The Sims 2 has been out longer than GTA), contains full frontal nudity, citing information from "video game news sites." The point of contention is with user-created mods, which allows users to create custom skins, models and furniture.
We contacted EA for comment, and the spokesperson flatly denied the accusations, saying, "this is nonsense. players never see a nude Sim in the game. We've reviewed all of the content in the game, as has the [classification board], and there is no content that would be inappropriate for a teen audience. When the Sims shower, their genital areas are pixilated. If someone with an extraordinary amount of technical knowledge and time on their hands were to remove the pixilation, they'd find that the Sims have no genitals. In that sense, they appear like children's dolls such as Ken and Barbie. Under their clothes, Ken and Barbie look like Sims. There is no anatomical detail beyond the torso, limbs and head. "
"Nude" textures without genital areas are common in 3D games - even mainstream hits such as World of Warcraft use "nude" skins to accommodate the variety of clothing articles. It is important to note that the "nudity" in The Sims 2 differs from the controversy stirred by Rockstar's GTA: San Andreas, which had the actual sex mini-game hidden inside the code itself. Hence, it is unlikely that The Sims 2 would face the same consequences of an Adults Only rating.
at least the focus has shifted from games being the cause of all the violence in the world
6 years ago
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