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San Andreas WTF!!!
 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-07-21 12:27 [#01671051]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to ecnadniarb: #01671032



I'm not so sure, seeing as most large retailers like
Wal-Mart have pulled the game based on the new AO-rating..
(and apparently a lot of people buy their games at these
places).

ESRB slaps dreaded rating on controverial best-seller


 

offline ecnadniarb on 2005-07-21 12:29 [#01671052]
Points: 24805 Status: Lurker | Followup to qrter: #01671051 | Show recordbag



Which is exactly what happened over manhunt.


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-07-21 12:30 [#01671055]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to ecnadniarb: #01671052



is it?

I didn't follow that very well, "manhunt" seemed such an
incredibly dumb game to begin with. :P


 

offline Duble0Syx from Columbus, OH (United States) on 2005-07-21 16:00 [#01671366]
Points: 3436 Status: Lurker



Only in the US is sex worse than murder I guess. The game
is going to be re-released by the end of the year with a MA
rating again and the "sexually explicit" content removed. I
don't get how changing it from MA to AO will keep it away
from kids though since it's not law to ID for games no
matter what. A retailer can sell a 10 year old GTA legally
even if it's rated AO. There will also be a patch soon
removing it from existing copies. Personally I think any
violent game needs some sex. It helps to keep a healthy
balance. Everyone in the US is sexually repressed which
causes the high murder rates and wars. :) More Sex!


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-07-21 16:33 [#01671410]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator



from a daily column over at gamespot:

"I can't help but wonder if the "Hot Coffee" content
would have created such a stir if Rockstar had openly chosen
to include it in GTA: San Andreas as an unlockable bonus
feature. For those of us old enough to play the game
legally, I'm pretty sure that consensual sex (or at least
the quest for it) plays a much larger role in our everyday
lives than gang warfare, vehicle theft, or the random
killing of people on the street. That those things would be
considered more acceptable in a game than sex seems absurd
to me, regardless of the age rating."



 

offline Aesthetics from the IDM Kiosk on 2005-07-21 17:02 [#01671440]
Points: 6796 Status: Lurker



I just applied the newest patch and see what happened!! :S.


Attached picture

 

offline w M w from London (United Kingdom) on 2005-07-22 01:58 [#01671782]
Points: 21458 Status: Regular



Uh, for the record I think this game is awesome now; better
than gta3. Riding motorcycles in the countryside is great.
My negative remarks were premature.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2005-07-22 02:33 [#01671791]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Duble0Syx: #01671366 | Show recordbag



"Only in the US is sex worse than murder I guess."

It cracks me up that in a game where (already) you can pick
up prostitutes, go to a lap dancing club, act as a pimp and
there's a large purple dildo as a melee weapon, the act of
consensual sex between an adult male and female, after a
date,(in a manogamous relationship, if the player chooses),
with no genitals on show, akin to the sort of sex scenes
you'd get in a 15 rated movie, but with blocky low
resolution model sprites, suddenly makes it 'adult'.

I also agree that had they never cut this content in the
first place, it would never have been such a big deal.



 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-07-27 21:59 [#01677152]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to Ceri JC: #01671791



oh it gets even worse.

yet again from good ol' gamespot:

Take-Two sued, confirms FTC investigation

[UPDATE] As the feds circle, San Andreas TV ads are pulled,
and a class-action lawsuit against the publisher is filed in
US District Court. The Hot Coffee scandal advanced on two
fronts today.

First, the parent company of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
publisher Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, confirmed
that its advertising practices were indeed the subject of a
Federal Trade Commission inquiry. On Monday, the US House of
Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of such an
investigation.

Specifically, the FTC's Division of Advertising Practice is
looking into how San Andreas was promoted, and to whom, to
determine if Take-Two was culpable in misleading the public.
The company said it "intends to fully cooperate with the FTC
inquiry, and believes that it acted in accordance with all
applicable laws and regulations."

The Take-Two statement went on to say that Rockstar and
Take-Two "regret that consumers may have been exposed to
content that was not intended to be accessible in the
playable version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." However,
Take-Two reiterated its contention that the Hot Coffee code
was the result of a "third-party modification."

Despite such admonishments, Take-Two is facing legal trouble
of another kind...in civil court. This morning, according to
the Associated Press, a lawsuit was filed against the
publisher in the Southern District of New York. According to
the AP, plaintiff Florence Cohen claims she was "damaged"
after learning of the sex minigames hidden in San Andreas,
as she had bought what she thought was an M-for-Mature-rated
game for her grandson.


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-07-27 22:00 [#01677153]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to qrter: #01677152



cont.

Her complaint seeks class-action status for purchasers of
San Andreas and relies on four causes of action; the
complaint accuses Take-Two of committing or engaging in
"Consumer Deception" (based on New York State General
Business Law statutes, section 349), "False Advertising"
(based on New York State General Business Law statutes,
section 350), "Common Law Fraud," and "Unjust Enrichment."

Damages sought are in excess of $5 million, the complaint
says. Cohen is seeking a jury trial to determine
culpability.

Ironically, the charges of "false advertising" come as
television spots for San Andreas continue to run. This week,
GameSpot editors saw firsthand 30-second TV ads for the Xbox
version of the game running on Comedy Central and MTV, both
owned by media giant Viacom. The ads have been altered since
the ESRB revoked the game's M rating last week, ending with
the words "Rated AO for 'Adults Only.'"

[UPDATE] Some gamers took this as a sign of defiance on the
part of Rockstar. However, a representative for the
publisher told Gamespot the ads were from a media buy made
prior to the FTC investigation, and would stop running as of
today.

Even before today's developments were known, one industry
analyst said Take-Two is facing "headline and regulatory
risks" as a result of the Hot Coffee scandal. In a memo to
investors, UBS' Mike Wallace said the danger to Take-Two
will persist until resolution is reached. "Whether or not
the inquiry results in a penalty (that is, a fine) remains
to be seen," Wallace said, "but if GTA needs to get
reworked, this may impact the consumer appeal of the game
going forward." From a purely financial perspective, Wallace
said he believes the "numbers for TTWO could be at risk over
the next few quarters."

At press time, Take-Two was trading up just over a dollar at
$24.63.



 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2005-07-28 04:28 [#01677234]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Quite how the game wasn't AO in the first place beggars
belief. Also, can an American clarify the state of the
mature 'M' rating? I thought that that was effectively a 17
as opposed to an 18? Is this only if the 17 year old buys it
themself? IE is it perfectly legal for an adult (not the
parent, I might add) to buy an M rated game for a 16 year
old, or for that matter, a child of any age?

WTF was an 85 year old grandmother doing buying her 14 year
old kid a 17 rated game anyway? Surely she forfited all
right to be 'damaged' by the content when she acted in this
way? It will be a sad day indeed if she makes any money out
of this.


 

offline zero-cool on 2005-07-28 04:45 [#01677249]
Points: 2720 Status: Lurker



you need to buy the xbox version so that you can upload
Aphex unto the harddrive and listen to it while you fly in a
car to the other side of the world


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2005-07-28 05:24 [#01677281]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to zero-cool: #01677249 | Show recordbag



Indeed. The Caretaker - Selected Memories from the Haunted
Ballroom and Company Flow - Superfuncrusher are some of my
most listened to during GTA:SA sessions.


 

offline Aesthetics from the IDM Kiosk on 2005-07-28 12:04 [#01677675]
Points: 6796 Status: Lurker



You need to buy the pc version so that you can play
all the music thats on the harddrive and listen to it while
you fly in a car to the other side of the world.




The US prefers 17 year old lads to steal cars, rob and kill
people over let them have sex.


 

offline mylittlesister from ...wherever (United Kingdom) on 2005-07-28 12:12 [#01677687]
Points: 8472 Status: Regular



sod listening to music thru the game, just have winamp
running in the background :)


 

offline qrter from the future, and it works (Netherlands, The) on 2005-07-28 17:23 [#01677969]
Points: 47414 Status: Moderator | Followup to Ceri JC: #01677234



some kind of answer, perhaps:

"You can't just say, "So what? I'm over 18. I'll be able
to buy any game no matter what they're rated anyway." If you
actually believe that, then ask yourself when was the last
time you saw an NC-17 movie playing in a movie theater? Do
you really think big-box stores like Wal-Mart or Best Buy
would actually carry an AO-rated game? Do you think that big
publishers, who will be risking even more money on every
game in the next generation, would ever fund a project that
could end up getting tagged AO, and then as a result doesn't
get carried by the biggest retailers? Unless your name is
Pollyanna, you probably answered no to the last two
questions. No matter what your age is, or what country you
live in (apologies in advance to Europe--in this case you
are beholden to America's lingering Puritanical values), the
resolution of this "Hot Coffee" scandal could indeed affect
the way you game."



 

offline Taxidermist from Black Grass on 2005-07-29 01:44 [#01678124]
Points: 9958 Status: Lurker



Whatever the reasons they are saying, their has been a
government hate-on for the grand theft auto series since it
became a 3d series. They have been looking for reasons to
cause it from being removed from shelves for a long time,
but under the freedom of speech yada whatever, they couldn't
let it fly. But now that they have obsenity as a thing to
hide behind, it can be pursued as though its misrepresented
itself in selling pornography to minors. Unfortunately, now
this sets a precident in american law for them to pursue
other games that they feel threaten the american way of
life. This is just america taking an opportunity to throw
around its newly branded form of purity.

Anyways, once again, peace out.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2005-07-29 02:41 [#01678146]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Taxidermist: #01678124 | Show recordbag



I can remember calls to ban even the first (top down) one in
the first month or so after its release.

The analogy with films given in the article qrter linked is
a good one. In order to get films shown to as many people as
possible, more extreme (but not neccessarily
gratuitous)scenes are edited out. Normally with film, this
is then usually restored either at a later date (when it
seems tame in comparison), or on the home DVD release as an
'uncut' version.

Given that games are almost always played at home, it seems
reasonable that they should be uncut from the outset, but
unfortunately it seems more likely that such content will in
future be cut. On the bright side, how much does the hot
coffee mod/picking up hookers really add to GTA? Okay,
beating an enemy to death with a dildo makes you crack a
smile, but it doesn't make a huge difference to the meat (no
pun intended) of the game. Would you really miss it if it
weren't there? Whilst it's a shame to stifle creativity with
censorship, I can't see a banning of violence (it is America
that'll lead this legislation, after all) and if sex is an
integral part of the storyline, it can usually be conveyed
'tastefully' the way is in 12/15 rated movies, without
harming the story or the actual game in any way.

How often have you seen a game based around sex that is
actually entertaining to play? A lot of the games that
really are pornographic (as opposed to a game with sex in
it), strip poker, etc. are not very good games. The only one
I can think of is some of the earlier Leisure Suit Larry
games, but even they were weak compared to lucasarts
equivalents.


 

offline Taxidermist from Black Grass on 2005-07-29 04:44 [#01678187]
Points: 9958 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #01678146



I am taking a risk in replying more than once every couple
of days, but here you go. It doesn't really effect the
gameplay, or story or anything at all, but it does certainly
set a precident for the government for how they will deal
with game companies like this in the future. As well, such a
high profile case, is going to get some copycats. We see the
5 million dollar suit that is being pressed against rockstar
now. If it works, I can guarantee you 6 or 7 more people
will all be doing the same thing. Or more. And then the same
can and will be done towards other games. I don't really see
it as a specific attack at one target, so much as a specific
attack to make other targets more feasable. Not to jump to
conclusions or anything, but I have a feeling this will
affect the USSA a lot more than people will see in the short
term. Hundreds of little things like this have shot the
national psychology of the USSA back about 40 years now.
More little things like this will only accelerate the
decent.

On a side note, the canadian supreme court just told the
music industry people that they don't want to hear anything
else relating to the taxation of mp3 players anymore. It had
been going on for some time, and I guess they felt that they
have heard enough.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2005-07-29 04:51 [#01678193]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Taxidermist: #01678187 | Show recordbag



"On a side note, the canadian supreme court just told the
music industry people that they don't want to hear anything

else relating to the taxation of mp3 players anymore. It had

been going on for some time, and I guess they felt that they

have heard enough. "

Excellent! The legal equivalent of a "STFU!" :)


 

offline axion from planet rock (Sweden) on 2005-07-29 15:20 [#01678755]
Points: 3114 Status: Addict



yeah i hate that zero mission to,when you have to shot down
5 guys with the plane.i am going to skip it.how Big is the
game ?i have played it during a two months period or so and
still havent completed it.i think i have cleared 40-50 % of
the game.


 

offline Aesthetics from the IDM Kiosk on 2005-07-29 15:45 [#01678772]
Points: 6796 Status: Lurker | Followup to axion: #01678755



Depends;
If you only go for the main missions you need about 50
hours.
If you do all the side missions you need about 80-100
hours.
If you want to reach a 100% score you need a lot more
than 100 hours...


 

offline mylittlesister from ...wherever (United Kingdom) on 2005-07-29 16:09 [#01678783]
Points: 8472 Status: Regular



100% is gonna take me forever - i get easily distracted and
just go on rampages!


 


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