Like a row of dominos falling over, store after store has pulled the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas off the store shelves after it was revealed that a third-party add-on, known as a “mod”, to the game unlocked secret content which allowed players to control the main character’s performance in the bedroom.
Known as the “Hot Coffee” mod, because the main character, CJ, was often invited into a date’s home for “hot coffee”, the mod unlocks the ladies’ always-closed front doors (the game ‘camera’ would wait outside while CJ finished his “coffee” [nudge , nudge – wink, wink]), allowing players a first-time glimpse into the ladies’ boudoirs.
And that’s not all, oh no. It also allows gamers to control CJ’s..um…performance during the hot coffee act.
As a result, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has revised Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ rating from “Mature 17+” to “Adults Only”, and howls of outrage and protest have caused Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart, and Target, among others, to pull the game off the shelf.
The mod’s author, Patrick Wildenborg, swears that his mod only unlocked steamy content which already existed in the game, but which was locked away in the commercial version, a claim to which the game’s publisher, Rockstar Games has, apparently, finally copped. Said the ESRB’s president, Patricia Vance, in explaining the change in rating, “What was clear to us is the fact that fully rendered content existed on the disk that was not disclosed. The publisher took the risk that a hacker could find it, and it clearly put the rating at risk.”
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The question is, was it a stupid risk, or a calculated risk?
Only time will tell.
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oh yeah i figured i might as well thank those of you who didnt pitch a fit. you show great maturity that those who argue about it dont have. you are right it is the parents fault. but what actually classifies as mature. my son is sixteen and he is extremely mature that is why we allow him to play those games. hes not gonna go out and kill someone because CJ does it. the mature rating only applies to those who can tell the difference between real life and a video game. those are the people who shouldnt be playing grand theft auto games. everyone else have a great time and kill some virtual hookers.
yeah you people need to get over it and come out of your fricken sheltered azz lifes. of you see more sex and killing in movies and t.v. that kids and adults alike arent affected by it. all it is just something else for yall to bitch about. well get over it and leave rockstar alone. since it was locked means that someone did a lot of prying to find it besides if you are going to persiquite rockstar and force all their games to be “checked” then you should check every other game made to. cause you never know what could be on those. so in other words shut your mouths, stop bitchin, and get on with you damn lives. most people couldnt care less about the hot coffe mod crap. its all bullshit. if they really wanted to see porn they can get on the internet insted of looking for that code. there is a lot better sex games online anyway. so like i said just put your foot in your mouth and stop being such a sheltered little wusse.
U r right about dat!
Rockstar did nothing but make an entertaining game for Mature 17+ crowds (EXACTLY like it was advertised) that was only picked up by a bunch of kids because of the kids fool mother/father who let them play it, and now they are looking for someone to blame.
Is it Rockstar’s fault these underaged kids got ahold of this thing? WHy hell no…
SHould we do the same for alcohol since underage kids get it as well? Why hell no…
Is it the parent’s fault for allowing them the freedom to pull off a stunt like that? You better believe it. Our cuture today has a disillusioned sense of “nurturing” and “discipline”. When I was a kid, you got in trouble, you got your ass beat, you didn’t do it anymore because you knew it was something you weren’t supposed to be doing and you knew what the end result would be if you DID do it. NOw? Kids do not know boundaries, they do as they please, unchecked, and are protected BY OUR OWN SOCIETY. If these kids had been me? My father would have beat my ass until I couldn’t walk/sit down/ lay down without it hurting, and you better believe I would have known I couldn’t do that anymore and get away with it.
Anyone who wants to blame Rockstar for something like this is just reinforcing my point.
ThinkGeek has a “Hot Coffee” T-Shirt, in case you want a bit of the action:
Well… Good point by the ESRB that the sexual content on the DVD wasn’t disclosed by Rockstar, but I still have to agree with Mr. Blume and CHS – I really feel that the violence and the gang/drug related gameplay was going way over the top on this game, and FAR outweigh the sexual part (that takes a cheat to gain access to in the PS2 and X-Box versions, and a download for the PC) that I doubt >most< owners of the game will ever see.
Mr Blume’s comments are right on as far as they go. I am always amazed that an activity that is leagle, accepted by most societies and necessary for the continuance of the spiecies freeks the blue noses out when the wanton killing of the population is mearly restricted to those over 17 year of age. I haven’t even seen a copy of any GTA since the first version nor am I likely to but that is my choice and no business of any self rightious self appointed censor.
As always, I find it a little more than amusing – well, not really – that all the excesses pale when confronted with “The Dreaded Sexual.” I would prefer the sex rather than the violence. People are pretty much already sold on sex. They can, however, become even MORE interested in violence/anarchy.
GTA San Andreas went from “Mature 17+” -Which, I’m sorry, is more oxymoron than anything else – to “Adults Only”. This was defined too many years ago, in an agricultural society with a lfespan of 3 score and ten, as 18. Not much of a shift. Maybe if we defined “Adult” as 30+. This is a cultural, not technical, problem and our culture hasn’t had a NEW idea on how to deal with it since electronic gaming started.
There have been rumors that the cheat was leaked by Rockstar. Certainly Rockstar knew of the mini game since they went to great lenghts of making it and leaving it on the disk. According to Gamestop, the cheat can be accessed on the PS2 version with the Gameshark cheat device. The Xbox version also has the mini-game and can be accessed with Action Replay. I have written to all parties. I told the ESRB that they should keep Rockstar on a blacklist that forces a strict review of all content on the disk. Rockstar should pay for this review. The next few games from Rockstar should be reviewed this way until they regain our trust.
Pure coincidence that this is going on in parallel with the X-Box release of the game (which doesn’t have the “bonus” content, which is only on the PC version’s disk).