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FTC to Investigate 'Grand Theft' Mod

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

July 27, 2005, 11:25 AM

Just when gamers may have thought the controversy around Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas may be over, Take-Two Interactive Software on Tuesday announced that the Federal Trade Commission is looking into the game and the "Hot Coffee'"modification.

The Hot Coffee mod allows the main character to engage in sexual acts, causing the ESRB to change the rating of the game from "M" for Mature to "AO" for Adults Only. The ESRB's action meant the game was pulled from a majority of retailer's shelves, including Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, and Circuit City.

The uproar even caused Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) to jump into the fray, calling for the FTC to step in and investigate.

"The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it's making the difficult job of being a parent even harder," Clinton said at the time.

On Monday, the House of Representatives also pushed for an investigation, passing a resolution asking the FTC to intervene. Tuesday's announcement makes it appear as if the FTC will heed the legislature and Clinton's call.

Details of what exactly is being investigated in the game were not made public. However, Take-Two said in a statement it would cooperate fully and believes its actions were "in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations."

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By _Jenn_

edited Jul 28, 2005 - 10:11 AM

The implications of this are horribly frightening. A computer-savvy modder now has the capability to target any game or game company and drive the rating up without their consent by releasing mods or patches which contain sexual content. And as we all have seen here, it's ok to blow the hooker's head off with a shotgun, but it's not ok to have sex with her.

Whether the mechanics of this are considered to be a mod or easter egg is not entirely relevant, because politicians won't distinguish between the two. The fact remains that the precedent is dangerous.

Score: 0

By bourgeoisdude

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 3:28 PM

Funny--suddenly the Clinton's are outraged by 'sexual relations' in a video game.

Score: 0

By nightops

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 6:30 PM

Bill's just jealous that he wasn't considered for the role... You know Hillary wants to be the $lut

Score: 0

By adamdawg

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 5:29 PM

Haha. Nice.

Score: 0

By Scary Guy

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 3:28 PM

Why does everyone call it a "mod" it's an easter egg.

Score: 0

By nightops

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 6:19 PM

Easter eggs are accessible if you perform the correct combination of keystrokes/moves/etc...and are undoubtedly intended to be found by the manufacturer. The Hot Coffee is considered a 'mod' because a modification to the system files (changing a particular 'switch' at the runtime) allows this area to be accessed. If that doesn't explain it...then let me know ;-)

Score: 0

By Scary Guy

edited Jul 28, 2005 - 5:36 AM

It doesn't explain it, because how do you access the command line on a ps2 or x-box?

Score: 0

By who_cares

edited Jul 28, 2005 - 10:39 AM

Personally, I feel that the 'mod' is not completely an easter egg. To implement
the 'Hot Coffee', files have to be changed to
implement the new scenes for the mini-game. If the inclusion (or exclusion) of the graphics of the mini-game can be access by a mere key strokes or set of quests presented duirng normal game play - then I (in my opinion) would consider this an easter egg.

A simple search on google will tell you how to implement the 'mod' on a console (PS2 or XBox). For the XBox, it can be implemented on a mod-chipped box or by modifying a save game/loading data using hardware from a secondary company (ActionReplay).

http://en.wikibooks.org/...as/Appendices/Game_Mods

Score: 0

By nightops

posted Aug 2, 2005 - 10:21 AM

Interesting. On the PC, you only need to edit a single line in one file and it activates, and this was the version I was referencing. The save points are merely to activate the location of the girlfriends, which are available as long as you complete certain missions anyway. The switch that you are modifying with a modded chip/replacing of a file merely flips the 'hot coffee' on, but this file really only changes a line or two. Since you aren't downloading any extra skins, textures, or maps...it really isn't a modification. It's activating an already implemented feature of the game. I believe the big question is the intent of Rock Star/TakeTwo.

Score: 0

By Mystiqq

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 2:41 PM

And the BS continues...

Score: 0

By drumcat

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 1:38 PM

You're not a good parent. You need Hillary to help.

"Hillary's Here to Help" -- sounds like a UPN 6-episode flop...

Score: 0

By DiGiTaLFX

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 1:30 PM

http://www.latimes.com/n...a-news-comment-opinions
Very good story from the other point of view.

Score: 0

By jasjenl

edited Jul 28, 2005 - 4:06 AM

Wow, there still ARE sensible people left in the USA after all. With all this GTA BS going on lately, I was starting to think otherwise..

Score: 0

By Nikkie

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 1:29 PM

''The uproar even caused Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) to jump into the fray, calling for the FTC to step in and investigate.''

When dems start kissing a** and acting like conservatives ... this is just to brown nose the repubs ..its a little twisted scheme to gain votes .

i hate politics . people will use anythign to get votes ..

anyhow , this is pointless . people need to watch the parents who buy these games for their 12 year olds while they are for 17+ year olds etc.

Score: 0

By XiND

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 12:52 PM

Oh FFS... Now everyone wants a piece of the thing.

Score: 0

By Kamika007z

edited Jul 27, 2005 - 12:45 PM

Ok, calm down. Go help people starving to death and let the parents deal with this crap.

Score: 0

By terminalx

posted Jul 27, 2005 - 2:07 PM

"The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it's making the difficult job of being a parent even harder," Clinton said at the time.

ROFL...omg do people not know how to read it says RATED M 17+ why is this so hard to understand "we have to save the children" this has nothing to do with the children...this has to do with the parents not being a parent. games like GTA are not new...blood, gore and excessive violence has been in video games for years. This should not be an issue the rating has since been changed now to AO (which means you now have to be a year older now to get it which to me is completely pointless) This still comes down to parents need to start being parents...kids can get a hold of this game whether it has a M or AO on it...it doesnt matter...the fact this is such a huge topic in politics makes me fearful of living in the US because this is what we are concerned with now...

Score: 0

By nightops

edited Jul 27, 2005 - 6:29 PM

Simple: Parent's want to shirk the responsibility of watching over their kids off on somebody else. If your kid is playing a racy/raunchy game (see: Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude), then let's go blame it on the video game maker and make them pay for the problems it caused the child (oh..and make me a few million $$$ richer as well).

Plain and simple: it's all about the $ and the media. Throw it to the media, let them go berserk because anything with violence/sex/gore/religion in it is going to make the news. Once it makes the news and a person does a 'study' on it proving the adverse 'effects' it has on society, then we can blame someone else for our problems.

-=As a society, we would rather blame someone else for our problems than to take up our own problems and realize we are the reason why the world has gone to 'hell in a hand-basket'=-

Want more proof?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4523405.stm
Why else would somebody who found a finger in ice cream run straight off to a lawyer instead of giving the finger back to the employee who lost it so they could have it sewn back on? Selfish, money/publicity-crazed mutts...every last damned one of us.

Score: 0

By z2bass

edited Jul 28, 2005 - 1:23 AM

You know what, a perfect analogy is Team America: World Police. There are some sexual scenes, very detailed as well if I might add. But it was rated R (meaning 17 yo can watch the movie) and not NC-17. (R in movie terms is equil to M in video games as NC17 is to AO) The same is true in both cases. Its both animation. Both are voice overs. Maybe ppl are racest or something, idk! People need to stop and think about the gaming experience and not whats in them and try to pull everyone's business into deep water. F*** Clinton! She has some serious problems. I hope she gets a whipping from anyone that will do it. (I meant in politics not literally!)

Score: 0

By Hellgod77

posted Jul 28, 2005 - 2:23 AM

the only people who care are over paid polititions anyway.. godforbid if a 15 year old sen a cartoon having sex.. like Adult Swim aint on cable.. or they have not seen it some where else.. GEZZ!

Score: 0

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