Hillary Clinton Steps In

[SAS]

I've been reading about the controversy surrounding the Hot Coffee Mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas thinking it would die down, but now every man and his dog is coming out of the wood work to take a piece of the action.

The Hot Coffee Mod opens a mini game allowing CJ to get down and dirty with his girlfriend in the bedroom. Although it's not highly explicit, it is enough to cause outrage amongst certain circles.

The question remains however, was the mini-game content left hidden in the game code by Rockstar? or does the Hot Coffee mod add the actual content itself?

Hillary Clinton is set to "discuss legislative solutions to keep inappropriate video game content out of the hands of young people". She has been joined by representatives of the National Institute on Media and the Family, the New America Foundation and the Family Violence Prevention Fund in her quest.

The mod is also under investigation by the ESRB in North America and the OFLC in Australia, with the possible outcome of a total ban on GTA: San Andreas if it is proven the game contains the sex mini game.

 

[Frizz]

I suspect it was embedded in the code, a little like in GTA 3 where it was possible to make GTA Multi-Theft Auto.

The mod just gives the code a little push.

 

[Jonty]

From a legal perspective (*snooze* ) it raises the interesting question of whether a hidden piece of code, not advertised or documented but included in the final version of the game, should be subject to the scrutiny of classification boards etc.?

There have long been easter eggs in games, but if hidden and unadvertised should makers or publishers have to disclose such snippets for scrutiny? Where does one draw the line between an easter egg and a subtle in-joke? In Doom 3 there's a screen with 'Valve Running', thought to be a dig at Valve Software and their then delayed Half-Life 2. Does his violate Valve's trademark? Or in Quake III Arena there's a severed head of one of id's employees. Would this bloody, humanoid violence violate some of the censorship regimes in countries given that it appears regardless of gore settings? Whilst these are weak examples with no real legal merit, and the issues in GTA:SA are different, the difficulty in creating robust legal boundaries remains the same.

Kind Regards

 

[Frizz]

It's strange they'd rather censor consensual sex (however fictional) ahead of cold blooded murder with a cleaver et al (however fictional).

Huh?

 

[nath]

"discuss legislative solutions to keep inappropriate video game content out of the hands of young people".

Well I agree with that tbh.

It's strange they'd rather censor consensual sex (however fictional) ahead of cold blooded murder with a cleaver et al (however fictional).

However that is one of the aspects modern civilisation that really perplexes me. Sex is is more offensive than violence. WHY?

 

[JingleBells]

The thing about the hot coffee mod is that you physically have to alter the game to make it appear, its not as if you just "press left, right, up, down, square, triangle, pentagon etc...." and it appears. I can't see how a games company can be fined for something the user has to actively enable, and cannot stumble upon in game accidentally. What incensed me was the reg article had a quote from hillary saying 50% of children aged 7-14 can buy games rated 'M' (18), is that the games companys fault!!!! The blame always seems to be removed from those responsible who, IMO, are the parents and the shop owners.

 

[itcheh]

What makes me laugh is you need to download the mod from the Internet (as mentioned above) for nothing more than a titilating virtual sex sequence ...

... now show me anyone (kids included) with internet access who can't download hard core pr0n if they are that interested to do so!

And is this any different to what Leisure Suit Larry has been doing for years?

 

[Dorin]

this whole mess is kinda stupid in the ages of the internet which is full of "14teenhcbang.avi" stuff.... oh well .p

 

[Mazling]

I don't see why games should be filtered any more than any other media. You should be able to buy this stuff if you want to. Filter the shops.

 

[Chilly]

don't forget the game code has to be altered which is illegal, so this whole thing is a load of rubbish anyway since to unlock the scenes you need to commit a crime (infringement of the end user licence)! It is just a case of Hilary Clinton's PA droid telling her to moan about some puter game shes never played about an issue neither the Droid nor herself have even the most basic grasp over. It's not as if Bambi had bestiality scene where some farmer does the dirty with bambi!
GTA is a game for mature audiences, most of whom will find the mod entertaining and about as shocking as a cheese sandwich.
Fuck off you stupid american, attention seeking tart!

 

[Deady]

Typical Americans.

Its fine for your child to play a game where he can join a gang, steal cars, run people over, and kill police officers.

But wait! This terrible game shows two adults having consensual sex! OMGZ BAN!

 

[old.Tohtori]

The simple point is: Mature game.

Sayes on the tin.

Mature = not for kids.

Any kid over 15 has seen porn. Hell, any kid over 10 these days.

They get more graphic in sex ed courses at school.

It's not for kids, so no kid should see it, the problem is people selling r rated games to non r players.

 

[Ukle]

As nobody else has added this latest info -

Available on the PS2 version without a Mod

If you read the original press release they weren't lying so they in the clear there but it now does add fuel to what the American nutters are on about. Also the situation in the UK is unclear given the laws on explicit porn.