*** controversy over GTA game

[Monseratto]

Has anyone tried this mod on this game?

Best-selling game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is being investigated in the US over reports that it contains ***ually explicit mini-games hidden in its code.
The controversy surrounds a download available on the net which is said to unlock secret *** scenes.

The Grand Theft Auto series of crime games have proved phenomenally popular. They are credited with kick-starting the driving-and-shooting genre of gaming.

Now it is under fire over whether the game contains hidden graphic ***ual content.

Software code developed by GTA Dutch fan Patrick Wildenborg is said to have unlocked mini-games in the PC version of San Andreas that allows players to make game characters perform ***ually explicit acts.

The industry body which regulates games in the US, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), said it had opened an investigation into the so-called Hot Coffee modification.

The results of the investigation could determine if San Andreas retains its M rating, which is given to games for ages 17 and older, or is reclassified as an adults-only title.

This kind of rating could lead big stores in the US to limit sales or take it off the shelves altogether. The fan at the centre of the controversy, Patrick Wildenborg, has said he did not create the *** scenes, but enabled them with his modification.

"But all this material is completely inaccessible in an unmodded version of the game," he said in a statement on his website.

"It can therefore not be considered a cheat, Easter Egg or hidden feature But is most probably just leftover material from a gameplay idea that didn't make the final release."

[theveed]

i dont think it should matter, it's clearly rated as a M game anyway. For adults lang dapat ang game.

[ghosthunter]

I was able to downlaod the mod but not yet tested it to see if it works.

[Monseratto]

I was able to downlaod the mod but not yet tested it to see if it works.

Just got the DVD version of the game. Paki kuwento na lang anong mini-games na yan :clown: :clown:

[wilcats]

mas mganda ba PC version?

[baurtwellXUV]

mas ok ang PC version

[flakez]

ung playboy mansion may topless saka foreplay. hehehe.

[Monseratto]

Last time I checked Data Blitz this title is already sold-out. The real one comes with a City Guide Book.

Best-selling game now off limits for teens

Company admits explicit *** built into game disc

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- The video game industry on Wednesday changed to adults-only the rating of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," a best-selling title in which explicit ***ual content can be unlocked with an Internet download.

The decision followed intense pressure from politicians and media watch groups.

Grand Theft Auto's producer, Rockstar Games, said it was now working on a new version of the game that would satisfy the original "M" for mature rating. It said it would provide new labels to any retailer willing to continue selling the version currently on store shelves.

Rockstar's parent, Take Two Interactive, also admitted for the first time Wednesday that the *** scenes had been built into the retail game -- not just the PC version but also those written for Xbox and PlayStation2 consoles.

Company officials had previously suggested that a modification created by outsiders added the scenes to the game, last year's best seller in consoles.

"There is *** content in the disc," Take-Two spokesman Jim Ankner told The Associated Press. "The editing and finalization of any game is a complicated task and it's not uncommon for unused and unfinished content to remain on the disc."

Rating change will hurt company
The *** scenes, inserted in a game whose main character seeks bloody vengeance on gang-filled streets while pickup scantily clad women, had prompted outrage from parent's groups and politicians including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York.

In a statement, the president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) said the *** scenes were programmed by Rockstar "to be inaccessible to the player."

But ESRB chief Patricia Vance also acknowledged that the "credibility and utility" of the industry-run board's initial "M" rating had been "seriously undermined."

Many retailers sell "M" rated games, which "may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older," according to the rating board, but won't sell "AO"-labeled games at all.

Take-Two also said Wednesday that it expects to suffer financially. It lowered its expectations for its current quarter and fiscal year to set aside funds for returns of the games, and figured that net sales could decrease by more than $50 million during the quarter ending July 31.

Shares of Take-Two rose 12 cents to close at $27.07 on the Nasdaq, but later dropped $3.07, or 11.3 percent, in after-hours activity.

The ratings change was vindication for Patrick Wildenbourg, the Dutch programmer who developed and freely distributed the modification that unlocked the controversial content in the game's PC version.

Such "mods" are wildly popular in the hardcore gaming community and -- authorized or not -- exploit the medium's interactive nature to extend the playing life of many popular titles.

Group calls for recall, refunds
Take-Two president Paul Eibeler stressed in a statement that only an unauthorized "mod" makes the *** scenes available, and said "the decision to re-rate a game based on an unauthorized third party modification presents a new challenge for parents, the interactive entertainment industry and anyone who distributes or consumes digital content."

That prompted an angry reaction from David Walsh, founder of the National Institute on the Media and the Family, a Minneapolis-based group that monitors the industry.

Walsh criticized Rockstar for what he called a "carefully worded statement" that leaves the impression that "modders" are responsible for the content. "They did not take responsibility for the fact that this code was created within their company and placed on disks and shipped to responsible retailers."

The Parents Television Council, another group that monitors *** and violence in the media, said it was pleased with the rating switch but called on Rockstar to voluntarily recall the game and offer refunds to anyone who purchased it.

"I tip my cap to that first step of showing responsibility," said Tim Winter, the council's executive director. "Phase two needs to be absolutely getting to the bottom of this coding issue. How did it get into that game? How did it get past the ratings board?"

The ESRB was formed 11 years ago amid congressional pressure to crack down on violent video games. The board now issues ratings for more than 1,000 game titles each year.

Game makers must submit a lengthy form describing the most extreme content, and turn over visual samples and scripted dialogue as each game nears the final stages of development.

[theveed]

babaw naman...

[niky]

The problem is, in litigation happy America, they will try to get every penny back from old, scratched and discarded copies of the game merely because of ***ual content. While it's true Rockstar did program those scenes in, they were not meant for public consumption and the game is NEVER supposed to come into the hands of underage gamers anyway. What IS the difference between "Mature" and "Adults Only" if you can't sell either to kids? If they argue that "Mature" is for 'adults, but can be displayed to kids', then that's a double standard right there. Kids should never be exposed to these types of games, period.

I enjoyed "Vice City" (shame on me), and it saddens me that such brilliant programmers could be so sloppy as to leave those bits of code floating around in the game.