Details of Hot Coffee settlement revealed.

[epmode]

I have a problem with companies not following the rules and marketing an AO game as an M game. Somebody correct me if I'm way off on the facts here.

You're serious? There is no way to get to this "AO content" with only a PS2 and the game. You need to hack it with 3rd party software/hardware/whatever. The lawsuit is a joke, this settlement even moreso.

[Frogacuda]

I think only children over the age of 17 suggested by an M rating and under the age of the 18 years suggested by an AO should be eligible for shit.

[The_Meach]

Look, this was a long time ago and I don't remember how you unlocked the scene. What was the 3rd party item that was needed to unlock it? Why would Take-Two/Rockstar/whoever was running this franchise at the time NOT report this? If it was just some coders goofing, it's a different story. But if they knew it was in there, knew it would get an AO (and how could they not?), they should've disclosed it.

[gamevet]

Look, this was a long time ago and I don't remember how you unlocked the scene. What was the 3rd party item that was needed to unlock it? Why would Take-Two/Rockstar/whoever was running this franchise at the time NOT report this? If it was just some coders goofing, it's a different story. But if they knew it was in there, knew it would get an AO (and how could they not?), they should've disclosed it.

The whole thing is a joke. Rockstar didn't remove the code for the mini-game and a hack for the PC version unlocked it. Should it really be Rockstar's fault that someone hacked content that wasn't supposed to be viewed?

Here's the whole event:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Coffee_mod

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, developed by Rockstar North. Public awareness of the existence of the minigame arrived with the release of the Hot Coffee mod, created for one version of the product (the 2005 release for Windows-based computers). This mod enables access to the minigame.

The minigame portrays simulated sexual intercourse between the main character and any of the main character's girlfriends. The objective for the player is to try to improve the relationship between the two. The name of the mod is derived from the girlfriends' offer for the main character to come into their homes for "coffee" — a euphemism for sex.
Although the "Hot Coffee" minigame was completely disabled and its existence was only highlighted after the mod's release for the PC version in June 9, 2005,[1] the assets for the minigame were also discovered in both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game, and people found ways to enable the minigame via console video game hacking tools. By the middle of July 2005, the minigame's discovery attracted considerable controversy from lawmakers and politicians, prompting the game to be re-rated as an adult game, and pulled from some shelves. An updated version of San Andreas has since been released with the minigame removed completely, allowing the game to regain its original rating. A patch for the original version of the game, which disables the minigame and crashes the game if one attempts to access it, has also been released.

The revelation of the minigame sparked a fair amount of controversy around GTA:SA, with some politicians firing harsh words at both the game's developer and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the organization which establishes content ratings for video games in North America. It has also rekindled the debate over the influence of video games in general with new protests against several other games such as Killer7, The Sims 2, and Bully. The affair was nicknamed "Hot Coffeegate" at its height.

Jack Thompson was one of the first to criticize the game for its recently found content. Thompson believes that violent media are one of the main sources linked to violent crime in America. Thompson has lashed out against Rockstar Games on several occasions for previous games they have developed.

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton has jumped into the fray by suggesting new regulations be put on video games sales.[8] The ESRB is also conducting an investigation into whether the game's publisher lied about the game's content in an attempt to avoid the Adults Only 18+ rating. Also, Congress just passed a resolution to have the Federal Trade Commission investigate whether Rockstar intentionally undermined the ESRB by having the content in the game.[9]
In New York, a class action lawsuit has been filed by Florence Cohen, an 85-year old grandmother who purchased the game for her 14-year old grandson (according to the old rating of M, the game is typically considered inappropriate for this age). Cohen's lawsuit claims that Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the game, are guilty of deception, false advertising, fraud and abuse. The accusation of deception is based on the change from M-rated to AO, meaning according to the lawsuit that the original rating was a deceptive practice.[10]
There was also a protest that occurred at Rockstar's headquarters. A protest group known as the Peaceholics organized a protest on August 4, 2005. The group organized against San Andreas as well as the upcoming game Bully, which they wanted canceled because of fears that the content could inspire children to become bullies themselves. The protesters had signs that read "Put the Cuffs On Rockstar", "Prosecute Rockstar Games; they are felons", "Hey hey, ho ho, Rockstar Games has got to go".[11] Protesters had several demands for Rockstar:

1. Not to release Bully under any circumstances. (Bully was eventually released and has not been banned, but there are movements by protesters for the latter to happen.)

2. Volunteer to sell its violent and sexually explicit games in adult video stores only.

3. Let parents return Grand Theft Auto for a full refund until they do a national awareness campaign to educate parents of content and possible effects.

4.Create a fund for victims of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and car-jackings, etc.

5. Make a national apology for misleading and lying to children, parents, and legislators about their intentions and causing insurance premiums to sky rocket.

6. Give a written response within five business days of receipt of these demands

[rsigley]

i mean only $35 thats kind of messed up, i was watching hot coffee once and i got a little turned on so im going to man up and admit i had it out and was touching it

anyway i got so lost in the intense sex scene i didnt realize that my fiance had come home and she caught me and was so terrified that i was masturbating to it that she left me and i havent heard her since

so hot coffee cost me an expensive engagement ring, 4 years of my life, and set my life on a difference course and you think $35 is going to fix that, fuck you

[Yoshi]

I'll send you the quarter to get another ring from a gum ball machine.

[rsigley]

also i forgot i can never listen to any bon jovi again because bon jovi was her favorite artists and everytime i hear it im fforced to think about her and the good times we had and the future hot coffee cost us and you cant really put a price on things like that

rockstar needs to man up on this one

[Opaque]

I have 2 copies of the orginal disc, does this mean I get twice the dough.

Why did you buy the same fucking game twice?

Weren't you like twelve when the game came out?

[Cheebs]

What makes this whole thing unbearably stupid is the following:

* I was offended and upset by the ability of consumers to modify and alter the GTA:SA First Edition Disc to display the Hot Coffee content;

So, a consumer has to be offended by a mod that he has to go out of his way to perform, but not offended by the hooker bangin' and killin' already in the game.

Also, any game can be modded for anything. Should we all get money since the somebody can change the goombas in SMB to wangs?

[DirtySouth]

This whole thing is obviously asinine, and shouldn't have come about to begin with. Why must the soccer moms always have to be placated? It's interesting that wanton violence is ok, but any sort of sexual act will destroy the Universe.

My question is this: Rockstar/Take-Two obviously was cognizant of the current climate of present-day America where everyone is looking for a scapegoat to blame for the ills of society Videogames are a typically easy target to blame as the catalyst of the decline of western civilization. Why put the content in the game at all? It's almost like someone there put the code in place hoping for some enterprising hacker to gain access to the scene as to revitalize interest in the game once all the hype waned...the "no publicity is bad publicity" belief. (/conspiracy)

I hope this is all just some sort of elaborate hoax, and anyone who tries to file a claim is really putting their names into a database to be launched into the Sun.