The ESRB has delivered the result of its investigation into Hot Coffee, the mod that enables sex mini-games in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.The organisation has come to the conclusion that the current Mature rating for the game is not enough, and have handed the game a damaging AO (Adults Only) rating.
The result is expected to have such a negative impact on sales of the game that publisher Take-Two has been forced to readjust its expected earnings for the year because of the move.
Rockstar plan to cease manufacturing the current version of the game and issue a patch that disables Hot Coffee. They also plan to release a new version of the game that will disable the mod; that version is expected for release in the fourth quarter of this year, and will retain the original Mature rating given by the ESRB.
Rockstar had previously denied the content enabled with Hot Coffee was put in the game by them, but their claim was undermined by independent tests that found the content was present in the Playstation 2 version of the game, which comes on a DVD that cannot have unofficial content added to it.
Rockstar stuck to their guns in the press release announcing the ESRB decision, blaming the new rating on the creators of third-party mods; they also mention legal action might be an option for them against companies that profit from tools that alter the content of the game:
The ESRB's 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.
[...]
The scenes depicted in the "hot coffee" modification are not playable in the retail version of the game unless the user downloads and/or installs unauthorized software that alters the content of the original retail version of the title, representing a violation of Take-Two and Rockstar's end user license agreement (EULA) and intellectual property rights. "We are deeply concerned that the publicity surrounding these unauthorized modifications has caused the game to be misrepresented to the public and has detracted from the creative merits of this award winning product," said Mr. Eibeler. Take-Two is exploring its legal options as it relates to companies that profited from creating and distributing tools for altering the content of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Take-Two press release
ESRB Guide to ratings
ESRB doing a fine job, say parents
Rumour: GTA Sex Mod Clever Marketing Ploy?
GTA Hot Coffee Also Confirmed On PS2
Interview With Assemblyman At Centre of GTA Sex Mod Row
Rockstar Again Denies Stirring Hot Coffee
Senator Clinton climbs onboard Hot-Coffee witch hunt
Watchdog Jumps Into GTA Sex Mod Debate
Modder: "the scriptcode, the models, the animations and the dialogs by the original voice-actors were all created by RockStar"
NIMF Stirs GTA Hot Coffee Debate to Next Level
GTA sex scandal goes down under
ESRB investigating San Andreas sex minigames
Rockstar Deny Sex in GTA: San Andreas
Discussion >>
Add Igniq.com to your MySpace Friends
