GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/product...-gta-sex_x.htm

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 sexual content can be unlocked with an Internet download.

The best-selling video game, which centers on gang violence, was being pulled from some shelves and slapped with a more restrictive "Adults Only" rating Wednesday after an investigation concluded that explicit sexual content could be unlocked on the game.

The producer of the game, Rockstar Games, said it had ceased production of GTA and was manufacturing a version without the sexual content.

The company's decision comes after heated pressure from politicians, parents groups and an investigation by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the ratings board for the video game industry.

The ESRB ruled that retailers had to change the game's rating from "M," which "may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older," to an "AO," which some stores refuse to carry.

"We're pulling the game off the shelf until the new version comes," says Julius Chatmon, manager of a GameStop store in Alexandria, Va. "We're not allowed to sell it at all, not even to adults." Calls to the Texas-based GameStop Corp., which operates 1,908 retail stores, were not returned Wednesday.

Controversy over the game erupted earlier this month when players began downloading an Internet "mod" that allowed them to see the sexual material on GTA's PC version. "Mods" are popular programs that allow players to alter characters and scenes.

The problem, says ESRB president Patricia Vance, "is that this mod was unlocking material that was already hidden on the game," and not created by a third party.

"We were never informed that there were these kinds of scenes on the game, even if they were never intended to be discovered by players," she says.

Officials with Rockstar and its parent corporation, Take-Two Interactive, could not be reached for comment. But on the companies' Web site, Take-Two president Paul Eibeler issued a statement that the "mod" was unauthorized.

But politicians and video game officials blasted the company for putting hidden content on the game, which has sold more than 5 million units since its release last fall.

"So many parents already feel like they are fighting a battle against violence and sexually explicit material with their hands tied behind their backs," Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said in a statement Wednesday. "We need companies to be responsible, and we need rating systems that work."

Sean Bersell of the Video Software Dealers Association says that video gamemakers often are compelled to "lock away" content that they feel will give the game an undesired rating. "But it's a dangerous practice. If they put it on the game, someone is going to figure out how to find it."

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

I hope Rockstar Games gets sued by the big retailers that sold this game. Even though the content in question wasn't accessible to ordinary users, it should have been purged completely from the final product. That sounds like negligence to me.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

People, people, people. Get a life. It's just a video game.

Parents? Do your friggin job. Video games are not the problem though it's a good distraction from the following;

Childhood obesity, drug use, alcohol use, teen pregnancy, substandard performance in school, bullying, etc etc etc.

but hey, a sex scene in a video game is the worst of all. Right?

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

:beerme:

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

Using your examples-

Think its possible that the kid might be eating a Little Debbie or a Twinkie while playing the game? Not to mention the lack of exercise that comes from playing(unless its one of those dance games).

With a video game like GTA portraying drugs, sex, and alcohol in such a positive light, what kind of influence does that portray to the child playing the game?

I would think sitting in front of a television playing video games all day and not studying would hurt a child academically rather than help him.

Dont get me wrong, im not exactly thrilled the game was pulled. But at the same time, if you are going to pull GTA, there are plenty of other games out there that are equal or worse with "M" ratings.

Didnt Playboy:The Mansion get a Mature rating? Same with Leisure Pad Larry, where the goal is to try and score. There was a game for X-box where it featured topless volleyball as well, but I cant recall the name.

GTA is clearly being labeled the scapegoat, and there are equal or worse things out there.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

where's the correlation?

as entertainment has 'degenerated,' American drug rates, violence, underage drinking have all gone down over the last 20 years.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

I'm not personally offended by the sex scene. I've actually seen it on the web and it's not that explicit. It was careless of the company that produceed the game to leave it in there and I am sure that the big retailers will make them pay. Not because the officers of the corporation are offended, but because this will offend the sensibilities of many of the communities from which they make their money.

Honestly, I'm more offended by the violence in this particular series of games. I would keep my kids away from it because of the violence, not because of the buried sex scene. Community standards are screwed up. We don't want violence in our communities, yet we tolerate it in our entertainment.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

:)

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

I think it's hilarious that a video game in which you can pick up a chainsaw and behead people on the street is being pulled for a sex scene.

BTW - it should have been rated Adults Only from the beginning.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

I killed a man once because I saw Megatron kill Optimus Prime.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

Interestnig. I did the same thing. We should form an alliance, and kill Hiliary Clinton. :dunno:

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

I once stabbed a man in the chest with a wooden stake because he had blonde hair and a fake british accent.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

I'll bet Kenny Rogers plays this game.

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

Does the game allow players to use chainsaws to behead cameramen?

Re: GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change
 

Actually, it's a possibility. There's a "Hollywood" in the game. :dancingco

All this talk makes me want to fire the game up again. :dunno: