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House votes FTC investigation on Rockstar

W

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
yeah i know, another "Hot Coffee" thread..

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/25/news_6129723.html

Just when you thought the Hot Coffee scandal couldn't get any hotter, the heat is getting turned way up--by the federal government, no less.

Just after 7 pm on Capitol Hill today, the House of Representatives voted 355 to 21 to support a Federal Trade Commission inquiry into Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The purpose of the probe will be to determine if take-Two Interactive and its publishing subsidiary Rockstar Games deceived the voluntary Entertainment Software Ratings Board when it submitted Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The game initially received and M for Mature rating, but has since been slapped with an AO for Adults Only rating, becoming only one of only a handful of games to bear the retailer-scorned label. Rockstar in the process of manufacturing new game discs which have the hidden sex minigames removed. Those versions of the game will be rated M.

The vote, coming on the eve of a five-week recess in Congress, means that Rockstar will now come under scrutiny by the federal government. It also raises the possibility that there could be a penalty imposed if the investigation finds that the publisher committed fraud in obtaining the M rating for San Andreas
 
The purpose of the probe will be to determine if Take-Two Interactive and its publishing subsidiary Rockstar Games deceived the voluntary Entertainment Software Ratings Board when it submitted Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
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Uh, yeah.
 
Yay!!! I'm glad to see that congress is making the world safe for those impressionable people between 17 and 18. It's not like there's a war going on, or that one in five kids lives in poverty, or we have a deficit and a perplexing economy. We do not allow ourselves to get derailed from the important issues. Who will think of the 17 year olds?!! I salute you Congress.
 
Would it really have been hard for rockstart to delete something from the scene to cause it to crash?

I've done some programming, and it seems like just defacing one line would fuck it up so it would have at least crashed.. I think they assuming noone would find it.

One thing is certain, the ESRB needs a serious overhal. I call to adpot the motion picture standard.
 
As silly as this is, I, in a way, think it's a good thing.

Can't let publishers get away with that kind of shit.

And to be honest, as little of a "real" difference between M and AO as there is, AO would be looked at as much worse than M by most people (hence why stores are pulling it). If God of War is M, I think GTA: SA should be AO, even with Hot Coffee.
 
Get away with what shit? Making a minigame then choosing not to implement it into the game? How dare them. Let's retroactively get on Konami/Kojima for that password in Metal Gear on the NES that used the word 'Fuck'. Let's go after Nintendo because of the ability to make about any dirty password you want on NES Metroid.
 
Red Scarlet said:
Get away with what shit? Making a minigame then choosing not to implement it into the game? How dare them. Let's retroactively get on Konami/Kojima for that password in Metal Gear on the NES that used the word 'Fuck'. Let's go after Nintendo because of the ability to make about any dirty password you want on NES Metroid.
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You know, the ESRB didn't exist back then. :P
 
Wait a second... did the ESRB become qualified as some sort of regulatory group at some point? I'm not sure how this really qualifies as a FTC issue. Well, I suppose you COULD construe it under violation of contract (agreement between Rockstar and the ESRB), but that seems like a bit of a stretch.
 
It's times like this that I wish the runt who discovered "Hot Coffee" just would've let Rockstar blame it on the mod community. How would it of hurt him to just do that?
 
Red Scarlet said:
Get away with what shit? Making a minigame then choosing not to implement it into the game? How dare them. Let's retroactively get on Konami/Kojima for that password in Metal Gear on the NES that used the word 'Fuck'. Let's go after Nintendo because of the ability to make about any dirty password you want on NES Metroid.
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Yeah no shit - let's take every game ever made and hack them all to see if there's any offensive shit that got missed during approval. Fucking ridiculous...
 
i think congress can vote to have a panel on anything.. its just research and hype

rockstar brought this upon themselves however.. they should have had a better explaination/defense for it at the start and never allowed it to be re-rated to AO, since the content is not user accessible normally.
 
It just came out today that the nudity in the Hot Coffee mod was completely added by the modders and was not put in the game by Rockstar. In light of this new info the Adults Only rating for San Andreas is even more ridiculous than previously thought.
 
In a statement, Upton recently said he was "outraged by the brazenness of Rockstar Games in their effort to do an end-run around the ratings system.... Rockstar GamesÂ’ deceit has severely undermined the integrity of the ratings system."
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see what rockstar did?
 
DavidDayton said:
Wait a second... did the ESRB become qualified as some sort of regulatory group at some point? I'm not sure how this really qualifies as a FTC issue. Well, I suppose you COULD construe it under violation of contract (agreement between Rockstar and the ESRB), but that seems like a bit of a stretch.
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Obviously the government thinks the ESRB is doing a lousy job at "regulating" so they're jumping in.
 
---- said:
It just came out today that the nudity in the Hot Coffee mod was completely added by the modders and was not put in the game by Rockstar. In light of this new info the Adults Only rating for San Andreas is even more ridiculous than previously thought.
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Huh? How did the modders sneak it into the PS2 and Xbox versions?
 
It could count as corporate fraud if rockstar knowingly neglected to show the hot coffee scene for fear of an AO rating and a loss of revenue from retailers who refuse to carry AO games.

It doesn't matter for them, now, because they've already sold several million copies of GTA to retailers. But it could count as fraud, and they might be forced to pay a HUGE fine to retailers for conning them.

Worst case scenario: rockstar has to reimburse retailers for all GTA:SA sales LTD. That would be a nine figure fine, most likely.
 
---- said:
It just came out today that the nudity in the Hot Coffee mod was completely added by the modders and was not put in the game by Rockstar. In light of this new info the Adults Only rating for San Andreas is even more ridiculous than previously thought.
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uh, so how was the 'hot coffee' mod unlocked on PS2 via action replay codes?
 
Well, as much as I think this whole thing is stupid - Rockstar was fucking stupid to leave it in the game - period.

Don't stick your neck out unless you are expecting it to get cut off - dumbasses.

They could have easily not included it in the game, no two ways about it.

Rockstar tempted fate, and it bit them in the ass.
 
Wario64 said:
uh, so how was the 'hot coffee' mod unlocked on PS2 via action replay codes?
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THE HACKERS SNUCK INTO THE ROCKSTAR PRODUCTION PLANTS AND HACKED INTO THE ROCKSTAR MAINFRAME AND ADDED DATA TO THE GTA:SA FINAL COPY!!!!

Duh
 
GaimeGuy said:
You know, the ESRB didn't exist back then. :P
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I know. But that shouldn't excuse other evil developers from having inappropriate content! Right! Let's screw over everybody! And besides, NES Metroid was rereleased..with an ESRB rating (which I have no idea if it used passwords or not..if not, then Metroid 1 on Zero Mission does).
 
Dr_Cogent said:
Don't stick your neck out unless you are expecting it to get cut off - dumbasses.
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Actually they rolled up the window but some hacker came in smashed the window and pulled the neck back out for everyone to cut off...
 
ManaByte said:
Huh? How did the modders sneak it into the PS2 and Xbox versions?
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Is there any nudity in the PS2 and Xbox versions? I haven't even heard that the Xbox version has been accessed yet. The modders are now claiming that they added the nudity to the game though...




Dear Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Yee, and Mr. Thompson

In recent statements by the ESRB, they have accused the mod community of undermining their ratings by putting sexually explicit material into PC games, namely San Andreas, which was already rated "M". However, if you look into a game by the name of "Singles - Flirt up your Life", it becomes quite clear they are doing a good job of that all by themselves. This "M" rated game features full frontal nudity (and not androgynous "barbies" like The Sims) and characters engaging in interactive sexual scenes. Screenshots of this game can be seen over at IGN: http://media.pc.ign.com/media/667/667197/imgs_1.html

And for that matter, what of the game "Playboy: The Mansion", which is based on the skin magazine, and is also rated "M"?!

Seeing as these game contains *far* more graphic depictions of sex than anything found in San Andreas, including the scenes involving nudity which we modded into the game (by default, "Hot Coffee" did contain fully clothed actors...), how exactly have we undermined their rating? If anything, what was left on the disc by Rockstar and modded into the game by us doesn't even come close to what the ESRB itself considers "M" material, let alone rising to their very own standards of "AO". To blame the mod community for this is not only hypocritical, but quite deceptive as well. Not to mention the fact that they've essentially had one title banned for containing "pornography", while they let more explicit games get by them.

For the record, we feel that "M" is an appropriate rating for these games, as their contents are no worse than R-rated films which have long been considered "okay" for ages 17 and up. However, we do agree with you all that that the ESRB is a big joke. Especially now that they're attacking their own customers for content which they obviously don't seem to have a problem with. Why should we the consumers be persecuted for adding something to a game which the ESRB has already demonstrated as perfectly acceptable for titles in the "M" range? San Andreas originally carried a warning for "strong sexual content", and judging by their previous ratings, we would insist that we released the "Hot Coffee" mod well within the ESRB's (apparently broken) guidelines.

Best Regards,
the administration of gtagarage.com
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http://1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3142280
 
---- said:
Is there any nudity in the PS2 and Xbox versions? I haven't even heard that the Xbox version has been accessed yet. The modders are now claiming that they added the nudity to the game though...
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I don't know if the Xbox version has been accessed yet, but the PS2 one has and all it needs is a couple of PAR codes (one to max all girlfriends and another to access the hidden content).
 
They deserve some backlash for letting undisclosed content of this nature hit the streets. But the ESRB should deal with them, and the media should smear them a bit, and that should be the end of it. Way too much is being made of this, and a governmental inquiry is a complete waste of money.
 
Rockstar apparently hates freedom, time to send in the troops!

Hence force if you play that type of music and you are famous you will now be called a Freedom Star.... Freedom and Roll is also now the name of that music genre.....
 
FFS... why is this exploding so dramatically? This wasn't an E-rated game, or even a T. It was an M rated game that was hacked down to avoid an AO (and thus have their sales restricted), but they didn't hack out the bits well enough.

They didn't hide it for people to find, in my mind they were just interested in getting it out at the preannounced launch date that they'd spent millions setting up. They didn't do a good enough job, and thus violated ESRB standards (and have been fined _50 million_ for it and are issuing replacement copies, PC version patches, and stickers to replace existing units), but the ESRB is a voluntary independent organization, so why is the government looking into it?

And again, this wasn't "Billy Dragon's Magical Twinkle Adventure" with a hidden controllable animation of Billy dry-humping the Magic Princess, this was GT-friggin-A with an M rating and an arseload of descriptors relating to the subject anyway. Not cleaning out the sequence well enough was wrong, but the "children" should not have been affected by this like some make it out to be, unless their mums aren't watching what they're playing.
 
puck1337 said:
They deserve some backlash for letting undisclosed content of this nature hit the streets. But the ESRB should deal with them, and the media should smear them a bit, and that should be the end of it. Way too much is being made of this, and a governmental inquiry is a complete waste of money.
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This has to do with corporate fraud.

Did rockstar knowingly not show the ESRB the hot coffee mod with an ulterior motive of making sure the game reached as many retailers as possible and that they got as much revenue as possible?

It's the same thing as when a company lies about profit forcasts to boost its stock value.
 
I'm glad the House of Represenatives are doing what they are supposed to do. *rolleyes*

With so many more pressing things at hand (out of control war, Rove outing a CIA operative, etc), this exercise in waste further solidfies my low opinion of the government. Now, I agree that R* blew it (forget about whether or not they planned for the mini game to be accessed--the code was there and someone was going to find it. This is plain carelessness if they were well aware that the mini game would put them at an AO rating). However, the importance of their failure to meet rating standards isn't worthy of government intervention. This is pandering, pure and simple.
 
More misappropriation of funds. In other words, Congressmen are going about their usual chores. :( Gimme a fucking break already. PEACE.
 
considering I'm not a big fan of them or GTA series, anything bad for Rockstar is good news in my book...

that said, things like this are only good news for them as it equals dumb publicity, more sales, and rumors of the games being banned causing sales frenzy...
 
ge-man said:
I'm glad the House of Represenatives are doing what they are supposed to do. *rolleyes*

With so many more pressing things at hand (out of control war, Rove outing a CIA operative, etc), this exercise in waste further solidfies my low opinion of the government. Now, I agree that R* blew it (forget about whether or not they planned for the mini game to be accessed--the code was there and someone was going to find it. This is plain carelessness if they were well aware that the mini game would put them at an AO rating). However, the importance of their failure to meet rating standards isn't worthy of government intervention. This is pandering, pure and simple.
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uh huh. And "pandering" to media hyped up outrage about the Rove/Plane issue would be different, how exactly? And what exactly do you propose that the House does about the current situation in Iraq?
 
You can express your bullets all around the city mowing down pedestrians and old women. You can beat people until death splattering their blood onto the walk way while continuing to kick or batter their lifeless motionless body. You can shoot people with a shotgun at point blank range .You can cause a combo car blowout by massing cars in close proximity of each other. You can do drive-by's uzi'ng a whole other gang while running over passers by.











You have dry sex with babes in a part of the game that's hidden in code and it's..
scream.jpg
 
Over here! LOOK ! something pissy and unimportant to get upset about!!!
No - FORGET about Iraq!
Look over HERE!!!!!
No... look .... stop worrying about Iraq and shit...
LOOK at this dirty pixel sex corrupting our young 17 year olds (60%+ of which HAVE ALREADY HAD ACTUAL INTERCORSE NO DOUBT)

... set the sex-alert to PURPLE
 
Uter said:
uh huh. And "pandering" to media hyped up outrage about the Rove/Plane issue would be different, how exactly? And what exactly do you propose that the House does about the current situation in Iraq?
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Media hyped outrage over the Plame case? Am I living in Bizzaro world here? I thought things like outing a CIA operative were consider treason? When did that become a light matter?

As for the war issue, my counter point is what will this bullshit about GTA do? Most folks don't even realize what the issue is or have the know how and tools to access the content in question. Why do we need a FTC investigation? R* was in the wrong--fine them, fix ESRB system to prevent any future misshaps of this nature, and then move the on.
 
:lol

and the demand for the game rises once more.
Rockstar are geniuses...
sure its off shelves now... but watch, once it's re-released, sales will be through the fucking roof.

those brilliant bastards.
 
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