The Associated Press reports that Florence Cohen of New York is seeking damages from Take-Two Interactive for false advertising, unfair business practices and consumer deception.
It's not the GTA series' first legal action. Previous version Grand Theft Auto: Vice City provoked a lawsuit from Haitian civil rights organisations in 2003. They were offended that the game called on players to "Kill the Haitians" and awards points for doing so. The same year, a lawsuit was threatened by the family of a man who was shot dead by two boys who told police they were bored and had decided to act out the game.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board ruled last week that the game’s existing M (Mature 17+) rating in the US would be replaced with an Adults Only rating. The Board's concern was not the crimes portrayed in the game but the sex scenes accessible to gamers who downloaded a software patch known as Hot Coffee.
It had initially been thought that the modification introduced the sexual scenes into the game, but Take-Two admitted last week that the mod simply unlocks original game content that had been rendered inaccessible to the public.
The furore led to a vote in the House of Representatives calling for an investigation into the company by the Federal Trade Commission. Take-Two confirmed on Tuesday that the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices is now conducting an inquiry into advertising claims made for the game.
Take-Two said that it would fully cooperate with the FTC inquiry, adding that it believes it complied with all applicable laws and regulations.
In a statement, Rockstar Games, the publisher, and Take-Two, its parent company, expressed their regret that consumers may have been exposed to content that was not intended to be accessible in the playable version of the title.
Take-Two said production of the current version of the game has halted and a new version will not contain the elements used to enable the Hot Coffee mod. It also promised that the process by which its games are edited will be refined and the protection of its game code enhanced to prevent future modifications.
