The breaking-and-entering, theft, car-jacking, train-jacking, police corruption, vigilantism, illegal drugs, pimping, gang warfare, arson, assault and mass-murder in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas appear to be comparatively uncontroversial; but the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) launched an investigation after the unauthorised internet modification became widely available earlier this month, revealing scenes of a sexual nature.
The ESRB wants to determine whether there had been a violation of ESRB rules requiring full disclosure of pertinent content.
It had originally been thought that the modification introduced the sexual scenes into the game, but it now appears that the mod simply unlocks original game content that had been rendered inaccessible to the public.
"After a thorough investigation, we have concluded that sexually explicit material exists in a fully rendered, unmodified form on the final discs of all three platform versions of the game (i.e., PC CD-ROM, Xbox and PS2)," said Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB. "However, the material was programmed by Rockstar to be inaccessible to the player and they have stated that it was never intended to be made accessible.”
The Hot Coffee scene takes place when the game's lead character, CJ, is invited into his girlfriend's bedroom after buying her dinner and flowers. Without the patch, the player sees the house from a distance and hears suggestive sounds. With the patch installed, the player controls CJ's amorous encounter. His girlfriend exclaims, "You the man! Oh Yeah! You the man!"
Until Wednesday, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had an M (Mature 17+) rating. It has now been given an Adults Only rating – an alteration that is expected to have an immediate impact on the revenue stream of its publisher, Rockstar Games, and Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software.
Edinburgh-based Rockstar has told retailers to stop selling the game until their stock has either been re-stickered as Adults Only or replaced, and confirmed that it will make available a downloadable patch for existing game owners to make the modification inoperable.
However, while most mainstream stores are willing to sell M-rated games, they are not so keen to sell Adult Only games, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has already been pulled from the shelves in Wal-Mart and Best Buy, according to reports.
According to Take-Two, Rockstar has ceased manufacturing of the current version of the title and will begin working on a version of the game with enhanced security to prevent the Hot Coffee modifications.
Paul Eibeler, Take-Two's President and CEO, said: "The ESRB's decision to re-rate a game based on an unauthorised third party modification presents a new challenge for parents, the interactive entertainment industry and anyone who distributes or consumes digital content”
"We are deeply concerned that the publicity surrounding these unauthorised modifications has caused the game to be misrepresented to the public and has detracted from the creative merits of this award winning product," he added.
The company says it 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.
A games developer (who was not involved with Grand Theft Auto) told OUT-LAW he suspects that Rockstar wrote the Hot Coffee scenes and self-censored before the game's release, effectively removing the links to content that it considered too extreme. "Either that or they knew someone would find it and the PR storm would make the game even more desirable," said the developer who asked not to be named.
The ESRB is worried that its rating system has also lost credibility.
In a statement the Board warned publishers that in future they will have to submit any pertinent content shipped in final product even if is not intended to ever be accessed during game play, or remove it from the final disc.
It has also called on the computer and games industry to proactively protect their games from illegal modifications by third parties, particularly when they serve to undermine the accuracy of the rating.
The game already carries an 18 rating in the UK.
