Grand Theft Auto changed to an adults only game!

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Dis


Hilary doesn't like sex. Why do you think Bill had to get it elsewhere?

Dis, not sure how to break this to you, but not everyone who dislikes porn, dislikes sex. This is particularly true of WOMEN.

[Dis]

I'm not talking about women. I'm talking about Hilary Clinton. I have my doubts she's actually a woman.


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edit: I better edit that. I was just kidding. I don't want people to think I'm a chauvenist pig that believes any woman who acts strong and takes a leadership role isn't a woman in some way. I have no problem with women in leadership positions. I just have a problem with Hilary.

[lord of the mark]

perhaps i wasnt clear - i dont know what Ms clintons personal preferences are in this matter - i think the constituency she is appealing to with this is largely women, especially middle of the road suburban swing voter type women. These are folks who dont like either the violence or sex in vid games, who dont much care for "lets blame the parents" (geez, ive gotta balance work and child care, and they like want me to study games too, just so i can tell my kids what they cant get???), but like the compromise of ratings systems, but dont trust game companies not to cheat on the system. Now the fact that retailers like Walmart, whose principle market is NOT suburban women, its working class folks, esp in rural and exurban areas, wont carry sex games, but will carry violent games, is largely whats driving the otherwise silly ESRB distinction between M and AO. See the rating system was a compromise among different forces - politicians, retailers, game companies, etc. So naturally its messy.

[Guynemer]

While that explanation is spot on, LOTM, it still doesn't do nearly enough to erase the absolute absurdity of the whole situation--a game where one is encouraged to mow down pedestrians, shoot police, commit arson, and pimp whores, is being pulled off the shelves because you can also have sex if you enter a cheat code.

I mean, for ****'s sake. What the hell is wrong with this country?

[pchang]

And the cheat code is?

The whole rating thing is voluntary. Ratings board members only see what the game companies send them. This is almost always before the game goes gold. Ratings board members don't know how to play the games (they can last more than a minute or two before losing) and certainly don't know how to find cheat codes and enter them.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Guynemer
While that explanation is spot on, LOTM, it still doesn't do nearly enough to erase the absolute absurdity of the whole situation--a game where one is encouraged to mow down pedestrians, shoot police, commit arson, and pimp whores, is being pulled off the shelves because you can also have sex if you enter a cheat code.

I mean, for ****'s sake. What the hell is wrong with this country?

Im sorry, Guyn, i cant address that. Ive been repeatedly criticized here by a certain poster (one who knows a great deal about GTA) for discussing the content of GTA ignorantly (as ive never played it - look, ive got a 13 year old, i have chosen - along with my wife - not to bring such games into our house)

I guess what is wrong with our country is that we are culturally diverse - we have folks who think sex and violence (and anything) else in media are cool, we have folks who, like some of the euros here, are troubled by violence but not sex, we have plenty of people who are troubled by both, and and we have some folks (rural, blue collar, maybe?) who are less troubled by violence than sex. Somehow we've all got to live together. Actually, I think thats whats RIGHT about our country.

BTW, has it occured to anyone, that teenagers are alot more likely to have children, say, then to shoot a cop? Not that i like that line of reasoning - you dont have to kill someone for exposure to violence to be damaging, and on the whole i find violence in media rather more disturbing - but Im not sure its fair to be so denigrating of those who disagree.

[Guynemer]

To an extent you're right, LOTM. It's not a problem with the country at all that people can have these disparate beliefs and live together.

But I'm going to go ahead and say it: there is something wrong, terribly wrong, with people who object to sex but not to violence when it comes to kids. And it is especially worrying that these people hold so much clout in our society.

Look, I've played the game. I loved it. It has a great story, and is a lot of fun. But I'm 27 years old. There is no way in hell that I'd allow a child to play it; when I'm working and I see a patient sitting in his room playing it, it takes everything in me to keep from running in, ripping the PS2 out of the TV, and slapping his mother silly. If they took out all the murder and arson and robbery, and just replaced it with sex? I wouldn't have the same reaction.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

FOR TEH CHILDREN

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/22/news_6129609.html

How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and antigaming activist has done his share to see that games don't fall into the wrong hands. And lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.

Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree-based GTA franchise. In the past, he's represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including the triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.

His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game-cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.

Thompson is on a roll...and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a game that doesn't involve guns, carjacking, or prostitutes: He's going after Electronic Arts' The Sims 2.

Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and EA would be forced to recall all copies of The Sims 2. However, it's what's under the blur that Thompson's after. And what happens when the blur is lifted? A simple mannequin-esque smooth body, according to EA.

Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."

Amazing. As much as I dislike EA, I gotta root for them here. This is just absurd.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Guynemer
Look, I've played the game. I loved it. It has a great story, and is a lot of fun. But I'm 27 years old. There is no way in hell that I'd allow a child to play it; when I'm working and I see a patient sitting in his room playing it, it takes everything in me to keep from running in, ripping the PS2 out of the TV, and slapping his mother silly.

Why? What's wrong with violence?

[/serious question]

[Verto]

Add GameStop to the list of stores giving the game the boot.

[Nostromo]

GTA is scapegoat of sorts. God of War also has sex scenes, with naked women and all, but its rated M.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


Why? What's wrong with violence?

[/serious question]

Um, hurting people is bad, mmkay?

[:) Smiley]

Originally posted by Guynemer
If they took out all the murder and arson and robbery, and just replaced it with sex? I wouldn't have the same reaction.

They'd have to change the name of the game then, to something that I probably am not allowed to post here.

[Guynemer]

Fair point.

[Verto]

Circuit City Stores, Inc. announced today it is taking immediate steps to halt the sale of the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and is removing the title from its stores and Web site.

The action comes in response to a ruling by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) that the video game's rating has been changed from "Mature 17+" to "Adults Only 18+." Under longstanding company policy, Circuit City does not sell "Adults Only 18+" rated video games.