I'm not sure how many of you have been closely watching the whole Hot Coffee mod thing, any big Grand Theft Auto fan most likely has. Though in a long investigation of the game by the ESRB, the game has been temporarily changed to Adult Only rating. However, this "Hot Coffee" mod can only be accessed on all systems throught many hours of hard and purposeful work, and its not something a 10 year old will just stumble upon. The PC version requires the download of a mod, and the PS2 requires some sort of mod chip and codes and...Well I don't know much about the PS2 but it definately takes a technology savvy person to get in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information on the 'Hot Coffee Mod'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taken from http://www.gamespot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously, when game hero Carl "CJ" Johnson successfully wined and dined one of several girlfriends a certain number of times, she would ask him into her house for "coffee." After entering, the game shows an external shot of the house with muffled sounds of a couple emitting moans in flagrante delicto. PC versions of San Andreas with the "Hot Coffee" mod installed show what goes on inside the house, treating players to a sexually graphic minigame of CJ fornicating with his girlfriend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, here's Take-Two's official release, taken from http://www.planetgrandtheftauto.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Announces Conclusion of ESRB Investigation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESRB assigns "Adults Only 18+" (AO) rating for current version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas due to unauthorized third party "Hot Coffee" modification

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rockstar Games to cease manufacture of current version of title and offer a downloadable patch to prevent modification of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Company lowers third quarter and fiscal year guidance to reflect the expected negative impact on the title's retail performance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York, NY ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ July 20, 2005 ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬ÃâTake-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) announced today that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has changed the rating of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on all platforms from "Mature 17+" (M) to "Adults Only 18+" (AO) because of the so-called "hot coffee mod," an unauthorized third party modification that alters the retail version of the game. Take-Two cooperated fully with the ESRB's investigation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rockstar Games 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. This version will retain the original ESRB M-rating and is expected to be available during the Company's fourth fiscal quarter. Rockstar Games will be providing AO labels for retailers who wish to continue to sell the current version of the title.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a result of the re-rating of the game, Take-Two is lowering guidance for the third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2005 to $160 to $170 million in net sales and a net loss per share of $(0.40) to $(0.45) to provide reserves for the value of the title's current North American retail inventory. Accordingly, guidance for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2005 is also being lowered to $1.26 to $1.31 billion in net sales and $1.05 to $1.12 in diluted earnings per share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Take-Two and Rockstar Games have always worked to keep mature-themed video game content out of the hands of children and we will continue to work closely with the ESRB and community leaders to improve and better promote a reliable rating system to help consumers make informed choices about which video games are appropriate for each individual," said Paul Eibeler, Take-Two's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The ESRB's decision to re-rate a game based on an unauthorized third party modification presents a new challenge for parents, the interactive entertainment industry and anyone who distributes or consumes digital content. Rockstar Games is pleased that the investigation is now settled and they look forward to returning their focus to making innovative and groundbreaking video games for a mature audience."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scenes depicted in the "hot coffee" modification are not playable in the retail version of the game unless the user downloads and/or installs unauthorized software that alters the content of the original retail version of the title, representing a violation of Take-Two and Rockstar's end user license agreement (EULA) and intellectual property rights. "We are deeply concerned that the publicity surrounding these unauthorized modifications has caused the game to be misrepresented to the public and has detracted from the creative merits of this award winning product," said Mr. Eibeler. Take-Two 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rockstar Games will be making available shortly a downloadable software patch to render Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PC impervious to the "hot coffee" modification. Rockstar encourages parent groups and political leaders to assist with distribution of the patch to prevent the content of the modification from spreading further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rockstar Claims:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Since the "hot coffee" scenes cannot be created without intentional and significant technical modifications and reverse engineering of the game's source code, we are currently investigating ways that we can increase the security protection of the source code and prevent the game from being altered by the "hot coffee" modification."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's been an uproar between people who have probably never even seen a PS2 or XBOX in real life (Hilary Clinton...what could she possibly know about video games...) claiming that Adult content is getting into the hands of children. The people have neglected to realise that the current rating is Mature 17+, and therefore shouldn't be sold to minors, and if the parents are buying the games for them, it's their own fault. Also, it's not like the nudity is very exlicit. Apparently your girlfriend is topless, and CJ is fully clothed. Not like there isn't worse in other games... :roll:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...the minigame is about as raunchy as an episode of Sex and the City, cannot be accessed without entering a long string of cheat codes, and takes several hours of effort to access...

 

 

 

I think that this is stupid. It singles out a game because of how big it is, and denies people the ability to buy it. Atleast Rockstar will work hard to change this and it should be back in stores as Mature soon. Glad I have my copy ;).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information see the following websites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.ign.com

 

 

 

http://www.gamespot.com

 

 

 

http://www.planetgrandtheftauto.com

They should investigate the Sims. There's more sexual content (graphic or not) in that game then you'd find in most MA games :-?

i deserves an Adult rating.... its the most pointless graphic and violent game ive ever seen... looks more of boring than "fun" doesnt seem like going around shooting people would be fun, so it does deserve that rating

They should investigate the Sims. There's more sexual content (graphic or not) in that game then you'd find in most MA games :-?

 

 

 

In the sims even there's a cheat to remove the shower when their showering! Another code to have it not blurred out when you remove it. Atleast that was in The Sims 1, when my cousin had it.

 

They should investigate the Sims. There's more sexual content (graphic or not) in that game then you'd find in most MA games :-?

 

 

 

In the sims even there's a cheat to remove the shower when their showering! Another code to have it not blurred out when you remove it. Atleast that was in The Sims 1, when my cousin had it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They would have to try dang hard with #2 not to make the same happen... lol graphics are better, and there are some preatty perverted people out there.

I'm not a big fan of the Grand Theft Auto games. They're fun... For about five minutes. And while I am a BIG fan of violence, the violence on that game is stupidly pointless...

They're fun... For about five minutes.

Sure, fun for five minutes...But if you actually play through the game they are ingeniously made, have a good story, excellent charecters...You can't reflect a game on five minutes of play.

 

 

 

i deserves an Adult rating.... its the most pointless graphic and violent game ive ever seen... looks more of boring than "fun" doesnt seem like going around shooting people would be fun, so it does deserve that rating

Again, have you actually ever played it, for more than 5 minutes? And, to you're second comment "doesnt seem like going around shooting people would be fun"...so you're saying you've never enjoyed playing a first/third person shooter? Because the blood/gore is far less than many of the other M rated games I've played...most of the time there's very little blood. And it's not like this is extremely violent compared to any other M rated game...Every other FPS/Third Person Shooter is equally violent. Sure, there's lots of other maturish things you can do...And I would highly agree that it deserves a Mature rating...But Adult? You're gonna have to buy this in like a special adult store...It's not that bad...

 

 

They should investigate the Sims. There's more sexual content (graphic or not) in that game then you'd find in most MA games :-?

 

 

 

In the sims even there's a cheat to remove the shower when their showering! Another code to have it not blurred out when you remove it. Atleast that was in The Sims 1, when my cousin had it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They would have to try dang hard with #2 not to make the same happen... lol graphics are better, and there are some preatty perverted people out there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Move_Objects... *sigh* The perfect torture cheat. :roll:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS, I wish I had a PS2...

I've played Vice City for more than five minutes. I might have played for about half an hour. It just got boring. Steal car, shoot someone, drive, wreck car, steal another one...

I've played Vice City for more than five minutes. I might have played for about half an hour. It just got boring. Steal car, shoot someone, drive, wreck car, steal another one...

 

 

 

Yes but the point he was making was the story line. Did you play the story line, cause it sure as hell takes alot longer then half an hour to get into it. Trust me, the story lines are preatty intreasting, even if i thinkt he game is slightly primitive... i mean with the amout ofn violence. :oops:

i think that if should be rated MA only for the language...or the blood(which is so corney and doesnt look realistic at all)... take all that stuff out and its not that graphic...the player can just shoot people and run them over with cars....just the fact that ur killing, shouldent make it MA..

I think rating the verson that can be patch is rather pointless since it's the MOD which makes it AO.

 

 

 

Hell, if enough perverted people wanted to they could make hacks for almost any game capable of getting them an AO rating. GTA:SA just seems to be a natural choice given the content of the original game :dunno:

The thing is though, the only thing you have to modify is a few lines in one file of the source code. All of the animations and models and etc. are already there, you just have to enable it. It's a teeny step from a code unlockable..

The thing is though, the only thing you have to modify is a few lines in one file of the source code. All of the animations and models and etc. are already there, you just have to enable it. It's a teeny step from a code unlockable..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

kind of strange... wouldn't it make more sense just to play like a [extension not allowed] with the noise? considering your not supposed to see anything... :?

For games that are this pointlessly controversial there should be a guy who stands at the checkout counter with a lie detector. He asks you why you want to buy the game and if you give an answer that is deemed immature and shows signs of premature thinking like "chicks are hot, or I like to shoot people" then he puts your name on a list and you have to wait another year.

Don't get me wrong, though. I think it's silly they got an AO rating for something that wasn't intented to be in the final game. Though they should've realized that it would be cracked easily and taken it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think though, agreeing with something I saw on another forum, that this really is just missing the larger issue that is the ineffectiveness of the current rating system.

This is old news really its only recently come out because of Hilary Clinton getting involved.

 

 

 

the modification unlocks some code that wasnt ever finished. Ive seen it in action and there is no nudity and you never see any "private" areas of people if you know what i mean. It is impossible to unlock the "mini game" on the PC version without the Hot Coffee mod however a few hours with a Gameshark can unlock it on the PS2 version (i wont say how).

 

 

 

Basicly unless you go looking for it you wont ever find it. Therefor children will not see it accidently. Its also worth noting that in the UK GTA is already an 18 and like Rick mentioned the Sims is pretty more graphic than GTA is.

Attempting to restrict games based on age is pointless. I've never met anyone who wants a game but can't get it due to said restrictions, and hence it is completely meaningless. Feel free to print recomendations on the boxes, anything more than that is bleh. I was stopped trying to purchase Half-Life 2 last year due to being 17, when it was rated at 18. Sure, I managed to convince the people at the store that I was 18, but if that's not idiotic I don't know what is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I refuse to believe anyone will be negatively affected by playing a game, unless they are mentally ill to being with. In which case it'll still be bad when they are adults. I doubt anyone ever died from watching a few pixels have sex with their clothes on, except possibly from excessive laughter.

Half-Life 2 has an 18+ rating? Could've fooled me. I swear that Return to Castle Wolfenstein is more graphic and that only managed to get like an MA 15+ rating here in Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AO Games are automatically banned yet it's for sale.

 

 

 

So I have to wonder how people come up with censorship cut-offs :-?

I bought GTA back in 97. I would have been 12 ^_^

 

 

 

Im not going round killing people, stealing cars and getting with call girls.

i saw a video on what happens when you use that thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nothing that bad though.

Ohh nooo I hope they do anything about it. Maybe rock star should tone those "thing" down. The material isn't strong enough to be an adult game. Many Movie have these kind of stuff but the age group is teenager and above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But why they are bringing up now? Vice city is worst! Are they doing this because of it is about these "brother hood"? You don't even get to see anything compare to Vice city.

I doubt anyone ever died from watching a few pixels have sex with their clothes on, except possibly from excessive laughter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's part of the problem though. It's not just pixels anymore. The line between reality and computer-generated images is becoming increasingly blurred. I mean, look at where we were with computer game graphics 10 years ago. Think of where we'll be 10 years from now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although, there is the possibility that we could hit a wall soon, and what we have now is as good as we'll get for a long while..

Adult games getting into the hands of children... wow... Great going, Hillary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think some people who seem to have so much to say about the matter should do some research before commenting. A lot of people just hear a small bit and come up with 10 pages of why violent games should be banned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rating system works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GTA is rated Mature 17+ because of the violence and other content of the game. 99% of stores will not sell a game with that rating to someone who is not 17. If a parent wants to buy the game for their kid, it's their choice. If a retailer sells it to someone who's underage, then it's their fault, not the game maker's. I wasn't sold one last year because they checked my ID, and, I wasn't 17. I'll be 17 this September though. A rating should be based on the game that is sold, not on a mod that "takes hours of work" to make work. The Hot Coffee mod takes some searching to even get the download. Then there's installation, and all the cheat codes you need. You can't just turn the outside of a house into two people having sex. The model needs to be made/modified and the animations need to be made. I've done 3d modelling, and it's a lot of work, not to mention texturing the model. So, if people want to complain to Rockstar about something they didn't make, that's up to them. But to give them a bad name because of something they had nothing to do with, that's wrong. I think Hillary should complain to the creator of Hot Coffee if she want's something done. I'm sure there's labels put everywhere surrounding the mod where it's available for download.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Besides, if it's a piece of software, it'll be cracked. Just look at Windows!

 

I doubt anyone ever died from watching a few pixels have sex with their clothes on, except possibly from excessive laughter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's part of the problem though. It's not just pixels anymore. The line between reality and computer-generated images is becoming increasingly blurred. I mean, look at where we were with computer game graphics 10 years ago. Think of where we'll be 10 years from now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although, there is the possibility that we could hit a wall soon, and what we have now is as good as we'll get for a long while..

Would watching a movie containing violence and sex harm those under 18 years of age any more than a pixel-y game would? It doesn't really matter how advanced the graphics get, it still won't be real. It'll always be just a bunch of pixels.