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Woman sues over GTA

MarineCorps

Explosion!
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
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NEW YORK (AP) -- A woman upset that she bought the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" for her 14-year-old grandson without knowing it contained hidden, sexually explicit scenes sued the manufacturer Wednesday on behalf of consumers nationwide.

Florence Cohen, 85, of New York, said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that the game's manufacturer, Rockstar Games, and its parent company, New York-based Take Two Interactive Software Inc., engaged in false, misleading and deceptive practices.

She sought unspecified damages on behalf of herself and all consumers nationwide, saying the company should give up its profits from the game for what amounted to false advertising, consumer deception and unfair business practices.

Cohen said in the suit that she bought the game in late 2004 for her grandson when it was rated "M" for mature, for players 17 and older. According to the suit, she directed that it be taken away from her grandson, which was done.

The game was released in October with an "M" rating. After a storm of negative publicity about the hidden scenes, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, an industry group responsible for rating games, changed the rating to "AO" for adults only.

Laurence D. Paskowitz, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Cohen, said no parent would knowingly buy an adult-only video game for their children.

"They should really make sure this doesn't happen again," he said. "The least this company can do is offer refunds."

Hidden areas in video games that can be unlocked with special codes or modifications are not uncommon.

Take Two Interactive initially said the scenes were not part of the retail version of the game but later admitted they were.

A message left for a company spokesman was not immediately returned. On Tuesday, Take-Two announced that it had been notified by the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Advertising Practices that it was conducting an inquiry into the game's advertising claims.

The company said it planned to cooperate fully with the probe.

"Rockstar Games and Take Two Interactive regret that consumers may have been exposed to content that was not intended to be accessible in the playable version of 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'," it said in a statement.

The company said it had halted production of the game in the controversial form and was working on a version of the game without the hidden sexual content.

"Going forward, the company will refine the process by which it edits games and will enhance the protection of its game code to prevent such future modifications," it said.

Earlier this week, the House voted 355-21 for a resolution asking the FTC to investigate the company. Last week, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, asked the FTC to investigate Rockstar, saying the company had "gamed the ratings system" by concealing sex scenes in the game that can be unlocked by computer programs available on the Internet.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Best Buy Co. and Circuit City Stores Inc. have pulled the game -- last year's top-seller among console games -- from their shelves following the rating change.


http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.games/07/27/game.lawsuit.ap/index.html

And the lawsuits keep gettting dumber and dumber :twtich:
 
What rating was this game given again?

:rolleyes:
 
She let her 14 year old grandson play a 17+ rated game, then complains because it is made an 18+ game. Also, is there any evidence saying he downloaded the illegal hack and played the hot coffee version?
Also, she is claiming damages for her family "and all consumers", so really this is just a way for her to make shed loads of money. Its a sad day when a granny can sue a company for something which has had no actual effect on her or her family.
 
"Going forward, the company will refine the process by which it edits games and will enhance the protection of its game code to prevent such future modifications," it said.
Afaik, they are the ones who put the Sexually Explicit content into the game (as an easter egg) - meaning it was not a external modification.

Someone should be burned for willingly misleading the public.
 
Hmm, I was about to submit a reply, when I realized that Farting Bob just snuck in and said everything I was going to say.
 
She should be prosecuted for allowing underage children access to 17+ games. :evil:
 
farting bob said:
She let her 14 year old grandson play a 17+ rated game, then complains because it is made an 18+ game. Also, is there any evidence saying he downloaded the illegal hack and played the hot coffee version?
Also, she is claiming damages for her family "and all consumers", so really this is just a way for her to make shed loads of money. Its a sad day when a granny can sue a company for something which has had no actual effect on her or her family.
It is the American way.
 
stormbind said:
Burn them for misleading the press.
By that logic we can burn pretty much every politition, wont that be fun. :crazyeye:
 
stormbind said:
They are the ones who put the Sexually Explicit content into the game (as an easter egg). It was not a external modification! :crazyeye:

Burn them for misleading the press.

Yeah but they didn't expect it to be found, a bad assumtion on their part but it was a locked area of the game.


I was reading somewhere else that if your kid is smart enough to DL the hacks and install them then he's smart enough to know where to find porn on the web. :rolleyes:
 
farting bob said:
By that logic we can burn pretty much every politition, wont that be fun. :crazyeye:
Yes. Yes it would be fun.
 
MarineCorps said:
Yeah but they didn't expect it to be found, a bad assumtion on their part but it was a locked area of the game.


I was reading somewhere else that if your kid is smart enough to DL the hacks and install them then he's smart enough to know where to find porn on the web. :rolleyes:
Thats true. I spent 10 minutes locating a Xbox copy of hot coffee, since the official site has stopped offering the mod, and in that 10 minutes, i visited 4 sites that had banners to porno, and had 3 popups (w/ firefox, with cuts a vast number of popups down) for porn. Its not hard to find actual sex on the internet, as opposed to computer sex where you dont see anything more graphic than tits.
 
MarineCorps said:
Yeah but they didn't expect it to be found, a bad assumtion on their part but it was a locked area of the game.


I was reading somewhere else that if your kid is smart enough to DL the hacks and install them then he's smart enough to know where to find porn on the web. :rolleyes:
Not that I visit the seedy side of the internet, but warez, crackz, hackz, porn, and serialz are all mixed together over there. For the most part I do not think it is possible to seek one without being exposed to the others... unless, someone distributed the hack concerned via a dedicated GTA community.
 
dam it. now i may actualy have to go buy the stupid game. this....sucks....
 
farting bob said:
She let her 14 year old grandson play a 17+ rated game, then complains because it is made an 18+ game. Also, is there any evidence saying he downloaded the illegal hack and played the hot coffee version?
Also, she is claiming damages for her family "and all consumers", so really this is just a way for her to make shed loads of money. Its a sad day when a granny can sue a company for something which has had no actual effect on her or her family.
Right on.

Doesn't the ESRB decide the rating, not Rockstar? The rating is because of the rating organization's laziness or lack of thoroughness isn't it? Are game manufacturers required to submit all information possible about their game to the rating company?

stormbind said:
Someone should be burned for willingly misleading the public.
I wouldn't say that. Government official should be, but there's no law saying you have to tell the truth. Otherwise, fiction writers whose books are widely read could be charged with the same thing. Lying to the rating organization may be a prosecutable offense, though (if it is necessary by law to have it rated and to tell everything that could affect a rating to the organization).
 
Oh please, you can get porn in Google Image Search for chrissakes by changing the preferences in Advanced Search. A gorilla could find instant porn. If her 14 year old has a computer, chances are he's already seen more porn than she has in her entire life. If anything this dumb game would keep him busy and away from the hardcore stuff online:rolleyes:
 
farting bob said:
She let her 14 year old grandson play a 17+ rated game, then complains because it is made an 18+ game. Also, is there any evidence saying he downloaded the illegal hack and played the hot coffee version?
Also, she is claiming damages for her family "and all consumers", so really this is just a way for her to make shed loads of money. Its a sad day when a granny can sue a company for something which has had no actual effect on her or her family.

My sentiments as well. Does anyone know if the kid even installed hot coffee, aside from the guy the lawyers hired to do it once the money-grubbing grandma signed off on their retainer?

Please sign me up for the 'burn all politicians' petition. Is this an international effort? (I'd probably make the trip even if not for such a worthwhile cause.)

Not that I visit the seedy side of the internet...
You used way too many words ending in 'z' just following that statement for me to believe its veracity… ;)
 
Yom said:
I wouldn't say that... there's no law saying you have to tell the truth.
Misrepresenting the facts, libel, fraud, false advertising... need I continue? :rolleyes:
 
Sparta said:
You used way too many words ending in 'z' just following that statement for me to believe its veracity… ;)
The closest I come to it is http://www.neworder.box.sk
angel3.gif
 
Sad how the grandma is worried about her grandson seeing some pixels representing naked women, but not about how he plays one of the most violent games out there...
 
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