Last fall, Rockstar Games got slammed for their Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas videogame and some hidden code that a modder discovered. Using the code, you could unlock a sex-based minigame, and your character could get some onscreen action. The mod, and the scandal surrounding it, became known as the Hot Coffee mod, since it was triggered when the main character is asked by his girl if he wants to come inside for a cup of coffee.
The videogame knee-jerk reactionaries were up in arms, of course! Sex in a videogame! My god, it will corrupt the children!
Never mind that this was a Mature rated game already, for ages 17 and over. Never mind that the rest of the game was about car-jacking, drug-dealing and blowing people away in a cartoony version of the LA Gangsta lifestyle, so those children you're so concerned about shouldn't be playing it anyway. And never mind that, in order to see this pixelated little sex game, your child would have to have enough internet savvy that you can be sure he's already been downloading real porn long before San Andreas came along.
So the ESRB reacted… that's the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, and it's their job, like the MPAA for movies, to rate games so that parents feel safe buying them for Junior. After reviewing the code and finding that the minigame was, indeed, included in the originally released game code (you needed the modification to ACCESS the minigame, but the code for it existed in the release software), they rerated the game Adults Only.
On paper, this isn't a big deal. M rated games are intended for ages 17 and older, and "may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language." AO games are intended for ages 18 or over, and "may contain PROLONGED scenes of intense violence and/or GRAPHIC sexual content and nudity." (Caps are mine, to indicate the differences between the two descriptions). Hardly a dramatic difference in terms of content or restrictions, but it has a drastic effect in the marketplace, since big chains like Wal-Mart and EB Games won't carry AO games. Suddenly, GTA San Andreas, slapped with a great big AO sticker, was now basically available from boutique software shops and online stores only.
So Rockstar & TakeTwo took a hit over the holiday season, as their big moneymaker suddenly became the poster child for the evils of videogaming. Hilary Clinton jumped on the "we've got to protect the children" bandwagon and is pushing legislation in Congress to deal with this pressing issue (never mind that, once again, the original game was rated 17 & over), and much hand-wringing in the gaming press occurred.
Flash forward to this week, and Rockstar's got a new ad campaign. It talks about how videogames used to be all about capping people and car-jacking, until one brave company injected a little romance into their game. They make passing reference to Hot Coffee, telling you that this game will give a whole new meaning to 'getting some'. And they just have a blatantly good time promoting the sex in their AO rated game. Considering the uproar surouding this mess, this is quite possibly one of the most brazen marketing answers to "when life gives you lemons" I think I've ever heard.
Bravo Rockstar! You guys most definitely have great big, brass ones.
The videogame knee-jerk reactionaries were up in arms, of course! Sex in a videogame! My god, it will corrupt the children!
Never mind that this was a Mature rated game already, for ages 17 and over. Never mind that the rest of the game was about car-jacking, drug-dealing and blowing people away in a cartoony version of the LA Gangsta lifestyle, so those children you're so concerned about shouldn't be playing it anyway. And never mind that, in order to see this pixelated little sex game, your child would have to have enough internet savvy that you can be sure he's already been downloading real porn long before San Andreas came along.
So the ESRB reacted… that's the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, and it's their job, like the MPAA for movies, to rate games so that parents feel safe buying them for Junior. After reviewing the code and finding that the minigame was, indeed, included in the originally released game code (you needed the modification to ACCESS the minigame, but the code for it existed in the release software), they rerated the game Adults Only.
On paper, this isn't a big deal. M rated games are intended for ages 17 and older, and "may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language." AO games are intended for ages 18 or over, and "may contain PROLONGED scenes of intense violence and/or GRAPHIC sexual content and nudity." (Caps are mine, to indicate the differences between the two descriptions). Hardly a dramatic difference in terms of content or restrictions, but it has a drastic effect in the marketplace, since big chains like Wal-Mart and EB Games won't carry AO games. Suddenly, GTA San Andreas, slapped with a great big AO sticker, was now basically available from boutique software shops and online stores only.
So Rockstar & TakeTwo took a hit over the holiday season, as their big moneymaker suddenly became the poster child for the evils of videogaming. Hilary Clinton jumped on the "we've got to protect the children" bandwagon and is pushing legislation in Congress to deal with this pressing issue (never mind that, once again, the original game was rated 17 & over), and much hand-wringing in the gaming press occurred.
Flash forward to this week, and Rockstar's got a new ad campaign. It talks about how videogames used to be all about capping people and car-jacking, until one brave company injected a little romance into their game. They make passing reference to Hot Coffee, telling you that this game will give a whole new meaning to 'getting some'. And they just have a blatantly good time promoting the sex in their AO rated game. Considering the uproar surouding this mess, this is quite possibly one of the most brazen marketing answers to "when life gives you lemons" I think I've ever heard.
Bravo Rockstar! You guys most definitely have great big, brass ones.
Comments
So that "bravo" should go to Tower—credit where credit is due, after all.