"The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called ‘the blur’ which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet. "It’s not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, “much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse.”
And you know, I’m pretty sure Mario and the Princess are not married, yet sharing a castle.
I put in the term “Hillary Clinton” in the “Search This Thread” box and nothing came up. Is there some glitch with that feature? The term “politicians” yields a few matches but nothing about the politician running point on the issue.
Originally Posted by Moltisanti I put in the term “Hillary Clinton” in the “Search This Thread” box and nothing came up. Is there some glitch with that feature? The term “politicians” yields a few matches but nothing about the politician running point on the issue.
Unused levels and content end up left in games all the time. Just a few off the top of my head are Goldeneye and Zelda: Wind Waker. Those both had unfinished levels that could only be accessed with Pro Action replay type software.
My view on this is, if it requires external software and codes to access (as in, it can’t just be done with a standard PS2 and a copy of the game), I don’t see how it can be considered part of the game.
Seperate issue: This is all just media hype, just like everything else you hear in the news about the most popular game franchises that have violence (DOOM, Mortal Kombat, and now GTA). Wal-Mart’s flustering about with the Adults Only thing (another seperate argument entirely) is more PR hype. I’ll try not to waste more valuable seconds of my life thinking about this.
Don’t forget that they’re fretting over polygonal sex “for the children”… y’know what?
Fuck the children.
I want MORE adult content in my games, my TV shows, and my movies. I want films where naked people aren’t twisted like contortionists to avoid showing the camera naughty bits. I want TV shows where people act like normal cursing, humping citizens, not some weird hybrid of normal and Amish (basically I want all TV shows on HBO). I want videogames where the culmination of a romantic relationship isn’t a peck on the cheek - gee thanks princess, now excuse me while I toss you back to the dragon, you prude.
I want most of all for the kneejerk reaction to a parent whining that an M-rated game or R-rated movie has corrupted their tyke… to be arresting the parent for being an ass and not paying attention to what their kid is doing - y’know, “being a parent”. Maybe don’t throw them in jail, but instead brand them with a symbol of an adult with their thumb up their ass - a visual reminder to them, and warning to the rest of us, that their kid is likely doomed. Buying GTA for little Timmy should get Mom branded. Taking him to Hannibal gets Dad a fresh branding.
But making people take responsibility might make a politician lose a vote or two. And dealing with real issues (health care, economy, ecology, security) is hard and makes voters sad/angry. So instead we’re paying tax dollars to have people limit our ability to have fun. Life is short. Until the Land of the Dead DVD comes out packaged with a loaded shotgun and a note reading “the person next to you may be a zombie…” or GTA:Amsterdam is released w/ a coupon for a free child molestation, how about the polticians leave us our fun and get back to their fun: planning real-life violence and how next to figuratively screw us (which unfortunately hurts worse the better they do it).
With how much our government is neutering adult life in order to protect the children, these kids so dutifully protected from anything sinful are going to grow up and be given an adult life that sucks. That’s what will make them go postal, not some corrupting videogame.
Originally Posted by otisthecat Carl, have you even played San Andreas? Shitty graphics aside, about the only thing I can complain about SA is that it’s so big, has so much to see and do, that it’s a little intimidating.
Point missed. I was questioning whether Rockstar is capable of making a game as deep as the GTA games without sex, violence, drugs, and gang-banging as its sole driving force. That’s what I meant by “1/2” dimensional. They pander to the lowest common denominator and nothing else. Sure, these games are fun… but each and every one is born out of the same exact template. As far as the subject matter itself (which I personally have no problem with… like I said, I’m not one of the prudes) they’ve been playing with fire for years and now they’re getting burned. And I just hope they don’t take the rest of the industry with them, especially the developers and publishers out there who can make more than one type of game.
Originally Posted by gravedigger Remember, kids, murder and violence are relatively okay, but sex? It’s the DEVIL.
No kidding! This has got to be the most retarded thing I’ve seen in ages. If you are letting your kids play this game, you should just save the police the trouble and call Child and Family Services yourself.
Carl, one could argue that you could call many popular shows on TV “1/2 dimensional” for these very reasons. The Soppranos, anyone? I don’t think people buy this game because they are deprived or depraved.
I’ve been a huge fan of the GTA franchise since the original came out in 97-98. I’ve been following this story for a couple of weeks, and it’s been a long, strange trip.
Obviously, Rockstar went too far by creating the content in the first place. They seemed to think this might be a bit too much, thus the removal from the final content of the game, but they were stupid not to remove it entirely from the disks. GTA has always been heavily modded, especially the PC releases. It was only a matter of time until someone found it.
This was discovered on the PS2 version by modders about two months after the games release, and three months before the game went gold on xbox/PC. Modding isn’t really possible on PS2 games, but the modders start poking around the disks to get an early start on their PC mods. Message boards have “Hot coffee” discussions dating back to January, so it’s not unlikely Rockstar knew their secret had been found. They still had a chance to pull the code from the PC/xbox version. But they didn’t, and hot coffee was exposed two days after the PC version hit the shelves.
The other stupidity school was taught by the politicians, who obviously don’t have their fingers on the pulse of the electronic entertainment industry. It’s already been pointed out that there are several examples of games with simlar content, but GTA is the big fish and the chance people had been waiting for.
I think the most unfortunate result is the removal of the game from store shelves. Like the death sentence that is an NC-17 rating, this could irreperably hurt Rockstar, and end this franchise for good. It’s also evidence that the ratings system is flawed. Just like films, if retailers won’t sell AO games, then publishers will fight and bride to get an “M” rating, when their titls cleary deserves an AO. If retailers would allow the content on their shelves, the system might prove to be more solid.
BTW, San Andreas has shot to the top of the Amazon.com top sellers list (available through third parties linked there), and will continue to be sold there, at its regular price. Anyone who spends $75 to get one on ebay is a total sucker.
Note: The development team that originated GTA is the same studio responsible for The Lemmings and Uniracers, among others. I have no idea how many (if any) of them are still there, but many were still there back when GTA was a 2D game w/ zero hype behind it.
Nintendo makes cutesy games, Rockstar makes adult fare. Everyone tries to carve out their own niche. San Andreas will likely still be the best-selling game of the year. Their biggest hurdle lately has been finding a way to get new GTA product on the shelf fast enough - they had to postpone essentially every other product in-development in order to get San Andreas done on time, and I’d expect a similar sequence of events to predate the Next-Gen GTA title. Some people might want Rockstar to “do something different”, but the buying masses have clearly said they want bigger and better GTA games (myself included).
I have given a name to my pain. And it is Jack Thompson.
In a search for more info on this waste of genetic material, I came across an article on CBSnews.com that was home to this gem:
Quote:
What percentage of all games made would you say are violent, based upon your previous definition of violence in video games? This gets to a fundamental lie being propagated by the video game industry. GTA [Grand Theft Auto series] has sold 30 million units, with San Andreas expected to hit 20 million on its own. It’s the #1 seller in the world right now. That fact alone does not square with ISA and ESRB’s dodge that “the majority of games are not violent or M-rated.” What matters is how many units delivered are violent, and to whom they are being delivered.
Not really up on the whole concept of supply and demand, are we, Jack?
P.S.–Because it’s a REALLY slow night…
Playstation 2
Total Number of M Rated Games Released in 2004: 47
Total Number of E Rated Games Released in 2004: 92
GameCube
Total Number of M Rated Games in 04: 6
Total Number of E Rated Games in 04: 50
XBox
Total Number of M Rated: 40
Total Number of E Rated: 69
Back to my older post, and another fact discovered in my travels: Forget highest profile title with an AO…Congrats Rockstar. You’ve officially created the ONLY CONSOLE GAME with an AO rating.
Back to my older post, and another fact discovered in my travels: Forget highest profile title with an AO…Congrats Rockstar. You’ve officially created the ONLY CONSOLE GAME with an AO rating.
And it won’t have the AO rating for long…
The important thing to realize is that this is not about any specific game, or even games in general. Politicians know ass about video games. It’s not about kids - they’re just a useful political tool. If the politicans cared about the children, they’d spend a few minutes each year on our woeful education and health care systems.
This is about censorship. It’s about ignorant people who derive satisfaction from trying to force others to live and think like they do. It’s about people who are largely powerless and impotent to affect positive substantive change in the world, so cling to easier targets that give them plenty of press and the appearance of doing something. It’s about opportunistic fanatics shamelessly exploting people’s fears to advance their personal moral agenda.
Or maybe polygonal boobies really are the end of civilization. The world could end not through a bang, but from banging a rectangle.
Originally Posted by Jacob Singer It just pisses me off that this is yet another ploy to demonize the gaming industry while letting shitty parents completely off the hook. I couldn’t care less how many copies of GTA Rockstar sells at Wal-Mart. Parents will continue to ignore the clear game ratings and politicians will continue to assume that all video games are children’s entertainment.
Clear game ratings? Have you actually read the distinction between Mature and Adults Only ratings?
Quote:
MATURE Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language.
Quote:
ADULTS ONLY Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.
So AO differentiated from M by having longer scenes of violence and sex? What the fuck does that mean? San Andreas can amount to upwards of 100 hours of gameplay easily. Shouldn’t it have had that rating from the outset? Oh, right, but then the ESRB would be minimizing the sales potential of one of the hottest properties out there.
Seems to me that the ESRB still does today what it was originally set up to do years ago: keep politicians and parents off the game industry’s back. I respect you guys defending gaming and the industry in general, but you really need to find a better example than this from which to do it.
Furthermore, how is this a ploy to demonize the game industry, when Rockstar is responsible for it? They put in the content, they coded it. But politicians are trying to demonize them?
