|
Coffee Too Hot for the ESRB
San Andreas slapped with an "AO" after the Hot Coffee code exposure.
In the wake over recent controversy about hidden code in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that revealed an explicit sexual mini-game, the ESRB's offical investigation into the matter has been released. The result? The ratings board of the ESRB has slapped San Andreas with an "Adults Only" (AO) rating, an upgrade from the M rating it has recieved previously.
According to a statement released by the publisher of the game, Take Two Interactive, Rockstar Games has pulled manufacturing of the current PS2, XBox, and PC titles and "will begin working on a version of the game with enhanced security to prevent the "hot coffee" modifications". Once fixed, the game will be re-released in Q4 2005 and shall keep its current "M" rating. For any retailers who don't want to go through the hassle of pulling the games off of shelves, labels will be provided that detail the revised rating, AO.
In the statement, Take Two President and CEO Paul Eibeler commented, "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." He went on to add," [Take Two] is 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."
For those who already own the PC version of the game, Rockstar will be issuing a patch to hide the code from being accessible.
| 
