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 Video Game's Secret Sex Scenes Spark Outrage


Games

By Drog (Canada), Section International
Posted on Sat Jul 09, 2005 at 12:27:11 PM PST

By Wikinews

The National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF), a media watchdog group based in Minneapolis, Minnesota issued a "nationwide parental alert" today. This came after finding out about hidden sex scenes in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The game also has been criticised as being too violent. This is not limited to San Andreas, the entire series has come under fire for its content; mostly the last two games, Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The sex scenes come in the form of a "mini-game" in which the player controls the male with the task of maximising his cohorts "excitment." The hidden game in GTA: San Andreas is not advertised or easy to find but can be unlocked by modifying the game with a hack that has been widely available on the Internet for weeks. But for NIMF and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), the organization which rates video games and rated GTA: San Andreas 'M' for Mature, the hidden mini-game came as a surprise. As such, the ESRB has launched an investigation into the matter.

To unlock the hidden sex mini-game on the Playstation 2 requires a special device to transfer the modified files to the console, making it signifcantly more difficult to enable than on the PC or XBox versions of the game.

Rockstar Games, the game's publisher, refused to comment on whether the sex scenes were inserted by their programmers. Rockstar Games has also said, "We thoroughly support the work of the ESRB, and believe that it has an exemplary record of rating games and promoting understanding of video game content. We also feel confident that the investigation will uphold the original rating of the game, as the work of the mod community is beyond the scope of either publishers or the ESRB."

In the game the character may have girlfriends, and at a certain point in his stats he can entertain his girlfriend with some coffee. However, the "hot coffee" modification unlocks the secret sex scenes after the two share a drink.

Sources

Emily Johns "Investigation, denials and outcry over video game's sex scenes". Associated Press, July 9, 2005

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Do the GTA games go too far?
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