GTA: San Andreas Now Rated 'Adults Only'!

[Chris Benvenuto]

Really, some adults like assholes.....GTA was made to have a free fun world to play in. I see kid's games like Jak and Daxter getting violent, and they don't care much about those!?

 

C'mon people get some common sense....Return GTA to the M Rating it originally deserved....

 

Chris

[FlyingScooter]

Check the used game market for it. That's how i got mine. It was also a heap cheaper that way.

[Sir Clinksalot]

The thing I don't get is this.

 

Rockstar have announced that they will be releasing a patch to remove the ability to use the Hot Coffee mod (which has now been taken off of GTAGarage and other sites by it's creator) from the PC version, presumably this will also have some game fixes and useful stuff in as well. They seem to also be re-issuing a modified "M" rating satisfying PC version.

 

Does this mean they'll be re-issuing the XBOX and PS2 versions with fixes so it gets an "M" rating again too ? Reading between the lines of the assorted articles about this it seems they will be.

 

If that is the case then what is all the fuss about ?

 

I know it's a shame for all the people at the minute who want to buy the game and can't because Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and more have said they won't stock the game either with an AO rating or with an M rating if it gets a fixed re-issue (which seems stupid to me to be honest).

 

You can always buy it online

[arrowfanman]

Im kinda mad at the company. Parents and politicians have been trying to ban the game for the longest time, and this little thing is what does it.

 

Its kinda like Clinton.

[Sir Clinksalot]

its always been 18+ here in the UK so i dont get all the whinging about it being 18+ in the US now.

And I don't think it has been banned has it?

 

It's a great game and I love it, over here we deal with it having an 18+ rating like adults.

[Wes]

^ It's not banned, but most retailers (Wal-Mart, Best Buy) refuse to carry AO titles. So it's basically the kiss of death.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Then surely the problem is with the retailers, not the game or the rating? I've just been shopping to Tesco, a major british supermarket chain, and there were lots of copies for sale. In my town, (which is really small), there are at least five shops that sell San Andreas, and that is with an 18+ rating!

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ It's not banned, but most retailers (Wal-Mart, Best Buy) refuse to carry AO titles. So it's basically the kiss of death.

To be fair though, Rockstar have made more than enough profit from the PS2 version alone to cover costs and expenses on the XBOX and PC release. And if Rockstar do re-issue an M rated version then what's the problem ?

 

As to the whole AO rating thing, in the UK it has always had an 18 rating and it's never been a problem, in fact, the UK arm of Wal*Mart, ASDA has never had a problem selling 18 rated games/films. The fact that major chains won't stock AO games in the US is a shame especially as the difference between M and AO is only 1 year? But at least you can still buy it online.

 

In all honesty I find it a bit hard to believe that the content of the minigames (which is to be honest absolute crap and you can really understand why they disabled it ingame) was enough to push it from an M to an AO. Especially as in one mission there is a cutscene where you hear sexual content although you don't see it. I can't believe that there is much difference as even in the Hot Coffee scenes it's only suggested stuff, there isn't any nudity and the animation is really crap.

 

So hearing sex stuff is acceptable for an M rating and so is running people over, shooting people, all the gang content, heck even the drugs (although the game is VERY anti-drugs) but seeing people clothed doing rough approximations of sex isn't ?

 

If that is the case then there is much more at fault here than Rockstar not taking code out. The whole US ratings system is slightly messed up if that's true.

 

*Latest News*: Take Two may face investigations from the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission after the company reduced its Q3 revenue guidance by $40 million in the wake of the Hot Coffee scandal." : GamesIndustry.biz

[Wes]

^^ and ^ It's funny that you're both bewildered by this and you both happen to be from the UK. That's America for you, pro-violence but anti-sex.

Really what this amounts to is stupid politicians beating their chest so they can look like they stand for "family values" come the next election.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Well, I guess most people who wanted the game will have already bought it, if not maybe you can buy it online? Are there no shops selling it? I find that crazy. Do your shops sell 18+ movies? I couldn't live somewhere that crap and messed up.......

 

Joanne "I'm now glad I live in the UK" Allison

[ChrisFL]

Well, I guess most people who wanted the game will have already bought it, if not maybe you can buy it online? Are there no shops selling it? I find that crazy. Do your shops sell 18+ movies?

 

We have certain shops that sell them, yes, but not anything major...just what's considered "sleazy" places.

 

Americans seem to still be living under this puritan rock or something.

 

But this all is very simple, Hillary Clinton wants conservative voters and this is a big way to get them. Find something that conservatives don't like and fight about it until it gets changed

[Sir Clinksalot]

I can't imagine Hillary Clinton playing San An! Jeez it's all pathetic. I guess the sleazy shops you talk about are the ones we have here that sell VERY adult material! (which I don't go in!)

 

And now I've just read that they are gonna start picking on Sims 2. Maybe the woo hoo stuff is a bit much for a 13 year old, I dunno.

 

The disappointing thing here is that these are GAMES. Games are supposed to be fun. People need to realise that adults enjoy playing, and some games are made just for them and they should be sold where other games are sold. I guess Hillary C thinks all games should be for kids?

[Sir Clinksalot]

^^ and ^ It's funny that you're both bewildered by this and you both happen to be from the UK. That's America for you, pro-violence but anti-sex.

Really what this amounts to is stupid politicians beating their chest so they can look like they stand for "family values" come the next election.

Well, I wouldn't say I'm bewildered by it. It is pretty much the same in this country with regards to sex being considered worse than violence. It's more that I'm surprised at the furore this has caused, you could argue that GTA deserved an AO rating from the beginning.

 

Jack Thompson, the most vocal anti-games attorney in the States is seeing this as a victory and has now moved his sights onto The Sims, saying that the nudity and content is perhaps worse than even San Andreas which is completely absurd. Which considering there is no nudity in San An even with the mod, makes his claims even more absurd.

 

I do think that The Sims 2 deserves an M rather than a T rating, purely because of WooHoo (Even though you don't SEE anything)... but the accusation that Jack is making about there being Full-Frontal Nudity in the Sims 2 is laughable...

 

Jack Thompson has been fighting anti-game cases for years, he was the one that clamed DOOM trained people to kill. Then a few weeks later Columbine happened and "PROVED" his point. Even though it's complete rubbish, DOOM trains people to kill about as much as Rollercoaster Tycoon teaches you the engineering skills necessary to build a coaster.

 

This whole thing is getting out of hand.

 

Here is the article regarding the Sims 2 at Gamespot.

[DenDen]

Get the religious-right (oxymoron) out of office, and this won't be at issue. You think this GTA issue is bad, take a look at this...

 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/22/news_6129609.html

 

They're now attacking the Sims. THE SIMS!!!!!!! This madness will not stop! And wait until they start dictating your private lives, masturbation will be a crime punishable by death.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Get the religious-right (oxymoron) out of office, and this won't be at issue. You think this GTA issue is bad, take a look at this...

 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/22/news_6129609.html

 

They're now attacking the Sims. THE SIMS!!!!!!! This madness will not stop! And wait until they start dictating your private lives, masturbation will be a crime punishable by death.

 

I commented on that above and included the same link

[DenDen]

WOOPS! It took me a few minutes to post (phone) so i didn't see that. Sorry.

[Sir Clinksalot]

hehe, no worries, it took me a few minutes to write it too

(I REALLY need to keep my posts to a maximum length of 6 lines )

 

This whole thing is getting way out hand... hopefully the media will get bored of this whole subject and move onto something important, like a ratings system for Books/Magazines.

[YoshiFan]

Jack Thompson has been fighting anti-game cases for years, he was the one that clamed DOOM trained people to kill. Then a few weeks later Columbine happened and "PROVED" his point. Even though it's complete rubbish, DOOM trains people to kill about as much as Rollercoaster Tycoon teaches you the engineering skills necessary to build a coaster.

 

I hated that Doom arguement where people say Doom can teach you how to kill. Like using a keyboard to move and fire a gun will really help you kill someone.

 

It really angers me that these politicians are complaining about these games (which they probably don't even care about and just want to win support of parents), when there are so many more important issues to deal with.

[Jonathan]

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=ticket_to_hell

[it]

Why do people get so pissed for a stupid scene!Correct me if i'm wrong but,If you have HBO.You know that they show worst stuff than SanAndreas at nigh and at 4AM.IMO the ESRB ratings are a scam.They say ratet M as if anyone would giva a care.

 

 

 

I hate ratings!

[CoasterJunkie]

I was pretty ticked. I had put the game on layaway at Walmart along with the strategy guide. I went to pay the thing off yesterday and pick it up, and they RED FLAGGED it. Refused to sell it to me. Said because the game was recalled, that I could not have it. The whole thing was paid for except for 20 bucks...and I argued that could have been another item in the layaway. I was pretty pissed.

 

Now I will try to find it online somewhere. Oh well. Stupid Walmart.

[WillMontu]

I think this scene is more controversal than some hidden adult theme.

Here we see CJ (the main character), behind the wheel, talking on his cell phone. As we all know, talking on the phone is worse than drunk driving. Seriously, The Sims has more nudity.

 

BTW: I've recently "finished" the game, though not to 100% completion.

Pay attention to the road!

[coasterking]

Yeah but the car is parked with the door open.

[WillMontu]

That may be true, but there is actually a part in the game where CJ tries to contact his brother while driving. I couldn't get a good enough screenshot of that part though.