Earlier today we reported on a complaint issued by California State Assembly member Leland Yee regarding the Hot Coffee mod released a while ago here on GTANet. Although we regarded the complaint with some skepticism, it seems the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is taking it seriously. They have just launched an investigation into whether or not Take2Games violated ESRB policy by not fully disclosing the questionable content which was found in the deep nethers of the game’s code.
ESRB president Patricia Vance said her organization has “opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the ‘Hot Coffee’ modification.” “Hot Coffee” refers to the mod which, when installed on a PC with San Andreas on it, unlocks several minigames which prompts players to have the game’s hero engage in X-rated acts.
According to ESRB president Patricia Vance, this attack on San Andreas is more about Yee’s ongoing crusade against the ESRB, and this latest claim is just another baseless accusation trying to undermine the ESRB’s reliability and integrity.
“Assemblyman Yee has been on a crusade for years to undermine the integrity of the ESRB, and in so doing, generate support for his legislative agenda. His latest attempt to win political points is to claim, without any legitimate basis, that a game rated for ages 17 and older with explicit content descriptors prominently displayed on every box has been inappropriately rated,” Vance said.
Best of luck to the ESRB. I’m certain that they’ll come to the same conclusion that we have – that Rockstar Games and Take2 have done absolutely nothing wrong, and neither did they. Hot Coffee was a fan-created modification, not a malicious attempt from Scottish software developers trying to taint the minds of impressionable American… uh, 20-some year olds. (Remember, folks, this game IS rated M, not T.)
Thanks to Jordan from partnersite PlanetGrandTheftAuto for bringing this update to our attention.
Related links:
Neoseeker Article
Gamespot Article
Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
SA:PC Hot Coffee mod