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Too Much Free Time

by Carlo Longino

Wed, Jul 20th 2005 3:25pm





Grand Theft Auto's Rating Carjacked

from the this-never-happened-with-pitfall dept

The Electronic Software Ratings Board today pulled the "M" rating from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, re-rating it as "Adults Only" (meaning now one must be 18 to purchase the game, instead of 17). This follows pressure from politicians for whom drug use, carjacking, killing and other extreme violence are apparently okay for kids, but not some cartoon consensual sex that's visible only through the use of a third-party modification. The game's producer also lowered its earning estimates for the quarter based on the ratings change, since presumably many stores will refuse to carry it (even though they'll still carry the add-on device needed to unlock the mod), and plans to release a patched version of the game that eliminates the source of the ruckus. Last week, the ESRB defended the original M rating, its president pointing out that in addition to the 17-and-up designation the rating carried, it carried designations for "intense violence, blood and gore, strong sexual content, strong language and use of drugs" -- which wasn't a strong enough warning to keep Hillary Clinton from calling the ratings system "broken". Either she thinks parents are too stupid to understand what the rating and warnings very clearly spell out, or somebody's overreacting. What becomes a more troubling issue for games makers is whether they'll be held responsible for third-party modifications to their games.

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  1.  
    identicon
    thatguy, Jul 20th, 2005 @ 4:01pm

    Sims2

    I guess that means that Sims 2 is now an AO rating since you can just as easily download a nude patch it. And it's rated TEEN!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    spam, Jul 20th, 2005 @ 4:05pm

    ugh

    More 'feel good' mentality. More 'protect the children' BS.

    I'm going to buy TWO copies of the game and then seek out this patch. I want to play it now. Oh, and I'm 30, no kids.

    Silly move on their part.. and piss on what Wall Street thinks of it. Shortsighted "investor" idiots. Same idiots that frown on Costco for not screwing their employees like Wal-Mart.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    identicon
    Dorpus's Good Buddy, Jul 20th, 2005 @ 6:19pm

    Re: ugh

    You are all a bunch of freaks.

    This type of game is sick.

    Why don't you play a game where you just torure small animals. Get your rocks off that way.

    LOSERS.

    Games like this are contributing to the downfall of our socieity.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    dorpus, Jul 20th, 2005 @ 8:55pm

    Trivia of the Day

    Excellent, I see I have a fan club on here now. ;-)

    Trivia of the Day: dump truck tires are inflated to 5 times the air pressure of ordinary cars. On a hot summer day, the tires may spontaneously explode and kill bystanders, as happened to an unlucky man.

    http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0721/TKY200507210222.html

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    eeyore, Jul 21st, 2005 @ 4:19am

    Re: Trivia of the Day

    Geez, Dorpus, you act like that's news. Truck tires have to be inflated to higher pressure because they carry like 50 times as much weight per tire as a car, and they can explode with the force of a quarter of a stick of dynamite.

    They don't "spontaneously explode." It's called a blowout and it happens thousands of times a day but usually while the truck is in motion and is caused by a worn-out or defective tire.

    Next you're going to tell us that people spontaneously explode.

     

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  6.  
    identicon
    Ivan Sick, Jul 21st, 2005 @ 5:37am

    Re: ugh

    I vote for stupid (rather than blowing out of proportion.) Or rather, blowing out of proportion because of stupid.
    Oh, yes, the downfall of society. I forgot about that. Yes, a naked video game will change everything.
    I'm sorry, what do you mean by "You are all a bunch of freaks"? Do you mean that anyone who's read this article (besides yourself of course) is some kind of deviant pervert? And has even played the game?

     

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  7.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jul 21st, 2005 @ 1:06pm

    Re: Trivia of the Day

    Next you're going to tell us that people spontaneously explode.
    Maybe they do around Dorpus.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    identicon
    Mary, Jul 22nd, 2005 @ 2:05am

    Re: ugh

    U should really calm down !!!!!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    pill, Jul 31st, 2005 @ 9:14am

    Re: ugh

    lol

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    your mom, Dec 25th, 2005 @ 5:15pm

    what do you think the subject is...

    what the heck. if that the case then shouldn't they make the mods Adult Only? out of the millions of millions upon millions of players of these types of games how many do they really effect. heck we're not really sure they really effect anyone, maybe they are faking. i think this rating change is completely unreasonable. it is these things that really bring down society. they make people want to disobey and do it anyways, or do something even worse.

     

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  11.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Feb 2nd, 2007 @ 2:25pm

    owesome game

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  
    identicon
    Some person that written this, Mar 23rd, 2007 @ 8:23am

    Subject!!?!? this is not a lesson!!!

    hey gta is good, by the wsy the 1st and 2nd werent because of the way the type of camera.
    "birds eye view" is no good on these type of games E.G:Weapons face as ememy on manual aim, does sod all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

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