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Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Jun 25th 2008 4:06pm




Filed Under:
class action, consensual sex, grand theft auto, hot coffee, mods, video games

Companies:
take two interactive


Consensual Sex Mod In GTA Not Disturbing Enough To Get Many To File For Settlement Payment

from the really-not-so-bad dept

For years, we've been mystified by the "scandal" surrounding the "Hot Coffee" mod in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Here was a game that very overtly included all sorts of violence, killing, carjacking, drugs, robbery, prostitution and general mayhem. And, then someone slips in a modification that adds in some consensual sex? How dare they! Yet, it became a big issue for politicians and lawyers, who eventually worked out a settlement that gives those offended $5. The lawyers, in the meantime, stand to take home $1.3 million. And, now, it turns out that not very many people cared enough to join the settlement. There are probably two reasons for this: (1) most people really weren't particularly offended and (2) $5? ($35 if you actually kept the receipt) Not worth the time. So, once again, we have a situation where a class action lawsuit basically just moves a bunch of money to some lawyers, rather than doing anything useful.

18 Comments | Leave a Comment

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    some old guy, Jun 25th, 2008 @ 4:44pm

    stupid NY times

    I actually wanted to read that article.

     

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    Hyrulio, Jun 25th, 2008 @ 5:06pm

    I imagine Jack Thompson got a hefty sum of money for all his well thought out and solidly supported-by-evidence work...

     

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    DISED, Jun 25th, 2008 @ 6:19pm

    LOOKING

    LOOKING FOR THE "HOT COFFEE" VIDEO SHOT, NEVER SEEN IT, WAS WONDERING WHAT ALL THE TALK WAS ABOUT, ISN'T IT JUST A VIDEO GAME, DAMN!

    FREAKING LAWYERS!

     

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      Chronno S. Trigger, Jun 25th, 2008 @ 7:27pm

      Re: LOOKING

      Quick google search turned up This (NSFW). Funny I don't remember her being nude in the video I saw when this first started.

      What's up with the NY times link? Works fine for me.

       

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    Anonymous Coward, Jun 25th, 2008 @ 7:13pm

    lowclassaction

    Not only does the general population yawn at such silliness, they have to pay for it.

     

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    Kyouto, Jun 25th, 2008 @ 9:49pm

    In the NYT article... this line got me to laugh the hardest:

    “I’m aware that there is killing in the game,” Ms. Stanhouse said in the deposition. “I wasn’t aware of the stealing.”

    The name of the game is Grand THEFT Auto for crying out loud... bunch of morons.

     

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      PaulT (profile), Jun 26th, 2008 @ 12:35am

      Re:

      I don't want to grace NYT with my presence to see the rest, but this is the kind of mentality that mystifies me. "Oh, I knew there would be murder but not STEALING!". I think someone's priorities might be a little reversed.

      Same with the people who don't mind the violence but are outraged by the consensual sex - one is much worse then the other, but not the one they think it is.

       

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    CynthiaP, Jun 26th, 2008 @ 6:51am

    comments

    Why don't I see a single complaint about lawyers walking away with all the money and the "damaged" ones who never knew they were damaged untili they got the letter from the greedy lawyers getting a measley $5 or $35? What's the point of complaining if the lawyers are getting all the money? If I were actually offended by consensual sex (and what kind of idiot would i be if i were?) wouldn't I expect to get a larger settlement thatn $5? Yet the lawyers keep pulling it all in. Doesn't anyone see this isn't right? In the first place no one should have objected to that, if they were going to object they waited far too late to object to the violence but the lawyers needed more income so they chose now to jump in to file to pay the bills. WE GET NOTHING PEOPLE. And yet, even if we don't sign the agreement the lawyers will still sue and just put the extra into their deep, greedy pockets. These people are foul. They toss us less than I tip at an average restaurant, walk off with millions and no one does a thing about it.Not to mention the damage to the company they sued. Get your eyes pointed front and see who the criminals are here.

     

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      AAA in LA, Jun 26th, 2008 @ 9:58am

      Re: comments

      Exactly.

      Mike's last statement borders on the obvious:

      So, once again, we have a situation where a class action lawsuit basically just moves a bunch of money to some lawyers, rather than doing anything useful.

       

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    Franklin, Jun 30th, 2008 @ 11:01am

    i think it is just plain stupid for people to complain about a mod in a gta game...i mean everyone knows what happens in those games...its been controversial from the start. if you buy the game i would expect you to know about it and its contents and not get offended by the game play. also, if you are a parent and you are offended by it...then maybe you should be a part of your childs life more or research the game first (because you obviously never heard of the other ones....) and you are probably the one who bought it for them so its your fault and accept responsibility instead of finding a scapegoat. also, if people would stop finding something to complain about...we wouldn't have needed the lawyers in this case. so if you complained about the consentual sex mod and then complained you didnt get enough, then you are more greedy than the lawyers themselves.

     

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    patrick000, Jul 25th, 2008 @ 5:08pm

    Hot Coffee "mod"

    "HOT COFFEE" IS NOT A MOD Rock Star made this them selfs' before release of the game they removed it because it was Not Right. But it is kind of a mod because you replace you're script.img and Main.SCM files. All it is is just a cleanser remover for San Andreas so you can have real sex with you're Girl friends to make it more realistic,And yes it is horrible in a game to have next to real sex,but only 3000 people only wanted a refund because they were really some paranoid parents who just thought you can buy a game with real sex in it and some adults who were curious to see what grant theft auto games were they then later read on line that it had sex in it,And other people who stole it from a friend/shoplifted it and returned it for some cash then realizeing they $5 back because they don't have recite. =P

     

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    Xxx, Dec 26th, 2011 @ 7:14am

    Xxx

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 18th, 2012 @ 9:55pm

    sexmod.in

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Apr 23rd, 2012 @ 7:46pm

    Sexmod.in

     

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