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The Hot Coffee debate continues to get more publicity. Yesterday, Hillary Clinton publicly condemned the game and called for ratings system reform and fines for retailers that sell M for Mature games to people under seventeen.
Jack Thompson, a litigator who is seeking to get Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas out of stores, commented yesterday. He thanked Clinton for her concern and then went on to condemn the Entertainment Software Association, especially it’s president, Doug Lowenstein.
“If the ESA wants as its president a thug who demonizes critics of your industry’s criminal, fraudulent excesses, thereby earning their wrath and their determination, then by all means, keep Mr. Lowenstein at the helm,” he announced.
And also, “(Lowenstein’s) extremism has painted a bullseye on your industry. Doug Lowenstein has the brush and Take-Two has provided the blood red paint…get rid of this highly-paid thug and replace him with someone with sense.”
And finally, “Doug never met a pixilated prostitute he didn’t like.”
Ouch.
Lowenstein did not respond directly to Thompson’s comments, but wrote in a letter addressing Senator Clinton, “Retailers should not sell Mature games to minors, parents should watch what their kids watch, and parents should and can rely on the ESRB ratings to make the right choices for their families. We hope that after further reflection and dialogue, Senator Clinton will abandon the bill and work cooperatively with industry and others to ensure that parents take advantage of the effective tools on the market to regulate the games their kids play.”
Rockstar also released a statement concerning video games getting into the hands of children.
“We fully support efforts to keep mature-rated video game content out of the hands of children. Although we may not agree with certain interpretations of our titles, we are looking forward to the opportunity for a balanced and open discussion of these issues. Now that video games are mainstream popular entertainment, parents need reliable solutions to ensure family members only play the games appropriate for their age group.
Thanks to advances in the digital and creative arts, the quality and variety of video games have never been greater. But just as some movies are rated R, some games are rated M because they are intended for mature audiences ages 17 and older. Their plots and storylines are inappropriate for children.”
It is looking more like Rockstar is going to be found guilty…and lying about the Hot Coffee mod of the game. The mod of the game can be accessed on the PlayStation 2 version of the game with an Action Replay device. An Action Replay can only access content that is already on a disc. This makes it seem almost impossible for the mod to be created by anyone other than Rockstar.
For more information on the story, read our previous coverage and stay tuned for further updates.