House Calls for Investigation Into Rockstar Games 215
Spad writes "The BBC is reporting that the U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted for an FTC investigation into Rockstar Games following the GTA:SA 'Sex scandal'. Their basic premise is that Rockstar intentionally deceived the ESRB in order to 'peddle sexually explicit material to our youth'." Gamespot has coverage as well. From the BBC article: "The release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was widely anticipated, but an adults-only rating would have severely limited its sales in retail outlets...It appears that the publisher has blatantly circumvented the rules in order to peddle sexually explicit material to our youth, and they should be held accountable. A company cannot be allowed to profit from deceit."
Re:That premise is pretty messed up :) (Score:2, Interesting)
Right, it's just a novelty. (look for the hot coffee videos on eMule, they're funny but a one-trick pony) The politicians have to make a stink about EVIL SEX as a smoke screen to what's really important (deficit, unemployment, etc). I'm pretty liberal but Hillary Clinton is a useless cunt not worthy of cleaning my toilet.
Re:Better Things To Do... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Better Things To Do... (Score:5, Interesting)
If virtual child pornography, released under the guise that it is real is constitutionally protected - then you can most definitely show poorly rendered sex in a fictional setting.
Also, the ESRB is a voluntary board, there is no regulation stating that a game has to be rated in order to be sold to the public. Any attempt to deceive the ESRB should be frowned upon by the Video Game development community, but nothing illegal was done. You can release a movie as NR without a problem, you can also release a game without a rating. This is not a place for the FTC to get involved.The thing to do would to eloquently write your congressman\congresswoman and your state reps and tell them what a crock of shit this is. Let them know that there are more important things to be making a spectacle of in the public eye, and that if these subjects are not addressed, we will use our combined intelligence and knowledge to prevent their re-election.
Re:That premise is pretty messed up :) (Score:3, Interesting)
Unnecessary Investigation (Score:4, Interesting)
There are multitudes of people who wanted GTA banned or censored, but could not before because it was under the shield of the "17+" rating.
Now that it has been found that some sexual, "18+" content has been found in a normally inaccessable part of the game, those people can (perhaps rightfully) claim that this content is illegal due to the fact that sexual content was sold to minors.
What needs to be stated by the ESRB is what exactly is meant by a game rating. Do ratings reflect what is shown in normal parts of game play, or does it include easter eggs as well? What about content that is put in the final version but is only accessable by using mods, such as hot coffee?
Most kids that would actually be "corrupted" by the kind of content in hot coffee are too young and not smart enough to hack into a computer game to find it. Putting inaccessable adult content in a game for minors is like giving a kid a safe with a porno mag inside and no combination.
I don't think this needs a federal investigation, as this path may lead to censorship. The ESRB even said that this mess is over.
Re:Better Things To Do... (Score:1, Interesting)
As a conservative, I think trying to regulate this while thing is wrong. Let the parents do it, you cannot legislate morality.
As far as this whole thing being Republican / Democrat thing, I don't buy it. This is simply political maneuvering to get votes. Both parties are equally scummy here. It's a stab at getting concerned parents to pay attention to their inane flailing about.
Had those parents bothered to research what their children were playing in the first place, this would not have been an issue.
Re:(OT) (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Better Things To Do... (Score:3, Interesting)
W's real secret: have the republican-controlled state election board in ohio make it very hard for people in democratic leaning districts to cast their vote, by providing insufficient and unreliable voting machines to their districts.
8 hour lines, anyone? In my well-off neighborhood, I only had to wait about 5 minutes.