As "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" known for carjackings, assault and other violent acts, was re-rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board from "M" to "AO" it became the only console game intended for adults or those aged 18 and older only.
According to the industry-established self-regulatory body ESRB, which sets ratings amongst other things, in the year 2004 only 16 games representing less than 1 percent were rated as "AO" bearing adult content while over 54 percent were rated "E" meant for everyone.
The ESRB in its re-rating, described the bugged "San Andreas" as a game characterized by blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content and use of drugs, which qualified the description of many other violent and sexually suggestive M-rated games. One example is the M-rated "The Guy Game" priced at about $30, which has a quiz format with scantily clad female spring breakers on a Texan beach, which tests brain power against several half-nude females who strip down and flash their breasts if the player predicts their ability to answer correctly.
The M-rating description of crude humor, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content and alcohol is not very different from the AO-rating description. Similarly another M-rated game “Playboy: The Mansion" priced at $40 shows a computerized Hugh Hefner strolling around a red jacket, with half-naked women latched to his arms, where the goal is to schmooze, party, flirt to become a national icon.
With many popular video games, there is a long-standing practice called "modding", whereby fans extend the life of the game by creating their own new chapters, artwork and other twists, to an extent encouraged by the free tools given alongwith the games. Modders in 1999, turned Half-Life's "X-Files" into the multiplayer game “Counter-Strike” that pits soldiers against terrorists, which even today is popular as Half-Life's owner, Valve Corp., commercialized the mod. Similar to souping up car engines, modding is largely unsolicited and for many just the love of a game, which large publishers have found ways to cash in on. Though mostly written for PC games, mods are gaining popularity on consoles. "Hot coffee" is in many ways unique as it rather than adding content, actually accessed hidden content left in the game by the makers Rockstar Games. The controversial game level, which depicts a fully clothed lead character having sex with a woman in a thong and T-shirt, winning depends on how well the "excitement meter" fills up. When this level was discovered, Rockstar reacted by blaming hackers before acknowledging its own fault in leaving behind the material in the game.
The industry is now considering the implications posed by mods on ratings after a Dutch programmer Patrick Wildenborg created the "hot coffee" patch, to unlock the hidden sexual level in the "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". Video games unlike the feature films are made of software code, which are very malleable, besides being widely accessible. But with the video game industry on Wednesday bowing to public pressure, to change the rating for “San Andreas”, it may augur a change in the way ratings are managed in this burgeoning industry, which has gone too far in its portrayal of sex and violence.
In a statement, the ESRB chief, Patricia Vance, called on the gaming industry to prevent games from being illegally modified by third parties particularly when they “undermine the accuracy of the rating". Shuman, an editor for GamePro.com said it is virtually impossible to put an end to modding as it was something that “digital entertainment is not really well equipped to deal with”. Another problem is that the manner which games are developed involves levels that are never fully explored but left as such as altering or removing them could cause other parts to stop working.
Ironically the M-rated "Grand Theft Auto" released in October last year grew to be last year’s top selling console game in the US with over 5.1 million copies sold, making huge commercial sense for Rockstar. Though, Rockstar has now stopped making that version of "Grand Theft Auto" and is working M-rating compliat update, it has made an offer of a downloadable patch to fix the sexual content in current PC versions.
However, retailers trying to stay away from the controversy have promptly shelved the games after the issue came to light. Meanwhile top senators in view that gaming industry needs a good dose of government oversight and a law requiring the FTC to determine if the video game industry's labeling practices are unfair or deceptive.
