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GTA: San Andreas banned in Australia

29 July 2005 11:03 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 50 comments

GTA: San Andreas banned in Australia So the story continues now on an international scale. Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is being pulled from shelves in Australia as ordered due to the game being stripped of its MA15+ rating. Of course this is linked to the "hot coffee" modification which unlocks sexual content hidden in the game. The mod was not created nor distributed by Rockstar Games or parent company Take-Two Interactive; it was the creation of a third party.

"Businesses that sell or hire computer games should remove existing stocks of this game from their shelves immediately," said the director of the ratings board, Des Clark. "Parents are strongly advised to exercise caution in allowing children continued access to the game, particularly if they have might have access to the 'Hot Coffee' modification." Game hacks and mods are not uncommon, but the problem in this case is the mod simply unlocks existing code in the game, it does not actually add the extra content.

Due to the availability of the mod alone, Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification revoked the games earlier MA15+ rating. You have to question whether such a move is justified considering the sex content is hidden in the game and the developers gave no way to access it. Warning are going out to parents about the Hot Coffee mod just in case their children can access it. However I'm sure children could find sexual content on the Internet much faster than they could find the mod.

GTAS: San Andreas was one of the biggest selling games in 2004 and it's packed with violence and other content that is not suitable for kids. Frankly, I find it hard to believe that the developers of this ame are getting trouble from ratings boards over content that as hidden in the game when you can so easily shoot a police officer in the face using non-hidden content. Maybe it's time for Hillary Clinton et al to open their eyes and realise they are taking this way too seriously.

Source:
BBC News


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  • GTA 'Hot Coffee' class action settled with $20 million payout (2 September 2009)
  • Rockstar's San Andreas successful in Japan (3 February 2007)
  • Germany may get even tougher on video game violence (11 December 2006)
  • GTA must be banned to protect Prostitutes (14 February 2006)
  • Los Angeles sues Take-Two Interactive (29 January 2006)
  • Rockstar releases patch for San Andreas minigames (10 August 2005)
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  • Hot Coffee leaves San Andreas with AO rating (22 July 2005)
  • Hillary Clinton to target Rockstar over San Andreas sex mod (13 July 2005)
  • Investigation into San Andreas 'sex minigames' launched (8 July 2005)
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    Discuss this article!  There are more user comments available, read them here
    gtarocks (Newbie) 30 July 2005 21:59 Send private message to this user   
    wat a load of crap
    cant somebody make a petition to get it back
    anyway if a kid was that desperate to see a sex seen and downloaded it they would hav 2 hav the internet and there is pornography all iva the internet
    so come on im a fan of gta myself and its the only 1 i dont hav at da moment
    GET IT BAC ON DA SHELVES
    gozilla (Member) 30 July 2005 23:29 Send private message to this user   
    in regrads to the above post.

    all that kid would have to do is watch late night SBS movies.
    Alien13 (Senior Member) 30 July 2005 23:52 Send private message to this user   
    Yeah SBS has alot of those type movies.
    justice05 (Junior Member) 31 July 2005 1:13 Send private message to this user   
    I live in central vic and the council have just allowed a criminal to open a brothel, that kids walk past blah blah blah bit of a fuss but would this not be more improtant than a damn video game.
    If they r so worried about the sexual content then they need to clean up the streets first before taking over peoples private lives, its ridiculous
    m_towell (Inactive) 31 July 2005 18:05 Send private message to this user   
    Hey, I gotta get me this game now. If they didn't say anything, I wouldn't have known anything about it! LOL!

    And, oh, if it aint in the stores, I wonder where I might be able to get it *ponders for about a millisecond* I know *ding, light bulb shines above head* off the Internet via BitTorrent or something.

    Nah! The Aussie censors have a VERY VERY strange idea of what to ban and what not to ban!
    Phoenix21 (Member) 31 July 2005 18:12 Send private message to this user   
    yer i live in vic as well,not 2 far from were i live there is a sex shop now i see kids walkin past it and lookin in to it, now if they ban a video game cause of some sex scenes that the kids wouldn't even be able to work out how to get it to work anyways, why don't they ban sex shops from the public areas
    whoozhe (Junior Member) 31 July 2005 23:22 Send private message to this user   
    Well what do expect from a government hell bent on blowing up innocent people, allowing TV networks to advertise violent shows during children viewing time then kick up a stink because some goose shows his willie on Big Brother.
    The Howard motto: Make war not love.
    The same can be applied to the US
    jp10jp10 (Newbie) 1 August 2005 4:01 Send private message to this user   
    Speaking as a liberal minded individual from the US, I support the attacks on the game. Just as the violence and low mwntality in the game attacks the fabric of social civility in our culture, attacks on the game are justified.

    I didn't support the invasion of Iraq, and I don't support the current cell of nasty extremist leadership that our national "51%" has installed in our whitehouse. They suck.

    I support an ecclectic moderate middle ground based on guided by individual freedoms, not guided by corporate freedoms.

    Respectfully,
    John P
    gameguy11 (Inactive) 1 August 2005 10:18 Send private message to this user   
    its a god dam game let ir be good lord dont you have some prostites to arriest or some sh*t
    james111 (Member) 1 August 2005 11:29 Send private message to this user   
    i think the problem is with the people that are selling it not the ones buy it because my some bout area 51 witch in toronto you have to be 18 over my son is 15 he looks 12 and he just walked up with the game she asked if he was 17 over he said yes and she let him buy it
    Ryanm1311 (Newbie) 2 August 2005 8:23 Send private message to this user   
    Well why dont we compare the GRAPHICS in the game(s), to what we actually watch in the evenings on TV at say 7 in the evening onwards, ok so then why not ban TV all together, cause it shows a more REALISTIC version of the graphic that govs are making a big fuss over!
    Its actually rather pathetic!!
    Wild9 (Junior Member) 2 August 2005 9:57 Send private message to this user   
    I find it ludicrous that this game is being pulled.

    Are parents now going to remove their children from the filthy propaganda being broadcast on local as well as national television? This kind of material is far more dangerous.

    No, let's instead pick up on a computer game - it's much easier to morally digest..
    Ballpyhon (Inactive) 2 August 2005 15:18 Send private message to this user   
    This ban is ludicrous. although i am a U.S. citizen, i think that it is rediculous that they ban the game in australia. I am 30 years old and i love GTA:SA. I allow my 8 year old son play the game with the audio turned off due to the harsh language. In my opinion no Parent should be allowed to buy any game for a child unless they have actually played the game before hand. I have played the game prior to allowing my son to do so. I know what is in the game and i know that it is an adult based game. more and more games are being made for adults to be playing and not children. parents should realize this, so bans like this dont happen. It disappoints me that parents are so uninvolved with thier children that an entire country has to suffer.
    need_for2 (Member) 2 August 2005 15:51 Send private message to this user   
    k, what the heck are those guys thinking banning the game? are they f'n retarded or what?

    Are they going to ban it in the usa and canada?
    wolf23 (Inactive) 2 August 2005 21:48 Send private message to this user   
    you now man they r always taken away our shit n you know wat its not our foult thatsom tiht ass perents get pissed off if they dont want their kids to pay the ame then dont buy it 4 them !bitch! for us that watch porn and like stripers its an every day thing (the game) so they sholdn't take it away from them basterds it there right to buy it.

    thats wat i think dam hillary clint0n im sure her and her husbn watch porn to so they should stay out of it
    whoozhe (Junior Member) 4 August 2005 4:19 Send private message to this user   
    Censorship is always going to bring about different opinions.
    I believe people have the right to choose, view, read, act, think and say what they like. What one does in the privacy of their home is thier buisness as long as their actions do not harm anyone. No one has the right to to impose their beliefs on everyone else. Governments do enough of that already.
    Granny and all parents have the right to decide if the game is or is not suitable for thier younger family members. Prior to her mouthing off to the world only a few people knew about the hidden sequences. Now the whole world knows. The authors of the game would have quietly removed that part of the game if it's existence was going to affect sales.
    Oh well the lucky ones who already have the game will make a nice profit auctioning the game on ebay.
    There is no sense in censorship.
    Phoenix21 (Member) 4 August 2005 20:38 Send private message to this user   
    i still can't belive it i thort it was only the pc version getting banned but none of em are on the selves any more i wanted ta get the pc version oh well, do ya recon it will come out agin??
    Razor89 (Inactive) 8 August 2005 15:02 Send private message to this user   
    Funny you say that....It's almost like they are inviting you to break the law...If you can't get the game off the shelf, even though you are willing to pay for it, the next best thing is to DL it, correct??

    Raz0R!!!
    CJ_GTA (Inactive) 8 August 2005 18:20 Send private message to this user   
    Join the petition for an Australian R18+ rating for games
    CJ_GTA (Inactive) 8 August 2005 18:20 Send private message to this user   
    Join the petition for an Australian R18+ rating for games at:

    http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/AUSGAME_R18/
    runner121 (Inactive) 12 August 2005 11:38 Send private message to this user   
    They shouldnt ban this.This is a good game.I usually dont play that much,but this one is good.
    Phoenix21 (Member) 12 August 2005 22:51 Send private message to this user   
    what can we do lol im just hoping that it might get released agin, If they ban GTA;SA y don't they ban games like the sims there mods that are pritty much the same as the hot coffee mod

    Amd athlon xp 2.6GHZ overclocked 2 3.0GHz | 512 ddr RAM | Gigabyte TEC K7 Triton Series Mother Board | Sony DRU - 720A 16X DVD -/+Rw | Maxtor 60GB 7200rpm |Nvidia Geforce NX6600 |
    runner121 (Inactive) 13 August 2005 2:41 Send private message to this user   
    This is one of the best to come along.It's hard to believe they would keep it down for long.This is big money for them
    hotcofee (Newbie) 18 November 2006 18:41 Send private message to this user   
    i think that is bull.they spend more time trying to stop video game sex and not enough time stopping real prostitute sex.pretty stupid.if they try to ban it in usa,it wont work becuz the constitution won't allow it.
    hotcofee (Newbie) 18 November 2006 18:46 Send private message to this user   
    and another thing,parents who get mad when their kids play this...stfu,you let them buy it.it even says on the box that it has adult content.and hilary clinton needs to stfu too.she's only trying to boost her ratings and one day become president.i can't even imagine a life with her as president.
    ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 19 November 2006 12:29 Send private message to this user   
    hotcofee
    the US is as fcked

    bible thumping,corporate loving,war mongers on the right

    Utopians threw censorship that are intolerant threw tolerance,elites that have never been in the real world,philanthropy of the worlds poor by stepping over our own on the left

    We sir are screwed 0-o

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 19 November 2006 12:46

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