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

from the really-not-so-bad dept

Wed, Jun 25th 2008 4:06pm — Mike Masnick

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.

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

18 Comments

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

stupid NY times
I actually wanted to read that article.
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Hyrulio, 25 Jun 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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Theoden, 25 Jun 2008 @ 5:44pm

Re: stupid NY times
Try visiting http://www.bugmenot.com/ for logins that will get you into a LOT of registration sites.
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some old gy, 25 Jun 2008 @ 5:57pm

Re: Re: stupid NY times
No, that's reinforcing bad behavior. NY Times didn't want me to read their content, and so I did not.
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NotBob, 25 Jun 2008 @ 6:10pm

Re: Re: Re: stupid NY times
Exactly right, Old Guy. I have 'bug me not' installed but never use it for that same reason.
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DISED, 25 Jun 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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Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2008 @ 7:13pm

lowclassaction
Not only does the general population yawn at such silliness, they have to pay for it.
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Chronno S. Trigger, 25 Jun 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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Kyouto, 25 Jun 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), 26 Jun 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, 26 Jun 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, 26 Jun 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, 30 Jun 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, 25 Jul 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, 26 Dec 2011 @ 7:14am

Xxx
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Mar 2012 @ 7:17pm

Re: stupid NY times
sex
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Apr 2012 @ 9:55pm

sexmod.in
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Apr 2012 @ 7:46pm

Sexmod.in
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