This is one of the most famous video game scandals of all time, facilitated by the fact that when Rockstar made GTA: San Andreas, they didn't remove the code for the 'Hot Coffee' sex mini-game, which allowed players to have sex with any of CJ's girlfriends. While the mini-game was disabled in the main game, plucky modders managed to unlock it not only in the PC version, but also the PS2 and Xbox versions. This meant that before long, San Andreas players were happily humping away at their in-game girlfriends in awkwardly animated scenes, while Rockstar's lawyers were preparing for the inevitable tidal wave of censorship. And the storm did come. The majority of San Andreas stockists in the US pulled the game from shelves while its fate was decided by the ESRB. The ESRB censor board quickly announced that it was changing the game's rating from Mature to Adults Only 18+, which essentially forced Rockstar to make a new version with the Hot Coffee code fully removed. In the wake of the whole mess, Rockstar faced several class action lawsuits over the porny content, and Hilary Clinton passed the Family Entertainment Protection Act, which made it a federal mandate for the ESRB ratings to be enforced. In an ironic twist of fate, this kind of publicity most likely played a big part in propelling the GTA series' popularity farther than Rockstar could ever have imagined.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
