Hot Coffee Controversy continues!

[Double_Blade]

Although the Hot Coffee case has been settled, like I had said, there is always someone to bring up the subject, so here goes,

GP EDITORIAL: Congress Grilled the Wrong People

Capitol Hill is very much interested in video games these days.

Wednesday's hearing before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection was both lengthy and contentious. Subcommittee Chair Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and colleagues were not kind to game industry witnesses, especially ESRB President Patricia Vance.

GP does not quarrel with the ability of Congress to hold hearings on the video game issue.

We just think they grilled the wrong people.

With 99% of political attention in relation to video games directed at the Grand Theft Auto series in general and the Hot Coffee scandal in particular, Congress should have skipped intermediaries like Doug Lowenstein and Patricia Vance and posed their questions directly to the people who run Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games.

GamePolitics would very much like to see Take-Two CEO Paul Eibeler and Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser explain to Congress exactly how Hot Coffee happened.

The internal mechanics of how the scandal came about have never been detailed, save for in the most general terms. The Federal Trade Commission's incredibly sparse report of its nearly year-long investigation tells us nothing that wasn't already revealed by GamePolitics and other news outlets last summer.

For starters we'd like to know:

-who conceived the Hot Coffee idea?
-who created the animations?
-who eventually decided to nix it from the final version?
-why it wasn't removed from the disc entirely?
-did insiders realize the active and highly-skilled GTA mod community would find the sex animations?
-why did Rockstar and Take-Two lie about Hot Coffee when it was revealed?
-why did they try to blame the mess on their biggest fans, the GTA mod community?

The video game industry has suffered tremendously because of Hot Coffee. Much of the legislation discussed every day on GamePolitics would either not have been proposed, or would not have passed were it not for the enormous public and political mistrust generated by Hot Coffee.

In California, for example, Leland Yee's video game bill was, by his own admission, dead in the water in June of 2005. Hot Coffee burst onto the scene in July. By October, Yee's bill had been passed and signed into law. It now awaits a ruling from a federal judge on its constitutionality.

The game development community has also taken note of Hot Coffee's fallout. Noted game designer Warren Spector broke ranks last November, saying that Rockstar had put the entire industry at risk.

So it's time for some answers. The FTC investigation certainly didn't provide them. Congress has subpoena power. They should use it.

Paul Eibeler and Dan Houser should be called to Capitol Hill and compelled to explain Hot Coffee - to Congress, to the public and to their video game industry colleagues.

See that? Paul Eibeler is going there to explain the Hot Coffee incident, will he succeed? Find out when the news comes out.

 

[bliink]

My answers:

-who conceived the Hot Coffee idea?

a game designer

-who created the animations?

a game animator

-who eventually decided to nix it from the final version?

probably another game designer, or maybe higher up

-why it wasn't removed from the disc entirely?

they didn't need to remove all the assets, they had extra space still on the disc? I dont know.. maybe they took programming lessons from microsoft. 1000's of lines of code often have mess like that, old assets... etc

-did insiders realize the active and highly-skilled GTA mod community would find the sex animations?

Probably not at first (its a console game), and they probably forgot about it for the port to PC
EDIT: Also, its stupid to call it "sex" lol

-why did Rockstar and Take-Two lie about Hot Coffee when it was revealed?

maybe someone in there thought it was a mod, maybe they thought it would "go away quietly", maybe they were referring to the fact that it was a 3rd party alteration

-why did they try to blame the mess on their biggest fans, the GTA mod community?

well, they were kinda responsible too.. I mean, sure, leaving a gun case unlocked is really bad, but for someone to pick it up and take it is something too.

In the end, who cares? its clothed pixel mock sex... what about the cop-killing? did they get tired of that?

 

[Double_Blade]

But clothed pixel sex is still the same as classified as "obscene". The controversy grows as there is a patch for you avaliable for the characters to have clotheless.

 

[bliink]

But clothed pixel sex is still the same as classified as "obscene". The controversy grows as there is a patch for you avaliable for the characters to have clotheless.

Well, they need to reclassify "obscene".

Also, nude patches are available for hl2, the sims and max payne, to name a few.. theres no crisis over them. Any nude patch rambling is overblown

 

[sinkoman]

Damnt, can't find any Bliink nude patches

But yeah, they can try to dwell on the hot coffee mod all they want, but it isn't going to get them anywhere. I think even the extremist parents can dismiss old evidence.

 

[Laivasse]

Paul Eibeler and Dan Houser should be called to Capitol Hill and compelled to explain Hot Coffee - to Congress, to the public and to their video game industry colleagues.

If this does happen I really hope they don't go there apologetically with quivering lips and some pathetic video about how lovely and fluffy games can be. Someone really needs to take the fight to the anti-gaming lobby.

 

[Jintor]

They ought to show them some brilliant games. Like... San Andreas? -_- Fahrenheit... MGS... ah, idk. Dreamfall? PSYCHONAUTS!!!!!

 

[mirage4]

I think its a load of horsecrap, nobody seems to care that you can set people on fire and then beat the shit out of them

 

[smwScott]

Well, they need to reclassify "obscene".

Also, nude patches are available for hl2, the sims and max payne, to name a few.. theres no crisis over them. Any nude patch rambling is overblown

Actually with Max Payne 2 the developers left an almost fully detailed nude model of Mona in the game. Although nudity hasn't been enough to to bring other games up from an M rating so I doubt it would have made any difference.

I have a question about Hot Coffee: were the nude skins actually in the game originally or did the modder supply those with the mod? It was my understanding was that the only thing left in the game was some rudimentary animations and a simple mini game. If that's true, then had they sent it through the normal ratings process it would have probably gone through with an M and no one would have really cared.

And I find it hilarious that all the controversy is over badly animated (fully clothed?) sex scenes in a game where you can basically be a terrorist.

 

[Jintor]

The sex game was ingame. The nude skins weren't, but there were special 'slut' clothing that the girlfriends would wear for the game.

 

[Double_Blade]

Yeah, there was the "excitement" bar which disturbs the legislators most.

I really hate kids and teenagers nowadays, I used to like but nah, now not. Because poor thing they only cause the main source of trouble that this would get into this mess just like Devin Moore.

 

[bliink]

Yeah, there was the "excitement" bar which disturbs the legislators most.

Because orgasm is illegal. (oh.. so many "men " jokes one could make)

 

[Double_Blade]

Because orgasm is illegal. (oh.. so many "men " jokes one could make)

Yep, it's a sad joke that these anti-game legislators won't use the big brains inside their heads, scientists had researched that brains are the most powerful organs in the body. But sad to say, the legislators won't do any research.

 

[bliink]

But sad to say, the legislators won't do any research.

And once you can vote, you should vote them out. If you can vote, but are not, then you cannot really complain about what happens.

 

[Double_Blade]

And once you can vote, you should vote them out. If you can vote, but are not, then you cannot really complain about what happens.

Well, time will tell.

Thankfully this time, Jack Thompson didn't get involve now, sure, he got involved in the past. But now, no more, and Im thankful for that, otherwise his annoying messages makes my blood boil.