Still more reaction to the "San Andreas" rating change

[ovi]

GRAND THEFT AUTO CONTROVERSY INDICATES NEED FOR REFORM IN VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY, SAY SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTORS

NEW YORK, NEW YORK // THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2005 // The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a coalition of faith-based institutional investors with a combined portfolio value of over $120 billion, pays attention to both the financial and social performances of the companies in which its members invest. Among these companies are video game software developers, console makers and retailers.

We are concerned with how the "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" controversy impacts the video game industry as a whole.

For the past two years, our members have encouraged retailers, game developers and marketers to follow and implement any internal codes and guidelines developed by the interactive game industry to keep games with graphic violence and strong sexual content out of the hands of youth. Recent events related to "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" damage the credibility and effectiveness of current industry guidelines.

We believe a positive outcome to this controversy would be the creation of a video games ratings process that

* is inclusive of all stakeholders: parents, teachers, the public health community, retailers, game developers and investors;

* is transparent; and

* accountable to stakeholders through public disclosure.

As investors, we believe that taking such steps will better protect companies in our portfolios from risks to shareholder value, while at the same time protect children from inappropriate video games.

Source: mercurynews.com/aei/2005/07/still_more_reac.html

 

[Duke]

This is a bit of a funny story but it really may have wide spread implications on the entire gaming industry. I'm not 100% sure if the pornographic material is an unlock or a patch. If it's an unlock, then Rockstar Games and it's partners should have their butts sued off and fined heavily, if it's a patch then it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

I can say that all this media attention will only drive up it's popularity more and it will likely be the best selling game in history for years to come. I may actually pick it up myself now just for the sake of having it. For those of you who haven't played any of the games from this series, they are huge, non-scripted, free roaming masterpieces of gaming. Yes the content is a little off but that shouldn't detract from the immersion of the game, it really is well done, regardless of content.