Commentary: Cream and Sugar with your "Hot Coffee"?

Anyone remember “Hot Coffee” from about three years ago? The scandal involving hidden “sex” scenes in the video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”? The source code of it was hidden (either intentional or unintentional) within the code, so you had to download a hack in order to access it. Although what equated to “sex” in the game didn’t really have any nudity of consequence, and amounted to low-res dry humping, it sparked huge media attention in the summer of 2005. Representatives from parenting groups were on one side decreeing that the game was such a negative influence on our nation’s youth. On the other side, a game industry defending one of its staples, while also trying not to have the “caught with its pants down” face. And in the middle, politicians struggling to find some way to regulate this medium, while preserving the right of free speech. The airwaves were rife with debate for a while in the battle between good parenting and the First Amendment.

The cockroach of free speech had the light of public opinion shown upon it, with no hope of scurrying way.

Shortly after, the ESRB changed the rating from “M” (Mature) to “AO” (Adults Only). When that happened, most of the major retailers (WalMart, Best Buy, Target, etc) began pulling the game from their shelves, adhering to their strict anti-AO game policies. Without action from the publisher, the game was essentially dead. Take-Two quickly responded and created a new version of the game, with the hidden code taken out. The ESRB gave that version the old M rating, and the game continued to sell.

Some time after the issue began, about seven individuals stepped up to file a class-action lawsuit against Take-Two (parent company of Rockstar), claiming that they were defrauded by purchasing a “M” rated game with “AO” rated content in it. Even though this content was only accessible via a hack, and none of the plaintiffs involved in the case saw this AO content until after the lawsuit as brought forth, the case went forward.

As the lawsuit began, the chief plaintiff, in her deposition, stated that she bought the game for her 15 year old son without knowing the content of the game, modded or unmodded. Only when she heard about a strip club in the game on the Today show did she question her son on the content of the game. When he was not forthcoming with an answer, she took the game away and will not allow him to play it again, knowing what she knows about the modded, and unmodded, content of the game. When questioned in her deposition about if she would buy another game where you can beat pedestrians and shoot police officers, she stated possibly, but further along, any game with prostitutes simulating giving oral sex will not be shown in her home. Furthermore, her 18 year old daughter should never see such things. You can see a copy of her deposition here below:

http://overlawyered.com/files/gta/stanhousedepositionpart2.pdf

This all seems way too convenient. The rest of the statement is filled with “I didn’t know”, “I just assumed”, and “I was only doing it for children everywhere”. I have to call BS on the case as a whole. As far as the principle plaintiff is concerned, this is not about consumer fraud. This is about being offended by something, something that the person didn’t totally understand before they went through the hassle of filing a suit.

In the end, the plaintiffs and the defendant [Take-Two] settled. Four out of the seven plaintiffs will be receiving $5000. The other three will receive $1500. Also, as a result of the settlement, people who bought the game and state that they were frauded and offended by the content contained within the hidden mini-game, are entitled to part of the settlement. Details can be viewed at the site that has gone up for the settlement:

http://www.gtasettlement.com/

To date, a little more than 2600 individuals (out of millions of copies sold) have come out of the woodwork to get their share. In addition, Take-Two Interactive as also agreed to donate at total of $870,000 to the ESRB and the National PTA. This all came from a settled lawsuit that was never going to go to court.

As a member of the class represented (since I purchased the game long before the Hot Coffee code became public knowledge), I would never have agreed to this, and I think that most others would not have either. The numbers of people who filed a claim do not even compare to the number of people who purchased the game prior to the summer of 2005.

Number of people who filed claims: 2600
Number of people who are entitled to the settlement (Although I don’t have the exact sales figures): Several million

All in all, Take-two is really having to spend less than $40,000 to the plaintiffs themselves.

As a consumer, I don't feel that I have been frauded by anyone. Whether it be intentional coding, or shotty quality assurance practices, I don't feel that this rendering of sexual acts imposes on my consumer rights any more than rising gas prices, but their hasn't been a class-action lawsuit against that.

In the end, this is just another of my lawsuits filed by people just trying to get paid. This lawsuit benefitted no one really, except the legal counsel for the plaintiffs. In a brief submitted by Seth R. Lesser [plaintiff’s lead counsel], they seek attorney fees and expenses to the total of $1,000,000…that’s right…I said it…$1,000,000. The brief is posted below for anyone who would like to view it:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/5/16/1914169/gta-fee-application.pdf

As you can see, it is a long document. Mostly 32 pages of legal babble that doesn’t really say anything, only trying to justify being paid an excessive amount of money for something that didn’t really make a difference. A point of interest are responses to objections filed be other members of the class on page 19.

This lawsuit was one of the most pointless spectacles I have seen in recent memory. Not only did most of the class being represented (San Andreas First Edition buyers) not really care, but probably went against the majorities wishes, which was to leave a great game developer alone so they could continue doing what they do best.

Should some blame be place on Take-Two and Rockstar allowing this hidden code to get out into the public? Sure.

Should the ESRB have better rating practices other than just watching gameplay footage that the publisher sends? Yes.

Should parents (who care) better monitor what their kids watch and play? Absolutely.

Should parents who don’t care better monitor what their kids watch and play? Indeed, if anything, to better connect with a life that they are responsible for. To help them put what they are seeing into a proper context.

For both types of parents, those who do and not care: maybe to have a little fun with their kids. To show they actually care about that their kids are into something. You’d be surprised how many non-idiot kids we have among us if you’d actually take the time to hang around them a little more.

By the time all of this ended, Take-Two may have actually been better off. They received millions of dollars of publicity in various news outlets. Since then, the company, and the industry as a whole, has only grown. With the recent downturn of our economy, the video game business is one that actually shows major growth and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

As a whole, the Hot Coffee scandal was a shot heard all around the world for the gaming industry. Since Mortal Kombat, there wasn’t anything that sparked so much debate and discussion about video games outside of the people who played them. This had the potential of paving a way of change all the way from Washington to the living room, but was reduced to a frivolous lawsuit in a country built on frivolous lawsuits.