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 games: moral outrage
He shoots but he doesn’t score. It's fair to say that Rockstar's success with the Grand Theft Auto franchise isn't solely due to the skill and innovation of the games. The company has also benefited hugely from the controversy-driven free publicity. Hell, if there's already no such thing as bad publicity, Rockstar even have Hillary Clinton acting, perversely, as some sort of spokesperson. Now the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification is also contributing, after its move to revoke the game's certificate. Why this new kerfuffle? Because of the notorious Hot Coffee mod (an installable game modification). Initially, it was suggested that this mod – which allowed for some saucy sexual shenanigans – was unrelated to the boxed game's content, but it's subsequently been revealed that, shock horror, all it does is unlock pre-programmed material. For Senator Clinton (wasn't her hubbie a Democrat? Aren't they supposed to be more progressive?) and anti-game crusader Jack Thompson, this was tantamount to complete social breakdown. Clinton said, “We should all be deeply disturbed that a game which now permits the simulation of lewd sexual acts in an interactive format with highly realistic graphics has fallen into the hands of young people across the country.” Later, the American Entertainment Software Rating Board re-evaluated the game's certificate.  GTA: San Andreas Really, this is all very skew-whiff, not least because in the UK the game already had an 18 certificate, while in the US the initial rating was an M, for people aged 17-plus. Now it's been revised to 18-plus for “Blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs”. Fine. Parents and shopkeepers, take note. But really, what's going on when a game suddenly tips the scales with a bit of sex? This is risible. The Grand Theft Auto games are 18-certificate fiction, their violence is cartoonish. Despite whatever importance people might attach to their alleged realism, the conventions of gameplay result in experiences that are very disconnected from the real world. And is the shooting of cartoon people so very different to zapping Space Invaders? There are even more ludicrous issues at play here, though. So-called moralists might not be entirely happy, but for the most part it's been OK to run around shooting stuff in games. Now, suddenly, Hot Coffee portrays an activity that, last time I checked, was legal and commonplace, and the outraged klaxons sound. Gunplay acceptable, sex unacceptable? Seriously, that's pretty messed up. Oh, and before anyone gets too aroused/incensed, the originator of the mod has said, “As a sign of support towards Rockstar, The Hot Coffee Mod is no longer available.”
Daniel Etherington
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