Aussie censors investigate GTA; BBFC unperturbed by Hot Coffee

By Games Industry.biz Published 13 July, 2005

UK censors not bothered.

British censors have stated that the controversial Hot Coffee mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas won't change their rating for the title - but Australian censors may be on the verge of banning the title from sale.

Earlier this week the ESRB warned that San Andreas could be slapped with an Adults Only rating in North America after news emerged of the pornographic mini-game, which can be unlocked by downloading a mod from the Internet.

"We were not aware that the hidden content was in the game when we awarded the 18 rating, and our understanding is that Rockstar did not know the content was in the game," a representative of the British Board of Film Classification told us.

"Even if we had been aware of it, we would not have had a problem," she continued. "From our point of view the hidden material does not contravene the 18 rating and so the rating stands."

However, unlike the UK, where the title is 18-rated, the highest rating which can be awarded by Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification is MA15+. The board is notoriously strict when it comes to both violent and sexual content, previously refusing to classify titles such as Manhunt, NARC and Leisure Suit Larry and thereby effectively banning them from sale.

According to a statement issued by the OFLC, "The Classification Board is compelled to revoke a game's classification if it is found to contain undisclosed contentious material, whether activated through use of a code or otherwise."

OFLC director Des Clark commented: "Developments such as this are indicative of the increasingly complex technological world of entertainment in which we live."

"Our investigations show the National Classification Scheme at work and the Classification Board will take action, if required, when all the facts are established."

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Comments (23) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mustardkid #1 7 years ago

    British censors have stated that the controversial Hot Coffee mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas won't change their rating for the title

    ahhh i thought the badly rendered sex scenes (from the screenies i saw on uk:R) may warrant lowering the rating to a 15 as the game suddenly becomes much more juvenile than adult

    ban this sick filth

    .... as if it would change the rating - it's not exactly 9 songs is it?
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/05 @ 11:53

  • JHuxley #2 7 years ago

    Australia's OFLC are a bunch of hypocrites. And I'm not saying this lightly - they've censored PC FMV games which were later given a full *uncensored* DVD release despite featuring nearly identical content - http: //anthonylarme.tripod.com/gc/gcrgames.html

    And that MA15+ rating? There are two classifications above this rating, but they only apply to films. Makes no sense whatsoever.

  • captain-future #3 7 years ago

    increasingly complex technological world of entertainment in which we live

    maybe he should begin to live with it and not censor it all the time.

  • Bru-Man #4 7 years ago

    This never happened when the original Tomb Raider PS1 came out with the infamous "donkey.mpg" on the CD...

    EDIT: Wrong generation of PS :p
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/05 @ 12:54

  • smelly #5 7 years ago

    Well gawd knows what they'd do if "battle raper 2" ever came out uncensored in the west!

  • OldWormsFan #6 7 years ago

    Can someone explain what this mini-game actully is..?

  • cubbymoore #7 7 years ago

    This never happened when the original Tomb Raider PS1 came out with the infamous "donkey.mpg" on the CD...

    I haven't heard this one, what was it?

  • asphaltcowboy #8 7 years ago

    Have they seen the video? IT'S RUBBISH! NO ONE CARES.

    And why are the Austrailians such pussies? :/

  • dextress #9 7 years ago

    asphaltcowboy:

    Austrailians? Jesus... Try Australians. We're not ‘pussies’, we just have moronic people at the helm of our ratings board who don't understand that games can be enjoyed by and developed for people over the age of 15.

  • crashVoodoo #10 7 years ago

    "... This never happened when the original Tomb Raider PS1 came out with the infamous "donkey.mpg" on the CD ..."

    " ... I haven't heard this one, what was it? ... "


    yes, please expand. i've searched the interweb thingy and i can't find a reference to it ... i is curious :)

  • JHuxley #11 7 years ago

    "we just have moronic people at the helm of our ratings board who don't understand that games can be enjoyed by and developed for people over the age of 15"

    I thought we had bad in the UK until I heard what it was like down there. You have my sympathies.

  • adfegg #12 7 years ago

    I'm a bit confused. What's the difference between am eighteen year old and an 'adult'?

  • Bitkari #13 7 years ago

    I'm a bit confused. What's the difference between am eighteen year old and an 'adult'?

    bitter cynicism, ironic humour.

  • ecureuil #14 7 years ago

    This is really stupid. I really hate how games are okay to have extreme graphic violence and references in them, but any slight reference to sex and it suddendly becomes "Adults Only." Surely the regular material in the game is far more offensive and damaging than some badly executed sex sequences?

  • jack_klugman #15 7 years ago

    it's not exactly 9 songs is it?

    Can this game be made please? I find the idea of a time-critical dating sim set around the Brixton Accademy (in which the player must woo and sleep with an AI partner in nine nights of nine songs before embarking on an antarctic survey expedition) utterly compelling.

  • spillz #16 7 years ago

    hypocrisy? we adult aussies like our porn and violence straight up on video. too hard to juggle a beer, meatpie and a controller.

  • Genji #17 7 years ago

    I could've sworn I saw a new ratings system for games at my local EB. One that included an R18+ classification. Maybe only in Victoria? Maybe I'm losing my mind?

  • mustardkid #18 7 years ago

    Can this game be made please? I find the idea of a time-critical dating sim set around the Brixton Accademy (in which the player must woo and sleep with an AI partner in nine nights of nine songs before embarking on an antarctic survey expedition) utterly compelling.

    probably has potential as a rythmn-action game - you could have a dance mat for the songs and some sort of specially crafted peripheral for the bits inbetween

  • jack_klugman #19 7 years ago

    probably has potential as a rythmn-action game - you could have a dance mat for the songs and some sort of specially crafted peripheral for the bits inbetween

    Whiteboy Indie Dancemat Stage Toooo!!!1

  • Darkedge #20 7 years ago

    considering how BIG the sex industry is in Australia (there are licensed brothels) isn't this a bit hypocritical?

  • Twinfalls #21 7 years ago

    Good. I'm a gamer, and I'm glad the OFLC is showing some concern about this.

    Unlike the porn industry, the rubbish that is GTA is marketed to children.

    This increasingly realistically-depicted but utterly morally and consequentially unrealistic gang-banger bullshit has got to STOP BEING PLAYED BY KIDS. If that means (immature, no-life suburban fantasising) adults can't play with themselves over this, then TOUGH.

    I can not believe how many of you people still swallow the 'oh but its just a game' line from cynical outfits like Rockstar who are interested in one thing only - money.

  • ssuellid #22 7 years ago

    Great htt p://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4682533.stm

    "Senator Hillary Clinton has stepped into the controversy over sex scenes in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
    The senator wants the US Federal Trade Commission to find out who put the explicit material in the game.

    The US Entertainment Software Rating Board is already investigating GTA maker Rockstar over the matter.

    Rockstar has denied that it included the graphic content in San Andreas and has instead accused hackers of altering the code. "

  • DiscoMike #23 7 years ago

    You cant buy publicity like this.