Take 2 settles Hot Coffee suits

By Games Industry.biz Published 9 November, 2007

Admits no liability.

Take-Two has announced a proposed settlement to class action litigation related to the "Hot Coffee" controversy, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Back in 2005, the company was sued after it was revealed that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas contained a "Hot Coffee" pornographic mini-game.

Under the proposed settlement, which must be approved by the court, neither Take-Two nor Rockstar Games admits liability or wrongdoing.

"If the case had continued, we believe the court would have agreed that Take-Two was not liable for consumers acting independently to modify their games with third-party hardware and software to access normally inaccessible content," said Take-Two CEO Ben Feder.

"Nonetheless, we believe it is in the best interest of the Company to avoid protracted and costly litigation to prove our case and to finally put this matter behind us."

Consumers will be able to exchange their original versions of the game, re-rated AO by the ESRB when the content was revealed, for M-rated versions. They may also be entitled to a USD 35 cash payment if they can provide a proof of purchase.

According to Take-Two, to qualify for benefits consumers will have to swear that they: "(a) bought a copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas before July 20, 2005; (b) were offended and upset by the ability of consumers to modify and alter the game's content using the third-party Hot Coffee modification; (c ) would not have bought the game had they known that consumers could modify and alter the game's content using the third-party Hot Coffee modification; and (d) would have returned the game, upon learning the game could be modified and altered, if they thought this possible."

Take-Two said it will spend at least USD 1 million in settlement benefits, with its total out-of-pocket costs capped at USD 2.75 million. Those costs do not include the plaintiff's legal fees, which Take-Two has agreed to pay.

Full details, including the requirements for receiving a replacement disc or a refund, will likely be disclosed after the court has approved the settlement later this month.

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Comments (11) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • Skurmedel #1 4 years ago

    Silly.

    Come on, a "my world falls apart because the game I bought contains a lousy sexgame which I can only access after modification, only several thousand bucks could make me sleep at night".

  • mazzl #2 4 years ago

    this is absurd indeed.
    isn't changing the code of the game, breaking copiright or something making it illegal to do?

  • Killerbee #3 4 years ago

    I don't blame Rockstar for settling (since otherwise it's just a load of money wasted on expensive lawyers, and they still might have to pay the costs of a replacement / compensation programme), but really, how anyone can honestly say they "were offended and upset by the ability of consumers to modify and alter the game's content using the third-party Hot Coffee modification" is beyond me.
    Edited by 1 at 09/11/07 @ 09:14

  • Hypercube #4 4 years ago

    It's this kind of thing that gives lawyers a bad name.

  • smoothpete #5 4 years ago

    It always puzzled me why they weren't all over Fahrenheit, that had two sex scenes and no-one made a fuss about it. Idiots. Heh, not to mention the Hitman: Blood Money scene where the guard sniffs the young girl's knickers.

  • TheSnotGoblin #6 4 years ago

    Fahrenheit had sex scenes sure; but they were cut from the US version, The Indigo Prophecy.

  • wattoo #7 4 years ago

    Plus the sex scenes in Fahrenheit were mentioned whereas they weren't in San Andreas, so people buying the violent, sadistic, swearword-ridden, shagging prostitutes game were understandably upset that they bought a game where you could shag a girlfriend.

  • 3william56 #8 4 years ago

    I'm going to the states next week, and fully intend to head down to a games shop, and laugh and point at anyone sad enough to shuffle in and ask for that $35.

    Take Two asks the user to sign:
    a) I am a pathetic specimen who can be offended by a lame sh*g game
    b) I have no life
    c) I have no friends
    d) I am a chronic tight arse.
    Sign here:
    -----------------------

  • MoFo #9 4 years ago

    Can I sue Microsoft cos I can download nude skins for The Sims 2 that'll mke all the characters walk around in the buff! This wasn't advertised to me on the box so I now feel totally violated and want to sue them for several million USD. Plus my seven month old daughter may accidentally load this content when she plays The Sims 2 and become a lesbian!

    Seriously, why's no one suing Microsoft?

  • Ryze #10 4 years ago

    @Kirly_Wombat

    Shhhhh! If they stay penned in at home, then over the next half millennium or so they'll wipe themselves out!

  • bdc #11 4 years ago

    Take Two should have fought to the very end, now these fucking idiots will just fight every single little misgiving in our games, thinking developers will just back down.
    Edited by 1 at 01/12/07 @ 18:13