Hot Coffee

What’s with all the controversy with the “Hot Coffee” Easter egg on Grand Theft Auto?

It’s a game about running people over. You can beat hookers to death. You can go postal at restaurants… they are even old ladies to shoot. But there’s a cheat that allows sex — consentual sex with your girlfriend, no less — and now the game’s off the shelves.

Ok, I completely understand the AO rating. I even understand Wal-Mart and so forth refusing to stock it. And I think Rockstar’s excuse about “leftover content” is up there with “my dog ate it”.

I just don’t understand the lawsuits parents are bringing against Rockstar, because they feel misled by the game’s labeling and packaging. It wasn’t rated Everyone or even Teen, GTA already had an M because of the hookers and, oh yeah, graphic violence. So parents bought their pre-teen sons a game about beating people to death, but didn’t want him to see boobs? What kind of morality is that? It’s ok to run people over and shoot bystanders, as long as no one has sex?

And you do expect that kids will grow up and get laid, rather than grow up and beat people to death (Unless they’re turned violent by those evil videogames and that metal music). Hey, you know there’s this thing on the computer where your son can see naked girls? It’s called the internet. I’d much rather have my teenage son watching pretend porn than shooting up pretend bystanders, but then, I was raised by crazy hippies.

Porn or games or the combination of the two isn’t the problem. Bad parents are the problem.