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L.A. City Attorney Sues "Grand Theft Auto" Makers Take-Two, Rockstar

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2006 - 8:15am.
Los Angeles - Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the "Grand Theft Auto" video game franchise, and developer Rockstar Games have been sued by the Los Angeles City Attorney's office for its alleged hiding of pornographic material in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." The game received a stricter "Adults Only" rating and was removed from store shelves last year, after it was discovered that a sexually explicit mini-game hidden in the title's source code could be unlocked with an Internet download. The lawsuit alleges misleading marketing and unfair competition, accusing Take-Two of hiding the fact that the game contained pornographic content to receive a less strict rating, and later trying to claim the offensive mini-game was created by hackers and not its employees. "Greed and deception are part of the 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' story -- and in that respect, its publishers are not much different from the characters in their story," Delgadillo said in a statement. "Businesses have an obligation to truthfully disclose the content of their products -- whether in the food we eat or the entertainment we consume." The lawsuit demands Take-Two and Rockstar return $10 million in estimated profits from sales of the game in California, pay fines and cease marketing the game to children. Delgadillo said the Take-Two lawsuit is part of a larger investigation by the L.A. City Attorney's office into the marketing of video games.
tags: Games | Take-Two | Grand Theft Auto | Rockstar | Los Angeles | Attorney |