I expect this to be thrown out of court. The game was already classified 'R', meaning that it was unsuitable for persons under 17 years of age. The woman's grandchild was fourteen. Clearly, the game was not intended for the fourteen year old and had the grandmother taken the time to look at the box, she would have seen the ratings advice.
This whole 'Hot Coffee' also raises an interesting point about double standards in the community, particularly in the United States. No one seems to give a flying fig if there is violence but as soon as sex is mentioned all hell breaks loose. For example, Janet Jackson's superbowl wardrobe malfunction. The viewers saw a nipple for half a second and CBS got fined half a million dollars. Most people in the rest of the world sort of went 'Meh'.
With the game being banned in Australia, it once again highlights the need for an 18+ rating in this country. There are just too many inconsistencies with the current system. Leisure Suit Larry gets banned yet Playboy the Mansion gets an MA rating.
The most irritating thing about this saga is Jack Thompson, the anti-games activist. The Miami attorney seems to be more interested in self-promotion than in the well being of those affected by so called "dangerous" video games. His recent lack of research on Sims 2 recently shows this. He was not aware that removing the 'blur' on naked sims only revealed mannequin-esque bodies. After hearing about this he then went on to say that having the blur there in the first place was an admission that even mannequin type bodies were unsuitable. I hope the next time he argues against videogames he bases his argument on facts. |
