The City of Los Angeles has sued the makers of popular video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” claiming the company misled consumers about pornographic content in order to get the game in stores.
L.A. City Attorney Rockard Delgadillo accused Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive Software of failing to disclose pornographic content included in the games original code, simply to sell the game in major retail outlets that do not carry games rated for adults 18+.
In July of 2005, The Entertainment Software Ratings Board changed the rating of the game from Mature (17+) to Adults Only (18+) after the questionable content was discovered.
The lawsuit demands that Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software return almost $10 million in profits the game made in California and stop marketing the game to under-age children.
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating advertising claims related to the game and in New York, consumers have sued the company and are seeking to file a class-action lawsuit against the companies.
In December of 2005, a group of senators in the United States introduced a bill that would outlaw the sale of violent or sexually-explicit video games to under-aged consumers.
The bill was introduced to congress after the pornographic content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” was discovered. Senators sponsoring the bill include Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.
“The content of many cutting-edge games is becoming more and more vivid, violent and offensive to our most basic values,” Lieberman said in a statement shortly after announcing the bill.
Since Jan. of 2006, at least 55 new bills to restrict the sale of video games were introduced to congress by various politicians.