A federal judge has refused a request from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. to dismiss some claims in a lawsuit accusing the company of selling “Grand Theft Auto” video games containing sexually explicit images under the wrong content label. The lawsuit, filed in July 2005 seeking class action status, alleged that Take-Two’s alleged misconduct violated consumer protection laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since then a number of cases making the same claim were consolidated in a Manhattan federal court. Take-Two and its subsidiary, Rockstar Games Inc., wanted to restrict the rights to file claims only in the states where they resided, but not all 50 states. But a U.S. District Judge denied Take-Two’s motion and said she would reconsider her ruling if class action status was granted later in the case.

The best-selling “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” was found to have hidden sex scenes in 2005. The explicit scenes, known as “Hot Coffee” allowed players to engage in virtual sex acts. When the scenes were discovered, the video game ratings board slapped a restrictive “adult” rating on the game. Take- Two had to pull the games off store shelves and repackage them with the “adult” rating, which crimped sales and disrupted the company’s operations. It will be interesting to follow developments in this case. We simply can’t continue to allow fifth like this to be sold in this country.

Source: Reuters News

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