First San Andreas... The Sims 2 is Next
#1
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First San Andreas... The Sims 2 is Next
Well, this should all get very interesting.
Sims 2 content "worse than Hot Coffee"
By Tim Surette, GameSpot
07/22/05 12:06 PM
URL: http://gamespot.com/news/2005/07/22/news_6129609.html
How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and antigaming activist has done his share to see that games don't fall into the wrong hands. And lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.
Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree-based GTA franchise. In the past, he's represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including the triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.
His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game-cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.
Thompson is on a roll...and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a game that doesn't involve guns, carjacking, or prostitutes. He's going after Electronic Arts' The Sims 2.
In a manifesto sent today to press outlets, Thompson focuses on dismantling the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and exposing what he calls the industry's "latest dirty little secret." The secret's out now, and it involves nude sims.
In the statement, Thompson says, "Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise ... contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."
The Sims 2 is a "life simulator." In the game, players steer their digital beings around their cyberlives. The actions include everything from the spectacular (getting married, having children, promotions at work) to the mundane (cooking microwaved meals, going to the bathroom, mopping the floor). Such activities, as in real life, sometimes require nudity. EA circumvents inappropriateness by "blurring" out the nether regions, almost to a comical sense.
Knowing that the game is popular among all ages, EA has even taken steps to ensure that Sims fans aren't exposed to indecent depictions. In the recent expansion pack, The Sims 2 University, gamers can send their teenage sims off to college. However, instead of packing the expansion with "keggers" and "reefer," EA chose to use juice and bubble blowers.
Thompson doesn't seem to care. He cites a cheat code that can remove the blur that covers the nether regions. "The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called "the blur" which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."
It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."
Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and EA would be forced to recall all copies of The Sims 2. However, it's what's under the blur that Thompson's after. And what happens when the blur is lifted? A simple mannequin-esque smooth body, according to EA.
Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."
Thompson doesn't buy it. "The sex and the nudity are in the game. That's the point. The blur is an admission that even the 'Ken and Barbie' features should not be displayed. The blur can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."
The last time we checked, The Sims 2 was rated T for Teen by the ESRB, which means that anyone 13 years of age with $50 can purchase the game.
By Tim Surette, GameSpot
07/22/05 12:06 PM
URL: http://gamespot.com/news/2005/07/22/news_6129609.html
How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and antigaming activist has done his share to see that games don't fall into the wrong hands. And lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.
Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree-based GTA franchise. In the past, he's represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including the triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.
His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game-cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.
Thompson is on a roll...and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a game that doesn't involve guns, carjacking, or prostitutes. He's going after Electronic Arts' The Sims 2.
In a manifesto sent today to press outlets, Thompson focuses on dismantling the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and exposing what he calls the industry's "latest dirty little secret." The secret's out now, and it involves nude sims.
In the statement, Thompson says, "Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise ... contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."
The Sims 2 is a "life simulator." In the game, players steer their digital beings around their cyberlives. The actions include everything from the spectacular (getting married, having children, promotions at work) to the mundane (cooking microwaved meals, going to the bathroom, mopping the floor). Such activities, as in real life, sometimes require nudity. EA circumvents inappropriateness by "blurring" out the nether regions, almost to a comical sense.
Knowing that the game is popular among all ages, EA has even taken steps to ensure that Sims fans aren't exposed to indecent depictions. In the recent expansion pack, The Sims 2 University, gamers can send their teenage sims off to college. However, instead of packing the expansion with "keggers" and "reefer," EA chose to use juice and bubble blowers.
Thompson doesn't seem to care. He cites a cheat code that can remove the blur that covers the nether regions. "The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called "the blur" which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."
It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."
Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and EA would be forced to recall all copies of The Sims 2. However, it's what's under the blur that Thompson's after. And what happens when the blur is lifted? A simple mannequin-esque smooth body, according to EA.
Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."
Thompson doesn't buy it. "The sex and the nudity are in the game. That's the point. The blur is an admission that even the 'Ken and Barbie' features should not be displayed. The blur can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."
The last time we checked, The Sims 2 was rated T for Teen by the ESRB, which means that anyone 13 years of age with $50 can purchase the game.
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Well, since I can pretty much digitally remove clothes from any game (or at least paint skin-tight costumes in a flesh color) I guess all games must be rated M because of the possibility of someone doing so.
I could understand the beef with GTA, since there was an explicit part included in the game. But otherwise it's just hacking, isn't it? And like someone said on the other thread, the effort involved in getting this stuff to work is much greater than the effort it would take a kid to see some questionable stuff on the internet.
Can't wait for Thompson to try God of War. His head might explode.
I could understand the beef with GTA, since there was an explicit part included in the game. But otherwise it's just hacking, isn't it? And like someone said on the other thread, the effort involved in getting this stuff to work is much greater than the effort it would take a kid to see some questionable stuff on the internet.
Can't wait for Thompson to try God of War. His head might explode.
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by fujishig
Well, since I can pretty much digitally remove clothes from any game (or at least paint skin-tight costumes in a flesh color) I guess all games must be rated M because of the possibility of someone doing so.
I could understand the beef with GTA, since there was an explicit part included in the game. But otherwise it's just hacking, isn't it? And like someone said on the other thread, the effort involved in getting this stuff to work is much greater than the effort it would take a kid to see some questionable stuff on the internet.
Can't wait for Thompson to try God of War. His head might explode.
I could understand the beef with GTA, since there was an explicit part included in the game. But otherwise it's just hacking, isn't it? And like someone said on the other thread, the effort involved in getting this stuff to work is much greater than the effort it would take a kid to see some questionable stuff on the internet.
Can't wait for Thompson to try God of War. His head might explode.
But I agree to an extent.. at least for the PC, games can be modified to any extent in some cases. Now if the publishers had the content in the game and an outside patch simply enables it, I can see where the red flag would go up. But, if an outside patch totally adds the content to the game I can't see how the publishers can take the blame for that. In reality, either way is just as easy to apply on the end user side.
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Originally Posted by Joe Molotov
I'm still waiting for my nude code for Tomb Raider.
#11
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by PixyJunket
I read something on the Sims 2 patch the other day (following the GTA humor) and apparently it's a bit like the San Andreas bit.. the nudity is all in the game and the patches simply remove the blurring process that game puts of the "naughty" bits. Somebody correct if I'm wrong.. well actually I wouldn't be wrong.. the site I read would be.
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Originally Posted by lotsofdvds
Doesn't seem like Thompson would mind if we kicked the shit out of him. Only if we molested his naughty parts.
#14
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Originally Posted by kakihara1
I want to remove miss packman's bow................ooooooohhhhhh god that's hot!!!!
#15
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by fujishig
If anything, the code would remove the pixelating of the nudity, which is probably just some kind of filter... but even then, the bodies wouldn't be detailed (if they are detailed, then that is a problem).
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Originally Posted by fujishig
See, you're the kind of sicko that Thompson is railing against... especially because we all know that without the bow, Miss Pacman is really... Pacman!
No but seriously I think this guy is going to go way too far with this stuff, and it's not like he really cares about the sex/nudity anyhow the guy's motivated by the stack of cash at the end of all this.
#17
Originally Posted by original article
It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."
#18
DVD Talk Legend
Actually, if somebody wants to check it out I'm pretty sure the site that had the info on the Sims 2 patch came from the GTA thread in Adult Talk here. There was a link to a GTA site that had since removed the Hot Coffee patch and gave a link to Sims 2 for "all you polygonal fantasies."
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Originally Posted by kakihara1
I want to meet this Thompson fellow and kick the shit out of him.