There's no debate that the Grand Theft Auto video game series has always been one surrounded by controversy, but there has been no more questionable time in the franchise's history other than during the "Hot Coffee" incident related to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
In both the PC and PlayStation 2 versions of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was locked content which contained sexually explicit material. While the content was hidden and not a part of the regular game, it could be exposed by modifying several files – something easily done on the PC version. PlayStation 2 version could also have its "Hot Coffee" content unlocked, but it could only be done so using a, unauthorized third party peripheral.
Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series, faced criticism and lawsuits. The entire saga came to a close yesterday as the company reached an agreement in principle to settle a class action for an aggregate payment of $20,115,000.
$15,200,000 of that sum will be paid by the Take-Two Interactive's insurance carriers, and $4,915,000 will be paid by the company itself.
"We are pleased to have reached this settlement, which represents another important step forward for the Company," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.
Now with that out of the way, roll on the Ballad of Gay Tony!
