Why No One Cares That Video Games Have Sex In Them

Some of you may recall that old lawsuit involving the game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and the "Hot Coffee" mod that allowed characters in it to have graphic sex. That's disgusting, of course, so some lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit and forced a settlement that would allow any of the millions of innocent, outraged people who bought the game to come forward and receive justice. So just how many of these folks were outraged enough to do so? 2,676. That's it.

So why did they bring the suit in the first place? Good question! One of the lawyers involved said that people should not have to be surprised by sex in an otherwise innocent video game--even if that "surprise" is impossible since one had to willfully download and install the mod in order to see the dirty stuff. It wasn't made, sold or endorsed by the company that was sued, and there was no doubt what the modification was for. Yet, even if it Take Two Interactive fully meant for this animated porn to appear in the game, why would so few of the millions of customers who bought a copy be offended enough to file a claim (even taking into account that half of those folks probably just wanted the free money anyway?) Maybe because the goal of the game is to rob, beat and murder anyone who stands your way in order to become the greatest professional criminal in the city. Who cares if you see some boobs along the way?

The one thing games and porn have in common is that people use them to act out fantasies that can't happen--and that you probably wouldn't even want to happen--in real life. As violent and sexy as they can be, they're completely harmless for the most part--and the kind of gamer who enjoys running over police officers probably wouldn't be too put out by a little animated nudity. And we don't have to remind everyone once again that while extreme violence is routinely overlooked in pretty much all media, the merest hint of sex sends certain people screaming for the hills. Those same people think everyone else will follow--but as the results of this lawsuit show, they won't.

(Oh, by the way, the lawyers who brought the suit are looking to collect around $1.3 million in legal fees for their trouble. The 2,676 claim holders combined will receive less than $30,000.)

· Hidden Sex Scenes Draw Ho-Hum, Except From Lawyers (NYTimes.com)
· Should you care about sex in video games? (cnet.com)