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Gamers get compensation for hot coffee mod

Up to $35 if you were offended and upset
Americans who found the hot coffee mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "offensive and upset" can claim up to $35 in compensation from Rockstar, People Magazine reports.

The exact amount you can claim depends upon how much documentation you have to prove your outrage.

Rockstar is referring to receipts or proof of purchase by the way, so you can throw away all those psychiatrist's reports linking your mentally deranged mind to seeing the simulated sex mod.

For our American readers and/or the intrigued:

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas First Edition Disc: Replacement Disc
Detailed Store Receipt: Cash payment up to $35.00
General Credit Card Statement or Check: Cash payment up to $17.50
Disc/Purchase Details: Cash payment up to $10.00
No Disc/Purchase Details: Cash payment up to $5.00

Further details can be found at gtasettlement.com if you feel you were traumatised by the ordeal.

As a nice epilogue, the lawyers involved have received one million dollars for defending American citizens from the tyranny of Rockstar's unused code.

That sort of money makes us think that writing about games for a living wasn't perhaps the best career choice, after all. Spotted by Gaming Steve.

computerandvideogames.com
// Interactive
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Read all 20 commentsPost a Comment
Only in America could you get paid for cracking a game to show you something it wasn't supposed to. Honestly the American "justice" system is a joke.
morikaweb on 28 Jan '08
Hold up, what?

They're paying compensation for something you had to find, download and install manually to see?

Awesome.

Time to dig out old copies of software to see what other b******s we can get companies to pay up for. I am offended by the, um... faces pulled by characters in Garry's Mod. Cash now please.
Dajmin on 28 Jan '08
How about a pic of my reaction when I read this news. It was something like this > Laughing
vulcanraven01 on 28 Jan '08
Im offended that this is actualy happening. Money please *holds out hands*
mfnick on 28 Jan '08
Im offended that this is actualy happening. Money please *holds out hands*
im offended that your playing with your willy as you ask for money cus your offended......and now im also confused
MrClaws on 28 Jan '08
Ah so the lawyers got 1 million from Rockstar and the customers got $35? I read this on another site and the way they phrased it it looked like the people who sued were getting $35 but their lawyer fees were $1 million, losing them $999,965 (if that's correct - not sure). That would have been much funnier, and the ultimate comeuppance.

Still, it's a shame anyone was able to make money from such a lawsuit. I might sue EA for that Sims nude patch floating around. I'm still in shock from seeing those poor nipple-less ladies drowning. Of course I'm the one who sold their pool ladder, but... traumatic nonetheless.
By the way, if any of the CVG team does indeed depart to start a career in frivolous law, I can start on Monday. Wink
falloutwarchief on 28 Jan '08
only in America could you get compensation for the damage caused by knowingly downloading a crack for a game. Surely rockstar could take them to court for circumventing copyright?
leefear1 on 28 Jan '08
So you can claim compensation for deliberately hacking a great title?

Yet you cannot get compensation for playing a game that's s**t. What about the mental scars I picked up from the night that I played Hedz?

Or the time I heard James Blunt on the radio? (longest 10 seconds of my life).

b******s to it.
csdaveuk on 28 Jan '08
Can somebody please take EA to court for the code they DO use
bohbag2000 on 28 Jan '08
The people who claim should be banned from games. This is a farce.
Waste_Manager on 28 Jan '08
wasnt this announced like months ago?!
dead_head1 on 28 Jan '08
Holy s**t. I'm gonna tape over my old Transformers videos with porn, then sue JVC and Mattel.

...Then I'm gonna take a photo of my own genitals, glue it to the pages of a Bible, then sue the church.

MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!!!!!!

MONEY FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!
SunScramble on 28 Jan '08
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scipio_CA on 28 Jan '08
That's as maybe. Had it been left in as part of the game, accessible by normal people by normal playing methods, sure they should be held accountable.

But this is a MOD. It's a HACK that you need to find, download and install in order to see it. For all anyone knows there might be similar things in every other RockStar game in existence. How would you know if someone didn't get their coding on?

It'd be like attaching a load of home-made aftermarket parts to your car and then suing Ford because you crashed it. Utterly retarded. I bet if it wasn't a RockStar game this would never have seen a courtroom.
Dajmin on 28 Jan '08
If Dajmin is right then that's just completely ridiculous, not that it wouldn't be bad enough anyway. Still... it's an 18!!! I almost feel like your pulling our legs here.
lwill on 28 Jan '08
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scipio_CA on 28 Jan '08
Before all of you legal geniuses get your panties in a bunch...

I suspect that the reason they got in trouble was because they violated the game rating system (M for Mature, etc.). Everyone knows that children can't be trusted to censor themselves, so when a company secretly plants sexual content in a game (or lacks sufficient safeguards to prevent it), children can be expected to download the hack (or whatever) to exploit it.

I don't agree with it, and I think it is retarded that killing a virtual hooker is ok, but showing a boob is a no-no, but Rockstar knew the rules and opened themselves up to this.

This game is 18+ This game is not for children. You're correct, children cannot be trusted to censor themselves. Adults should do that for them. They should do that by not buying this game for their kids, or keeping it out of the way of their kids.

This lawsuit is a f**king sham. If I was CEO of Rockstar I'd be saying "f**k the lot fo you, take me to prison. You've got nothing"
Shin2k35 on 29 Jan '08
Who wouldn't just say 'yeah, I've been scarred, now gimme the money'. What a stupid way of doing things. Surely it should only be for people that complained in the first place.

And as others have said, you had to hack the game to find it. Dumb f**king luck guys, you deserve to be scarred.
_Marty_ on 30 Jan '08
Before all of you legal geniuses get your panties in a bunch...

I suspect that the reason they got in trouble was because they violated the game rating system (M for Mature, etc.). Everyone knows that children can't be trusted to censor themselves, so when a company secretly plants sexual content in a game (or lacks sufficient safeguards to prevent it), children can be expected to download the hack (or whatever) to exploit it.

I don't agree with it, and I think it is retarded that killing a virtual hooker is ok, but showing a boob is a no-no, but Rockstar knew the rules and opened themselves up to this.

Who needs GTA? Shocked These days getting your hands on such things is as easy as using google or limewire Shocked

I want some compensation!! I played Rise of the Robots, Primal Rage and Shaq fu when they came out and the damage still remains with me to this very day! Can I sue those companies too? Smile

*goes off to therapist*
vectra on 30 Jan '08
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alily7788 on 6 Jun '08
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