GTA: San Andreas was one of the best video games that came out back in the 2000s. From the story missions to the characters to the normal GTA shenanigans, the game made by Rockstar Games is an absolute treat to play. If you are above fifteen and have never heard of how influential GTA: San Andreas was to the gaming industry, then you have been living under a rock.
GTA: San Andreas changed the entire genre of open-world games and brought in a huge perspective shift in the entire gaming market through this one hidden mini-game known as Hot Coffee. What was this Hot Coffee mini-game about, and how did it become the catalyst of change in the industry? Let’s find out.
San Andreas got in a lot of trouble for this mini-game
San Andreas was released back in 2004, and although it was the fifth installment in the entire Grand Theft Auto series, the game sold more than 4.5 million copies in its first week. San Andreas really emphasized the open-world aspect of the franchise, where players who would play as Carl “CJ” Johnson could attack rival gang members and perform other mature acts in the game.
One mature act that Rockstar was supposed to introduce in San Andreas was a mini-game where the protagonist could have interactive s*x with his in-game girlfriend, this mini-game was unofficially known as Hot Coffee. The desire to add this in the game came from the founder of Rockstar Games, Sam Houser, who really wanted to emphasize the mature theme of GTA through this game.
Due to the risk of losing the game’s ESRB rating, the developers were forced to make the mini-game inaccessible to the players. However, because the developers did not completely remove the feature from the game, the mini-game was leaked by players and became a huge controversy.
In a recent interview with Danny Peña and the corporate vice-president of Microsoft, Peter Moore, revealed how both Hot Coffee and the game were beneficial to the overall gaming industry and how gave game developers a chance to see players as “mature audiences”
It was starting to take full advantage of obviously the graphical power of the high definition of Xbox 360. And I think it was the stickiness of GTA, it said to gamers, ‘We see you as mature adults. This is no longer content that you will pass through in a phase and get on to more mature things.’ GTA, as controversial as it obviously was at times, if anybody remembers Hot Chocolate [Coffee], I think it signified a maturing of the industry, no pun intended, and put us on par with movies and music.
He also added on how, back in the early 2000s, video game developers and console companies had to fight to make people understand that video games are not the root of all evil in society.
Rockstar changed the entire gaming industry
The Hot Coffee controversy became one of the defining moments in video game history that forced the entire industry to conform to the identity of mature themes. Although the mini-game led to stricter regulations and re-evaluations of ratings, it solidified the idea of video games for not being only for children. Games had become a medium for mature themes and storytelling as well, much like movies and music.
Rockstar will face many more controversies and backlashes like the San Andreas one, yet it continues to be a role model for the evolving gaming industry. As the developing company releases new titles, we are yet to see what other major changes they bring to the world of gaming.
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