Los Angeles Sues Over GTA Sex Mod

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said on Thursday that it had filed suit against both Rockstar Games and its parent company Take-Two Interactive. The suit accuses the companies of engaging in unfair business practices by hiding pornography in an "M" rated game, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

The video game, which was released in October 2004, was discovered to have pornographic material hidden in it in July of last year. The finding resulted in GTA's rating being changed to "Adults Only" or "AO," and caused Rockstar to pull the game from store shelves later that month.

According to Rocky Delgadillo, Los Angeles City Attorney, the companies broke the law by failing to disclose the pornographic scenes. If it would have been disclosed immediately, GTA likely would have been labeled "AO" and most retailers would have declined to carry it due to store policies.

Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and other retailers pulled the game from shelves after the disclosure that the scene was indeed not a hack and was made by the company.

"Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" sold some 12 million copies before this rating change, making the company some $600 million. In California alone, the Attorney's office estimated 200,000 copies have been sold at a value of more than $10 million.

"Greed and deception are part of the 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' story -- and in that respect its publishers are not much different from the characters in their story," Delgadillo said in prepared remarks.

The LA Attorney's office is asking that the companies forfeit a portion of the profits made from GTA: San Andreas before the disclosure, and ensure consumers that in the future the company would be more truthful as to its activities.

The two state statutes that Take-Two and Rockstar are accused of violating each carry a maximum penalty of $2,500 per violation.