A year after the Playstation 2 version was released, the game made its way onto the PC. A curious hacker, exploring the game's code, found hidden game code on the disc that could be unlocked to reveal a hidden sex sequence. Within a matter of weeks, the content was also found on the home console versions.
This sparked the biggest debate yet, with the most vocal critics of the industry (including attorney Jack Thompson and senator Leland Yee) pointing out that the ESRB had failed. The actual segment that started the controversy was not accessible through normal play. Players needed to either download a patch to their computers for the PC version, or use an external cheat device to access the content on the Playstation 2.
The mainstream media coverage was intense, forcing the ESRB to re-evaluate the then M rated title, only to revoke it and force a new AO rating. It was a landmark, the first time a game's rating had ever been changed, and the first AO handed out to a console game. Retailers immediately pulled the title from their shelves, and Rockstar games, the publisher, plans to re-release the title later this year with the content completely removed to maintain a M rating.
With another set of even more powerful consoles due for release in the next two years, games will become even more realistic, with vivid graphics that will start to rival those in major special effect films. With them will likely come more controversy, and advanced games aimed at the adult crowd, something that has become a growing segment of the population, one so large it has become the key demographic for the industry.