A watershed case in videogames and free speech is underway as California has submitted arguments in Schwarzenegger vs. EMA.

The Supreme Court case centers on a proposed California law that would ban the sale or rental of “excessively” violent games to minors. Videogame industry supporters believe free speech rights are being violated. Some of arguments compare games to books or movies with objectionable content.

If you were offended by the Hot Coffee sex mini-game in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and submitted the proper documentation to Rockstar Games by the May 16, 2008, deadline, you will soon receive your settlement.

The GTA settlement site says those that submitted paperwork should receive what they are entitled to by April 15, 2010.

Starbucks’ prices look positively reasonable when you consider how much a little “Hot Coffee” cost Take-Two Interactive.

The Grand Theft Auto publisher announced on September 1, 2009, that it has reached a $20 million settlement with investors in the class-action lawsuit filed over the Hot Coffee scandal surrounding Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The suit alleges that Take-Two was cash strapped before releasing the highly anticipated GTA sequel and rushed the game out the door knowing about the extreme sexual content. Take-Two didn’t help its case when it claimed the hidden sex scene was the work of hackers, when it was designers at GTA developer Rockstar Games who left the content “in” the game. The thing turned into a PR and financial nightmare for Take-Two pretty quickly, leading to a GTA: San Andreas recall and a nosedive in the company’s stock price.

Take-Two has finally detailed how players who were offended by the hot-coffee scene in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas can go about receiving compensation for the game. Since a settlement (PDF) has been reached and filed November 19, 2007, there was still some confusion as to how gamers could apply to receive monetary compensation.

In order to clarify the requirements and procedures of obtaining compensation, the details of the lawsuit and the agreement between Take-Two and the legal officials involved in this settlement have provided instructions for settlement procedures (PDF) on the GTA settlement website. This includes what consumers need to provide with their claims to qualify for any monies to be paid out…

Take Two announced today that it has finally settled all consumer class action lawsuits pending in the US against the company and its subsidiary Rockstar Games regarding the controversial third party program called “Hot Coffee Modification” that unlocks a sex scene in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The lawsuit began when 85-year-old Florence Cohen who, more »

The recent further delay of Halo 2 for Vista is due to “an unfortunate, obscure content error which includes partial nudity.” In the wake of Rockstar and Take Two’s “Hot Coffee” fiasco, where a sex game could be unlocked from the original code via third party modifications, game developers have been under close watch regarding more »