The mod that triggered a turning point

The sexually explicit "Hot Coffee" mini-game that was "unlocked" by a mod (a computer-code modification) written and put on the Net by a "modder" in the Netherlands was indeed in the game itself, the Entertainment Software Rating Board announced this week, as it upped San Andreas's rating from "M" (for Mature/17+) to "AO" (Adults Only/18+). That led to 1) giant retailers Wal-Mart (its biggest outlet), Target, and Best Buy pulling the game from their shelves, 2) San Andreas's creator Rockstar Games promising to "secure" and reissue the game so it could get that M rating (and shelf space) back, 3) parent company Take Two Interactive's shares dropping 11%, 4) and thousands of news articles about all this in mainstream and online media outlets all over the world. For the view of a dad, MD, and software CEO on all this, please click to my newsletter this week.