5 infamous GTA controversies that younger fans might not know

GTA is a series full of controversies. These mature games often prod the line between what's acceptable and what's not, so it should come across as no surprise that some outrage exists. Such controversies aren't limited to just a single title in the franchise. Most of the games have something questionable that led to public outcry.

The last new single-player GTA game was Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013. That means there are plenty of older game controversies that young fans weren't alive for. This article will cover five infamous examples of scandalous content and some small background details.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

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MADD Campaign and 4 other old controversies tied to the GTA series

1) GTA 1 outcry

Two creators of Grand Theft Auto 1, David Jones and Mike Daily, have attributed much of the game's success to a particular English publicist. Maxwell Clifford manipulated the press to keep outcry for the first game in the series to stay relevant in the public eye. David Jones once said:

"He designed all the outcry, which pretty much guaranteed MPs would get involved... He'd do anything to keep the profile high."

For example, he publicized a story about a GTA programmer (Brian Baglow) who crashed his car to generate interest in the game. Grand Theft Auto 1 became a massive success as the game sold over three million copies worldwide, partially because of the controversy surrounding it generated so much interest.

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2) GTA 3 banned in Australia

This game was incredibly memorable for fans in the early 2000s (Image via Rockstar Games)

There was a controversy when Grand Theft Auto III was banned from the Australian market. At first, the game came out with an MA15+ rating. However, the Office of Film and Literature Classification later banned the title due to the nature of prostitutes in that game (including how many players would eliminate them to get money back).

Take-Two had to recall the game and make Rockstar edit the title to remove the scandalous actions, allowing the game to return to MA15+. A similar edit was made for the game's sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

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3) Jack Thompson vs Rockstar

Jack Thompson was an infamous name associated with controversy in the video game industry in the 2000s (Image via Inverse)

Jack Thompson was once known as an infamous attorney who was usually anti-video games. Unsurprisingly, he has butted heads with Rockstar Games over several separate instances. For example, there was a $600 million lawsuit against the company and some of its distributors, with Jack Thomspon being the plaintiff.

He said that GTA Vice City's violent nature led 18-year-old Devin Moore to kill two cops and a dispatcher. Jack Thomspon would repeat something similar with 14-year-old Cody Posey, who murdered three family members, and the lawyer blamed Vice City again. The lawyer later tried to prevent the sale of Grand Theft Auto IV in 2007 but failed.

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4) Hot Coffee

GTA San Andreas's most significant controversy was undoubtedly Hot Coffee. For the young people unaware, a patch released by a modder re-enabled a cut feature where CJ could romance his girlfriends more visually than what players got in the final product.

The game was forced to receive an Adults Only rating, and many retailers couldn't sell the title. Unsurprisingly, the game got banned in Australia. Even the United States Congress had to discuss the controversial nature of this game, where Hilary Clinton introduced the Family Entertainment Protect Act, which ended up not becoming law.

Take-Two lost over $24.5 million due to the incident's recall. Of course, Grand Theft Auto 5 would have more explicit "romance," but the Hot Coffee controversy largely died down by then.

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5) MADD campaign

An example of drunk driving in Grand Theft Auto IV (Image via Rockstar Games)

MADD, which stands for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, had an extensive campaign in 2008 to protest against GTA 4's drunk driving. For those unaware, Grand Theft Auto IV was the first game in the series where the player could willingly drive drunk.

Drunk driving is controversial, so unsurprisingly, this aspect has angered many people. MADD told ESRB to make the game Adults Only and also wanted Rockstar to halt distribution of the game for the respect of victims of drunk driving. Ultimately, Grand Theft Auto IV stayed rated M for Mature, like the previous games in the series.

Young fans might not remember these controversies, but they could look forward to any new ones with Grand Theft Auto 6 and other future titles.