Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Attorney Jack Thompson, fresh from the “Hot Coffee” controversy, has set his sights on the Electronic Arts (EA) video game The Sims 2 for a mod that removed the blur on nude character models in the game.
Thompson was quoted as saying “Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise … contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair.” Factually, the characters resemble that of a child’s dolls. Thompson also accused EA of being in collaboration with the mod makers.
In Electronic Arts’ defense, EA spokesman Jeff Brown said, “Reasonable people understand there is nothing improper in the game. Reasonable people recognise what mods are. A consumer who chooses to use a mod does so without any kind of agreement with the company. There is no nudity. There is nothing improper or vulgar in the Sims 2.”
A mod is third-party add-on to a game. Mods range from minor and subtle changes to the game, to full-fledged “total conversions” which merely use the original game engine to create a very different game.