The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board), which is the MPAA for the video game industry, has ordered a recall of all copies of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from retailers. Why? Because of a buried mini-game within the game that allows players to engage in some hot sexy action with a date. The mini-game, nicknamed “Hot Coffee,” was unearthed by some hackers and, predictably, has led to a shitstorm from moral scolds in Washington (Hillary Clinton leads the charge).

The mini-game itself is not all that interesting, nor is it terribly explicit (in a game where you can beat hookers and shoot policemen, it's hard to stand out), but the game's publisher, Rockstar Games, has tried to dodge the entire problem, first saying it was a fake, then something developed by hackers, and now finally, after they've been busted, admitting it was buried in the game. This, of course, has only made matters worse.

San Andreas carries an "M" rating (no one under 17 allowed to purchase), but now the ESRB is threatening to give them the dreaded AO rating (adults only). The plan for now is to yank all copies of the game from the shelves (I guess my PlayStation 2 copy just became a collector's item) and release an entire new batch with the mini-game wiped clean.

Bottom line: The developers were idiots for creating the mini-game in the first place, and, given our current political climate, count on hysteria about the evils of video games to occupy the media for at least the rest of the summer.