PRESS RELEASE:

Maxwell, IA – Due in part to overwhelming grassroots pressure by Grassfire.org, an online conservative issues advocacy organization, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), announced that they had opened a “formal and thorough investigation into the matter.

As a result, it was determined that the hidden content served to undermine the game’s initial M (mature 17+) rating, and that the game must either be recalled and reproduced without the hidden content, or else carry an AO (adults only) rating.”

”This is a great victory for grassroots Americans who are tired of incessant pornographic material bombarding their kids!” Steve Elliott, president of Grassfire.org.

After learning that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a top selling video game had in its code un-lockable pornographic content, Grassfire.org sent out an alert to more than 450,000 citizens urging them to complain to the game maker, Rockstar, and to file an official complaint with ESRB.

Just days later Grassfire.org contacted an ESRB official who confirmed that they had received "hundreds of complaints" regarding Grand Theft Auto's pornographic content.

In a letter written to one of our team members and passed along to us, ESRB President Patricia Vance wrote, "We are determined to uphold the integrity and public trust of the ESRB rating system, and in this case we acted in the interests of people like you, who are concerned about explicit video game content and rely on the ratings to make informed decisions about game purchases."

“This is when the grassroots voice at its most effective,” said Elliott. “By themselves, citizens often feel they can’t make a difference on an issue, and as a result, they fail to act. But when that voice is amplified with hundreds of thousands of others, it often brings about change!”

For more information about Grassfire.org, or to schedule an interview with Grassfire.org President Steve Elliott, contact Ron De Jong at 757-673-3733 or email ron@grassfire.net

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