L.A. Needs to Get Back all That Rampart Lawsuit Money Somehow

Brian Doherty | January 27, 2006

The city of Los Angeles files suit against the makers of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" for false advertising and unfair competition, since if the Entertainment Software Ratings Board had known about its secret sexual content, L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo claims, it would have gotten an "adults only" rather than merely "mature" rating and supposedly sold fewer copies. This could make game maker Take-Two Interactive's stock a worse buy than Fortune is already saying it is.

Delgadillo could have a field day attacking one of his own city's greatest industries with this sort of close reading of the implicit meaning of entertainment advertising and marketing; I hereby publicly tip him off, for example, that the Laugh Factory only rarely produces mirth; and that despite what it says in many ads, it is altogether possible that Brokeback Mountain is not the "best picture of the year"--get some city attorneys on it, Rocky.