The riff between publisher Take-Two Interactive/RockStar Games and Haitian
civil rights groups in the United States has escalated further, with a lawsuit being filed in Florida seeking an outright ban on the sale
of Grand Theft Auto:Vice City, as well as $15,000 in damages.

The legal action comes despite a move by Take Two last month to placate the Haitian groups by removing controversial dialogue
from future copies of the game, including the line “kill the Haitians”, which was highlighted by a US report last month, kicking off
the current dispute.The New York-based Rockstar Games Inc. has agreed to remove the offensive line from future versions of the
award-winning video that has sold 11 million copies. See XboxSolution story here.

But the Haitian organizations, led by the Haitian-American Coalition of Palm Beach County, have also asked for more than
$15,000 in damages as well as a complete ban on the sale of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.The suit was filed Dec. 23 in state circuit
court in Palm Beach County. Attorneys for Rockstar Games opted to move the case to federal court, and that motion was granted. No hearing dates were immediately set.

The lawsuit also names heavyweights in the video game industry, including Rockstar Games, its parent company Take-Two
Interactive Software Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment, the Microsoft Corp., and retailers Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy. No date for the trial has been set as yet. Earlier this month, about 100 Haitian-Americans demonstrated outside a Wal-Mart Supercenter in nearby Boynton Beach chanting, “Stop Vice City.” Attorneys for the Haitian organizations and the video game manufacturer did not
comment.

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