July 20^th, 2005 (8:41pm) - The trade group representing the $10-billion-dollar computer and video game industry’s leading retailers, the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA), has issued the following statement regarding the revocation of the "Mature" rating for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

"The ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) notified us late this afternoon Eastern Time that they have revoked the "Mature" rating previously issued for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, following an extensive investigation. Our members intend to immediately cease all sales of the game until existing inventory can either be re-stickered with an AO (Adults Only) rating, or exchanged for new versions of the game that has the hidden content removed and the original M (Mature 17+) rating intact. Though not a policy, IEMA members generally do not carry AO-rated games any differently than we do not carry X-rated videos or DVDs, thus it is likely that our members will be removing all copies of the current version and re-stocking with the updated version."

We understand that several non-IEMA retail companies intend to continue selling the current version, so we would refer all media inquiries to those respective corporations.

Statement attributable to Hal Halpin, president, IEMA.