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The Guy Game Creators Sued by Underage Girl

A seventeen year old girl is suing Topheavy Studios, Gathering of Developers, Microsoft and Sony over her topless appearance in the controversial console game _The Guy ...

David Jenkins, Blogger

December 21, 2004

1 Min Read
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A seventeen year old girl is suing Topheavy Studios, Gathering of Developers, Microsoft and Sony over her topless appearance in the controversial console game The Guy Game. The unnamed teenager was photographed topless during spring break at South Padre Island in Texas, and claims that she was under eighteen at the time, which not only raises a serious question over the basic legality of the game, but also makes invalid any consent she may have given at the time. A judge at Travis county district court has granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the sale of both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game, which use the girl’s image, voice and name. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff has suffered humiliation, embarrassment and shame since the game has been released. According to the Cox News Service, the lawsuit explains: "Plaintiff is still a teenager and wishes to attend college, develop her career and be active in her community and church." However it is not clear what, if any damages, the lawsuit is seeking from the four companies. The Austin, Texas based Topheavy Studios is headed by Jeff Spangenberg, who has a more illustrious career as the founder of Turok developers Iguana and Metroid Prime creators Retro Studios.

About the Author

David Jenkins

Blogger

David Jenkins ([email protected]) is a freelance writer and journalist working in the UK. As well as being a regular news contributor to Gamasutra.com, he also writes for newsstand magazines Cube, Games TM and Edge, in addition to working for companies including BBC Worldwide, Disney, Amazon and Telewest.

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