The folks over at Rockstar Games, makers of the equally acclaimed and reviled Grand Theft Auto series, are apparently a bunch of thin-skinned whiny bitches.

For a company whose titles rely so heavily on satire and mockery, they sure are getting worked up about being on the receiving end of a little good-natured send-up.  According to Matt Selman, Executive producer and writer of Electronic Arts’ upcoming Simpsons game, Rockstar’s executives “spazzed out like little babies” over a marketing campaign whch spoofs the famed Grand Theft Auto series.  The ad in question is for the “Grand Theft Scratchy” level of the soon-to-be-released game based on the long-running animated show.

Shouldn’t this be called “Grand Theft Otto”?

Rockstar has spent years establishing itself a something of a loose cannon among game developers, testing the limits of good taste and the ESRB’s tolerance with graphically violent games like the GTA franchise and Manhunt, as well as fighting against censorship of their own titles.  The irony (read: hypocrisy) of their insistence on the removal of this ad campaign (as well as some as-of-yet unspecified game content) is laughable and may actually do serious damage to the company’s all-important credibility as a “rebel” developer.

You didn't hear the Gap bitching, now did you? 

The Simpsons Game consists almost entirely of satires of other games and game genres:  “Medal of Homer”, “Sitar Hero” being two of the more obvious examples.  Harmonix, makers of Guitar Hero had zero problem with their spoof and actually found it funny.  Perhaps they realized that it’s actually a huge compliment to be spoofed like this, as it confirms their position as an iconic game with enough mainstream appeal to warrant satire.  You’d think that the creators of some of the most subversive and clever pieces of satire in video game history would be able to appreciate the use of their property in a similar fashion, but apparently they can dish it out a lot better than they can take it.  Pussies.