If Miami attorney Jack Thompson had his way, those associated with the production and sale of the video game ‘Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,’ or any game with content of a violent or sexual nature, would be out of business.

Since 1989, Thompson has led campaigns against nearly every form of popular media. In the last six years, his focus has shifted to controversial video games, their developers and the agencies and businesses that profit from their production.

The most publicized of his recent efforts were taken against Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., who owns Rockstar North, the studio which developed the widely popular GTA:SA, bringing his name to the surface of censorship discussions.

The ‘Hot Coffee’ incident, named for the sexually oriented sub game in GTA:SA which placed the title under scrutiny, resulted in the Entertainment Software Rating Board amending the game’s rating from Mature to Adults Only.

‘The credibility and utility of the initial ESRB rating has been seriously undermined,’ said Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB.

This decision was made in spite of the fact that the explicit content could only be unlocked using tools available from third party sources. This distinction was insignificant to Thompson, who accused Take-Two of deceitfully selling sexually explicit material to minors.

‘They have been caught today in the web of their lies,’ Thompson said following the ESRB’s decision.

The new rating forced major sellers such as Best Buy and Gamestop to pull the game from their shelves, citing company policy barring the sale of AO titles. Take-Two awarded the large retail companies a full refund for their returned stock of the game, lowering their fourth quarter projections by $40 million to compensate for the cost involved.

Those hurt most by the ratings change are local business operators, such as 2-Play Games owner Lance Shepherd, who are left without the major corporate backing needed to receive the special treatment being offered to the chain stores, but still seek to keep their stores free of AO- rated titles.

‘Because of a lack of support from Sony and Microsoft for the smaller game stores, we’re forced to take a loss on the game,’ Shepherd said.

The financial damage inflicted on those businesses doesn’t concern Thompson, who claims that the retailers ‘knew for quite some time that this sexual material harmful to minors was on the games, yet they continued to sell the product to minors.’

Thompson was far from finished with his opposition to the game industry.

Following his victory over Take-Two, he began to put pressure on Electronic Arts for their Teen- rated life simulation game ‘The Sims 2.’ He alleges that the title not only contains graphic nudity, but child pornography.

Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA claims the idea is absurd.

‘This is nonsense.’ Brown said. ‘We’ve reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim.’

Thomas, however, remains unrelenting.

In addition to his other efforts, this month he adopted a stance against the M rating given by the ESRB for the game ‘Killer 7.’ He warns that the freely available sexual content found in the game goes a step beyond the unlockable content that landed GTA’s ‘Hot Coffee’ in hot water.

‘This is not a situation in which the ESRB has been blind-sided by hidden or embedded content,’ Thompson said.

The ones most hurt by the potential ratings changes are those least involved in the scandals incited by Thompson.

‘Without corporate backing, we’re the ones who take the hit when ratings are adjusted,’ Shepherd said.