Abstinent San Andreas ships

It appears as though CJ can finally continue his exploits through Los Santos, but this time he'll have to keep his trousers on. Rockstar Games has reportedly shipped Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2nd Edition to stores.

The game was the subject of the "Hot Coffee" scandal, which centered around unlockable sexually themed minigames hidden in the game's code. The explicit content was found by the hacking community, which posted detailed descriptions on how to make the lewd acts playable.

The game, previously rated M for Mature, was rerated AO for Adults Only and was pulled from shelves across the country, costing developer Rockstar, parent company Take-Two Interactive, and retailers millions of dollars. In compliance with the ESRB's rating system, the new version has stripped the sexually explicit content to attain an M for Mature rating.

GameStop is listing the Xbox version of the game as available on its Web site for $49.99, and the M-rated PC version of the game is currently being listed as shipping on September 19. A source has also confirmed to GameSpot that the Xbox version is indeed on shelves at a GameStop in Alabama, and forums are abuzz with proud owners of the clean version saying they are now playing it on their Xboxes.

It's unclear if anything has changed within the game, but gamers looking for a bit of raunchiness are likely to be disappointed. With Rockstar under the magnifying glass of the ESRB and politicians, it's a safe bet the developer played it safe and just left in the random carjacking, malicious drive-bys, and pointless murders.

For more in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, check out GameSpot's full review of the M-for-Mature-turned-AO-for-Adults-Only-rated version.