This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
LAYTON - Christmas turned X-rated for a 14-year-old Layton boy who found pornography - not football - on a video game he received as a gift.
Kolton Mahoney said he saw an explicit image on the television screen after putting the purported Madden NFL 07 game into his new Xbox 360 console.
''This is definitely not 'Madden,' '' Mahoney said, recalling his first thought.
Mahoney's parents also viewed the video and said they were stunned.
The game was manufactured by Electronic Arts of Redwood City, Calif. It was purchased in Modesto, Calif., at a Circuit City store by Mahoney's uncle. It arrived in Utah still in a factory-sealed case, Kolton's mother, Linda Mahoney, said.
Electronic Arts did not return telephone calls from The Standard-Examiner seeking comment Friday. A news release on the company Web site says EA has sold more than 5 million copies of the Madden video.
Stephanie Nightlinger, a spokeswoman for Circuit City based in Richmond, Va., said company officials learned of the problem from the Ogden newspaper.
Nightlinger said she knew of no other complaints, but said the company would investigate.
The Mahoneys have contacted Utah's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about the problem. The task force will work with local police and California authorities to determine how the video game was altered, task force Lt. Rhett McQuiston said.
''The hard part will be finding out who did it,'' he said. ''We'll give it a shot. I would go through the roof if this happened to my kid.''