(Edit: pkroll is correct, the final penalties were $21 million.)
The revelation that, in addition to those kinds of sex, a crude sex minigame could be revealed, if one made a bit flip to a config file with the help of third party software or hardware, led to:
* $21 million in penalties.
* The city of Los Angeles suing the company.
* A class action lawsuit whose initial plaintiff was a lady who bought the game for her 14 year old grandson, which would end with 2700 claimants being compensated.
* Hillary Clinton calling on the FTC to "take immediate action."
* Senator Lieberman, working with Clinton, proposed a law making the sale of violent games to children a federal crime.
But such an Easter egg could put Nintendo in a similar situation, and I can see why they can't let developers get away with hidden content like this. It would set a bad precedent.
In that in both cases the backlash is more ridiculous than the Easter egg itself?