Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas (what do you think about the sucess of the "murder game"?)

TIMESDISPATCH.com ^ | 4/11/2004 | Doug Elfman

[red_is_beautiful]

This time, the blood spills in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," which looks, feels and sounds a lot like its predecessors. That means you pull off drive-bys and other hard-core criminal goals, while killing cops, prostitutes and hundreds of innocent victims on the side. Some people complain that the game could desensitize children to murderous images. But it's rated M for Mature. Kids aren't supposed to have access to it, even though we know that many will. [...] There's sex in "San Andreas," as there was in "Grand Theft Auto III." For a small amount of money, you can pick up hookers and drive them behind a bush. The car rocks. Talk is exchanged. [...] The game is smart like that, but the characters aren't. The one thing I can't make happen is intellectual reflection. Characters point guns. Characters kill one another other. Not one stops to think.

[TheRatHunter]

Then don't play it. Case closed. Bye, now.

[BlkConserv]

[conservative cat]

My husband (GTA fan) and his good friend once spent a night debating whether they would go to hell for all the pretend mayhem they did while playing the game. Their end decision was that they would...but they kept playing, anyway. He is a very upright and kind person IRL.

[rwfromkansas]

Thank you morals nancy for telling me how to live my life.

You can do some bad things in GTA, but it is just a game.

I enjoy GTA because it is virtually real-life. There is SO MUCH you can do in the game......you have almost full control and the option to do anything......which is why it is so awesome.

Just because some do violent things doesn't make the game bad.

And for the record, I don't know why playing a violent video game (and again, GTA does not force you to do violence in the game...you have complete control) is worse than subjecting yourself to the mental images that come from violent movies. If it is right in your ethics to see others get killed, but wrong to play a violent video game, frankly, your morals are messed up.

[Manic_Episode]

Some years back I recieved a gift suscription to Focus On The Family magazine, and in it they had the worst video games of the year, with Duke Nukem listed as the worst.
With that kind of endorsement I knew it was going to be a fun game so I ran right out and bought it.

[holymoly]

the killing of people without a reason.

Your problem seems to be that you are unable to distinguish fantasy from reality.

[OXENinFLA]

I think it's a good game, for those over 18......

[Gefreiter]

Clearly they would go to pretend hell for causing pretend mayhem.

[ClockworkNinja]

One could say the same thing about many movies and television shows that are meant for adults, but appealing to children. The entertainment industry has no obligation to keep this product away from children who are not able to handle simulated violence. The rating system is not designed to keep games away from children, but to let the consumer know up front what they are going to see in the game.
I have played both Vice City and San Andreas through to the end, and most children should not be let near them. However, these games were not meant for the children of today, they are made for those who grew up on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. I do not know the exact number, but the average age of American video game players is in the high 20s/low 30s. If the game industry made only games to satisfy the youth market, It would have a hard time making the sort of money it does from games like Half-Life, Halo 2, and the Grand Theft Auto series.

[Phantom Lord]

I will be playing Halo 2 all weekend.

[finnman69]

The new Half-Life 2 looks awesome as well:

http://ftp.vugames.com/sierra/half-life2/videos/half-life2_trailer_1300k.wmv

[rwfromkansas]

Don't feel bad. I am Mr. Christian conservative and love GTA. It is just a game.

[red_is_beautiful]

it's not the violence itself... i referred to the desensitisation of children which can occur if they are able to do in the game's environment whatever comes up to their mind (killing of innocent), to the anarchy in that game.

[OXENinFLA]

http://www.rockstargames.com/sanandreas/

[Bella_Bru]

as an adult, I can make my own choices in life.

Oh no you cannot! The Hillary-esque villagers, hiding under the guise of 'it's for the children', will make all your decisions for you, thank you very much.

[Rome2000]

I play this game every night when I get home.

It is the greatest game in the history of the human race.

You should try it.

And bring a strap.

[Bella_Bru]

these games shouldn't be produced at all. the rating is not preventing from abuse but supporting it by making the game more than ever interesting for kids. it's absolutely hypocritical to rely on the impact of ratings.

The government should do your job for you as a parent?

[finnman69]

It aint exactly a PC game (politically correct that is)

[discostu]

They're great games. The GTA series (well the GTA3 sub-series, a sequel with its own sequels) is the best driving sim out there, the cars drive like real cars, you can see airdams and spoilers take effect, if you like driving they're great games.

It's not hypocritical at all to rely on the ratings, that is exactly what ratings are there for, and most stores follow the ratings, I got carded when buying both GTAIII and Vice City and expect to be carded when buying San Andreas, inspite of the grey hair.

Blaming games for the actions of moron youths is the ultimate form of pathetic excuse mongering. That Brit teen killed because he wasn't raised properly with good moral values, games don't make kids kill bad parenting does.