GTA and the government..your thoughts?

[willblade]

So, most if not all of you here have probaly heard or seen the lil' fuss about Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the government's fight against it, the lawsuit, all that fun stuff. What are your thoughts about the whole thing, and what if anything do you see happening as a result?

I'll have my own answer up later, cause right now it's late here, and i'm tired.

 

[Clairvoyance]

I really don’t understand all of this. I really hate when the government or any other organizations/people decide that something of little or no importance is ‘horrible’. It’s a GAME. What they need to do is focus on real problems. I personally don’t like anything about any Grand Theft Auto games. I happen to find them pointless, immature, and overly sexual at times, but you don’t see me going to court or anything of that nature. Just because I don’t like this game or it’s dirty, low standard it doesn’t mean that I hate those who play it or wish to sue the inventors. I don’t care what they choose to rate it.

 

[Mat]

As a self-proclaimed "gamer", I've taken quite an interest in this situation for a number of reasons and have some strong opinions regarding it.

1) Politicians should have better things to do than conduct a witch hunt on a videogame which is already rated M for Mature with the intent of getting it rated AO for adults only. For those unfamiliar with the ESRB ratings, M-rated games mean you have to be 17+ to buy them while AO means you have to be 18+ to buy them. By changing the rating to AO, all these politicians have effective done is make it slightly more difficult for 17 year olds to purchase the game because, apparently, 17 year olds aren't mature enough to handle sex while 18 year olds are. *rolls eyes*

2) The "Hot Chocolate" mini-game which the is creating all the fuss is not playable without downloading specific crack patches for either your PC, Xbox, or PS2. This means that in order to play this game you have to actively attempt to alter the game in a manner for which it was not intended to be altered. In short, it's through your actions that you make the game pornographic.

3) The reason these idiotic politicians are doing this is because Grand Theft Auto is known as one of the worst videogames for little kids to play and because it's getting them press, as well as making them look like moral crusaders. They are not moral crusaders. These are the people who want to put limitations on free speech. These are the people holding press conferences about a videogame while americans are out of work, while soldiers in Iraq are driving around in jeeps that don't have enough armor to protect them from attacks. It's time our elected representatives prioritized and put things like this at the bottom of their list, if it even belongs to be on the list at all.

If I were the CEO of Rockstar games I'd fight fire with fire, rather than acquiesing to the whims of these poorly-informed politicians. They are called Rockstar games, after all, so I'd act like a fucking Rockstar. I'd recall the game, take the AO rating which barely effects who the game can be sold to, I'd add extra content - a mission where CJ, the game's protagonist, is paid to bump off a glory-seeking senator who only cares how much she's on TV, not the issue she claims is of such utmost importance. With that done, I'd add a specific "Go Fuck Yourself Hilary Clinton" to the games credits.

Okay rant over.

 

[Greatness]

I found something funny, the game God of War is completely violent and in the 2nd scene of the game you have a controlled 3way for extra ruby points to heighten your savage attacks and the game is rated M and this is just fine. GTA has modifable sex sences and now it gets an Adult Rating, common thats ridiculous, even the sims has modifible sex sences and its rated Teen. Honestly parents need to start taking responsibility for the lack of attention they are paying to thier kids. I doubt any kids who have the finacial berings to purchace, A house to play the game, the system, an electric bill and the TV. The parents who get the kid all that are to blame. If you let your kid run in the street and get hit by a car what are you gonna do sue the car company who made the car. I think this legal blaming thing has gotten sad, really its just an excuse for suck ass parents.

 

[Hawksmoor]

Unless it's PROVEN that GTA specifically causes violence or other behavioural problems in kids who play it (and weren't predisposed to that sort of behaviour before), or otherwise warps their fragile little minds, neither the government nor citizens ought to object. They can, free speech being what it is, but Rockstar should have as much right to stick up their middle fingers and not listen (which is what they should have done).

 

[Greatness]

I say we punish the parents for child neglect for each case that comes forward where the child did something like killing another kid. If the child got the gun at his own house, thats the parents fault, if the child was unsupervised, thats the parents fault. If you cant control your kid or teach them morals I am sorry but you have no right to be a parent and your children should be taken from you. I dont know about most people, but I was afraid if I did some crap like that my dad would whoop my ass, I knew the games were fake because he told me what would happen if I acted them out. He taught me that thats morally incorrect to act out and its all fake on the game system.