With all the controversy surrounding anything even resembling violence or sexual content in games taking over news networks we felt it was time to round it all up for your viewing
There's violence and criminal activity in Grand Theft Auto? Who knew?! You know, other than anyone who can read the title that is. Sexual content? Yes. No argument there. However, watching the spin added to the optional sexual material included in the game makes us wonder what happened to investigative reporters.
If we made a claim here and were wrong our readers call us on it, but time and time again "respectable" reporters from mainstream networks get away with shoveling countless false claims against the gaming industry.
Much like GTAIV's own radio news network, the whole thing is a giant joke. Jump in for some choice selections of news links and video clips revolving around GTAIV.
Reading material
- Adam Sessler and Jack Thompson debate GTA on NPR (Joystiq)
- Rockstar North President Leslie Benzies' Elvis Theory (Scotsman.com)
- The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI): Niko "plays on untrue stereotypes." (MCVUK)
- Grand Theft Childhood co-author Lawrence Kutner: "For most kids and most parents, the bottom-line results of our research can be summed up in a single word: Relax." (Seattle P-I)
- Youth-gang crime expert Michael Chettleburgh: GTA "just not a primary driver of why kids join gangs." (Metro)
- Timothy Plan, a "morally responsible" mutual fund, explains why it will not invest in Take-Two
- IGN fuels Jack Thompson's rage (Arstechnica)
- UK man stabbed waiting for his slice of Liberty (BBC News)
- Editorialist Ken Schram, "Relax. It's not going to steal souls ... rot minds. It's a videogame." (KOMO TV)
- GTA writer Lazlow Jones, "It's a satire of not only New York, but of American consumerism and culture." (NPR)
- CNN Reporter learns investigative reporting Live: "The average gamer [is] 26, 27, 28 years old? I never realized that!" [CNN Video]
- The Early Show: The cultural impact of GTAIV (using fan cover art) [CBS Video]
- San Francisco Chronicle: Waiting in line with shockingly normal gamers [SF Chronicle]
Video segments
Fox proves researching console manufacturers is too big a step.
Steinberg informs CBS News to demographics and medical studies.
Glenn Beck proves CNN's research department only has access to Wikipedia while blaming gaming, music, television and radio for the destruction of American society.
1170 KFAQ in Tulsa, OK, allows "friend" Jack Thompson to claim the infamous IGN video was an officially released Take-Two created piece.
Senator Obama reminds parents that videogames and television shouldn't be raising their children.
Conan shows the lighter side of GTAIV (Part 1 of 5).
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart wonders why no one is rioting.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-12-2008 @ 10:18AM
Corey said...
"Sony's Xbox and Microsoft's PlayStation 3."
In the name of "Journalistic research" she was able to get the console manufacturers right and theirs systems right, but not necessarily in that order...
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 10:23AM
rockeranimefreak said...
hahaha... nice catch! =) +1 to you sir!
5-12-2008 @ 3:53PM
ZeroCorpse said...
Doesn't it just bug the hell out of you to know a newsbunny like her is pulling down a huge salary for basically looking cute, doing minimal research, and reading a TelePrompTer, while actual journalists are being ignored and driven to other media?
5-12-2008 @ 10:29AM
Cerixus said...
"But critics of the game say that it's violent toward women and shouldn't be sold to teens under 18." -NPR Article
I'm a FAN of the game, and I say it shouldn't be sold to teens under 18.
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5-12-2008 @ 10:37AM
modelvillage said...
Is anyone still playing this?
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 10:40AM
Boff said...
Sadly the main difference between this blog/news site and the mainstream 'news' networks is that the audience here are generally well informed and well educated on the news being reported on.
Whereas Joe Public will (as a whole) happily swallow whatever lies are thrown at them. ESPECIALLY if they have no knowledge/experience of the topic of the 'news report'.
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 10:49AM
SadisticHam said...
"You can have Oral and Anal sex"
Err...You think they'd at least try it before spewing this crap.
o.0
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5-12-2008 @ 10:59AM
wickedpheonix said...
yeah I know... how do they know its anal and not vaginal? :P
But seriously, it's blown waaayyy out of proportion - the vast majority of the game is no worse than halo, just shooting and blood and explosions. Only a small percentage of the game actually requires or even encourages the sexual content/shooting at police, etc. (shoot at police when trying to get away and bam 3 star wanted rating).
5-12-2008 @ 12:03PM
Dick said...
you know its anal cuz its two guys. You havent gotten to the "niko dates a guy" missions yet, have you...
;)
5-12-2008 @ 10:55AM
Rez said...
They'll all miss one thing, ALWAYS thats the big Red 18 symbol on the front. Which In the UK pretty much tells you not to buy it for your ten year old kids because it may have guns in it, tit's and ass or even cock in it, every swear word under the sun in it, women, men, children, animals plants and insects being destroyed in it just like any 18 rated film which is much more graphic than any video game ever will be. Hell even the 6 o'clock news has nearly all of the above in it along with mostly Mr brown and his idiots.
They should round up the miss-informed idiots who miss-inform the general public and send them all to clean up road side mines in Iraq. Rez.
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5-12-2008 @ 12:09PM
Digitalspirit said...
Only in America.
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 6:45PM
Nick the Hero of Canton said...
And the UK. And Australia. And everywhere else.
5-12-2008 @ 1:07PM
DemonGSides said...
Woo Gta4
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 1:48PM
adam said...
So its wrong to seek entertainment?
Blow it out your ass obama.
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5-12-2008 @ 4:07PM
ZeroCorpse said...
It's wrong to let video games raise your kids.
There are too many parents who don't actually PARENT their children. Obama's not against the games themselves, but against the idea of letting the games replace spending time with your kids, and against the idea that people would let young kids play this game without paying attention to what they're doing in the game.
Yes. We want parents to take responsibility. It the parents don't, then you get wackos who want to ban things because parents are too stupid to take care of their own kids.
Teenagers may be able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but young kids are still in their formative stages, and CAN be affected by things they see and hear. I wouldn't let a young kid play GTA IV because it's just too much for them-- It's over their heads, story-wise, and it's full of things they shouldn't need to see until they're older.
Teens today, though, are pretty smart. Usually.
5-13-2008 @ 1:35AM
Adam said...
My 4 year old niece plays halo on live and shes pretty damn good at it.Shes 4 years old has guns in the house and hasn't killed anyone yet.Its not a case of being able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality.Its a case of being born into a fucked up situation and having homicidal tendencies.
People are so fast to blame games.I could tell my 10 year old nephew to go out and play besides spending so much time on games.But then again i know he aint using drugs and he aint getting into trouble.
5-12-2008 @ 1:49PM
Doug said...
Xav de Matos,
Violence, sex and a totally depraved irresponsibility are the keys to the GTA franchise. No gamer would argue with this.
And yet, when news outlets point this out, you jump all over them for being biased and "not getting it."
If you're going to play GTA4, admit you're playing it so you can sleep with prostitutes, run over civilians and shoot random people in the street. Along with the multiplayer, the missions, the sandbox play... yadda.
If it didn't have both, you'd be the one complaining about GTA, not the media.
I'm usually with X3F on gaming. The Mass Effect story was a debacle. But here with GTA, you don't have a leg to stand on. The media gets it. We all get it. The game is not being misunderstood. You're just being a fanboy.
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 2:14PM
Xav de Matos said...
The leg I'm standing on is the media's assertion that GTA is based solely on the ability to have sex and kill hookers as well as police officers.
The game is often labeled as a cop killing simulator by the media, and fans of the series know that committing such acts will only bring your quick demise.
Fact is you can go through the entire game without ever committing these acts but the mainstream makes it seem as though the entire game is based on these things.
In all the media coverage of GTAIV I haven't seen many outlets discuss the story of the game. Niko is almost never mentioned nor is his back story of guilt for his actions and how his crimes have been forced onto him in order to survive others.
I understand your point and I respect any point of view that may not reflect my own, unlike the mass media (eg. Glenn Beck's "gamers are losers" comments). However, when you see me commenting and playing GTAIV and then tell me I'm playing it to act out my wild prostitute and murderous fantasizes the legs you stand on get swept out from under you.
What is it they say about assumptions? I makes an ASS out of U and ME.
5-12-2008 @ 2:33PM
Doug said...
Hey, Xav, I know you're a smart literate gaming journalist, and gamer, otherwise I wouldn't have posted here. I know you're not a crazed American Psycho dude.
However, you have to admit that if the wanton civilian killing aspect of the game, and hey, even the prostitute/stripper angle, had been gone from GTA4, gamers would have been very angry and upset.
Being able to be a depraved lunatic in the game, remorse-storyline or not, is a draw to GTA4. Gamers make peace with that. I understand it doesn't make them lunatics in real life.
But this part of the game does make onlookers feel uncomfortable. What it says about our entertainment--when you know, absolutely know that every single player is going to run down a civilian in their car and shoot someone, and probably do a lot worse, because Rockstar lets them--makes people question the merit of this kind of entertainment.
As a society, I think we have a right to question this game. Question it. Not censor it. (However I thought it deserved an AO.)
Because I love this site and come here multiple times a day while I'm procrastinating... I just wish you allow for this right to question in your coverage of GTAIV, which I've found to be a bit defensive. (False claims aside, and there have been some of course.)
You're not taking away Rockstar's right to publish the game, or your humanity by playing it, by acknowledging that game-friendly people like myself don't like it and wonder if it's a good thing. In the end, we're all gamers!
5-12-2008 @ 3:02PM
Xav de Matos said...
Well I personally don't want to leave you with the impression that I'm being overly defensive for the sake of my opinion appearing to "win" an argument.
Fact is there is no winning. Gamers are a diverse group and some types of games appeal to certain gamers while some do not.
The point of the editorial in this post was to relay the frustration of misinformation regarding the game. For example. The Glenn Beck clip eventually leads to a chat with Jack Thompson and a gentleman from a parent group. Jack Thompson goes on to describe GTAIV as having "anal sex." There's a difference between outlining the content of a game and embeslishing what it includes.
GTAIV is controversial because IT IS controversial.
I don't believe that everyone who plays it is looking for a deprived sense of fun, although I'm sure that's possible as it can be for fans of many other games.
So it isn't a matter of me telling you you're wrong because you don't see my point of view. I'm trying to discuss with you our perception of the media coverage. Obviously my look on GTAIV in the mass media is skewed slightly due to my enjoyment of the title as I'm sure yours is for not enjoying it (or agreeing with its content).
I think the M rating is warranted in the game and while pieces of it can be classified as AO the overall experience and the way in which it is presented to gamers justifies nothing more than a Mature rating.