Grand Theft Auto IV out tomorrow
Critics sharpen knives, chainsaws and axes
VIOLENT GAME Grand Theft Auto IV will be in the shops on Tuesday and the press seems ready to stick the knife in at the earliest opportunity.
Rockstar Games is planning to flog six million copies of the game in a week and most analysts are saying it will be the game of the year, whatever rumpus comes about.
Already there is some potential for problems. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has banned the sale of the game to anyone under 17. This will make it a must-have to every pre-teen on the planet and every one who gets a copy will be a potential lawsuit.
The ESRB and the National Institute on Media and the Family have even issued a press release warning parents to be careful about checking the game's rating.
Media murmuring has been focusing on the belief that the game will fall into the paws of kiddies, however according to AFP, most GTA IV will be 'adults' in their thirties.
It has been said that such games have been responsible for a rise in violent crime amongst children when, according to Mia Consalvo, an assistant professor specialising in video game research at Ohio University, the statistics show the opposite being the case.
As Frank Zappa once asked Congress when it was debating the impact of nasty rock lyrics on kids: "I wrote a song about dental floss once, but did anyone's teeth get whiter?" µ
L’Inq
AFP
Comments
GTAIVPC?
Am I the only one waiting to see how the PC version (if there is one) is going to turn out? I mean, since playing this singleplayer of this will be.. well, like playing GTA 3. And we all know how much better multiplayer gaming is on the PC. Not to be a fanboy or whatever, but it's the truth. look at TF2, Counterstrike, Unreal.. any of the multiplayer games out for both consoles and PC. PC usually takes the cake in the multiplayer department.I am just hoping there will be a PC version released. So far I cannot find a confirmation, but why would TakeTwo not capitalize on the PC market also? It would seem like a foolish move.
Montana!
Going to Montana soon,Gonna be a Mental Toss Flycoon!
Can't believe it
The number of so-called Consumer Unions/Associations that are up in arms against this is incredible.And they are all "convinced that violent games are responsible for the rise in teen violence".
Looks like an article of faith, like believing in God, except in this case, their God has been proven not to exist.
But hey, what's a bit of scientific fact in the face of irrational, fundamentalist belief ?