The Trouble With GTA IV
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I know that the Grand Theft Auto series gets bagged on to no end by the media, and I have to admit that there’s a part of me that bought into all of that. I mean, the combination of sandbox gameplay and the violent overtones does leave a lot of room for some pretty heinous shit. Sadly, I think that’s what gets most of the play with the media. Now, I can’t really speak to previous iterations, as I didn’t play them that much. I just never got into them. But GTA IV is completely different to me. At its heart is an incredible crime saga that’s right up there with some of the best movies I’ve ever seen in the genre. The media jumps on GTA IV like crows to carrion, but it’s really not all that different than movies like Good Fellas or Heat or The Departed. Do I think children should be exposed to it? Hell no. That’s why my son doesn’t even know I have it. But I don’t think the onus of keeping a game like this out of the hands of impressionable youths should fall to Rockstar and Take Two either.
By now we’ve all heard the arguments from pundits and, of course, attorney Jack Thompson. Naturally, society’s watchdogs want to keep this material out of the reach of young people. I actually agree with them. In keeping with that notion, GTA IV is branded with an “M” rating, and the content I’ve seen is nothing worse than I’ve seen in a rated “R” movie. I make the analogy because M-rated games, like R-rated movies, are considered appropriate only for people aged 17 and up. But by Jack Thompson’s logic, I should be able to go after Warner Brothers for distributing Saw if a theater allows my under-17 child into the theater to watch it. For some reason I think GTA IV’s harshest critics would probably laugh in the face of such a preposterous notion, and yet a lot of them want to do the very same thing when it comes to the GTA series.
Thompson also suggests that the game is marketed to kids because Rockstar ran ads on the WWE. Now, I think it’s safe (and a little sad) to say that there are plenty of mature (term applied loosely) adults that meet the M-rating requirements that grace the cover of GTA IV watching the WWE, so running ads in this venue seems logical and obvious. But I really want to touch upon the irony that laces every corner of this argument. Here we are going after a violent video game that is being advertised on a violent TV program because it targets impressionable children; and no one is setting their sights on the WWE and all of the back-breaking backyard wrestling stunts it has inspired in America’s youth? Just stop and think about that for a second. It seems a bit selective of us, doesn’t it?
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The media just seems hell-bent on laying all of this at Rockstar’s doorstep, but this fervor to make a scapegoat out of the embattled developer isn’t borne of some sense of moral or social responsibility. In fact, it’s just as manipulative and exploitative as these so-called watchdogs accuse Rockstar of being. It’s about the hot-button issues and the ratings that they bring in. It’s about playing on the fears and anxieties of parents. Like some schmuck selling bootleg t-shirts at a concert, a lot of these jackals are really just looking to cash in on Rockstar’s pay-day.
Don’t get me wrong. I think educating parents about these sorts of issues is incredibly important. Not all parents are as well-versed in all things gaming as I am, so they aren’t necessarily equipped to make the right call when attempting to manage their child’s media intake. But there’s a gaping chasm between educating parents and being bombastic. I mean, just watch Glenn Beck and Jack Thompson take on GTA IV:
Again, I want to be clear when I say that I don’t think any game in the GTA franchise should be played by a child. What’s more, I don’t think you’ll find a single person in my rather large group of gaming friends that would disagree with me on this. But at what point did America’s parents stop being accountable for the upbringing of their children? We want to be outraged about Rockstar and Sony and Microsoft and Walmart putting these morally objectionable products into the hands of our children, but when did American parents choose to let corporations raise their children?
As parents my wife and I both realize that it is our obligation and responsibility to raise our children. That doesn’t mean just feeding them and cleaning up after them and keeping a roof over their heads. It means helping them to develop into functioning members of society. It means instilling in them all of the moral values, common sense and work ethics needed to succeed in this world. Are we the perfect parents? No. However, we do understand that the buck ultimately stops with us.
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My wife and i understand the need to control what our children are exposed to, be it a video game, a TV show, or something they see out in the real world. In those moments where we are unable to control it, we do our best to filter and disseminate it to them in terms that make sense so that they too can understand what they are seeing. We teach them about the differences between reality and pretend. We teach them about consequences. We teach them to distinguish between right and wrong. That is what being a parent is about. It’s our job to protect them and keep them safe. It’s our job to provide them with the knowledge, wisdom and moral fiber to protect themselves when we are not there. It’s our job to make sure that our children grow up to be upright and morally just individuals. The moment that we begin holding a TV station, or a video game developer, or a large corporate entity accountable for the behavior and demeanor of our children, we will have forfeited every right to being parents. Sure, it’s easier to blame everything and everyone else, but no one ever told me that being a parent was easy.
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As a fellow father, I will have to agree.
You cant cut anyone in half in GTA IV…
I hate to say it. Jack Thompson has some valid points. It SHOULD be an Adults ONLY (AO) game. The ESRB fudges the rating to put it in large Retail chains. I’d have to agree on that note. Although its the PARENTS fault for there childrens mishaps no one elses.
Answer: LOVE YOUR KIDS AND RAISE THEM WITH JESUS in there LIFE.
This is bullshit. When i get home from work, all tired and mad, i just sit down and simply take a chopper ride over Liberty City and chill. This is bullshit. Playing games didn’t make me kill my boss and chop his head off just so i can throw it off a bridge.
People are over dramatic about this. Ok, if you’re a parent then do what you want. But other people like this Jack Thompson creep, who has been suing R* since the days the first game even came out should be held responsible for the depression and anger kids or even grown ups are experiencing. It’s not playing violent games that makes you a killer, it’s not being able to relieve yourself after a hard days work. For God’s sakes, let people blow off in games so that they don’t blow off their bosses head. It’s only scripted code lines for crying out loud. Games are here to make us relieve ourselves, not to train us to kill.
This is bullshit. When i get home from work, all tired and mad, i just sit down and simply take a chopper ride over Liberty City and chill. This is bullshit. Playing games didn’t make me kill my boss and chop his head off just so i can throw it off a bridge.
People are over dramatic about this. Ok, if you’re a parent then do what you want. But other people like this Jack Thompson creep, who has been suing R* since the days the first game even came out should be held responsible for the depression and anger kids or even grown ups are experiencing. It’s not playing violent games that makes you a killer, it’s not being able to relieve yourself after a hard days work. For God’s sakes, let people blow off in games so that they don’t blow off their bosses head. It’s only scripted code lines for crying out loud. Games are here to make us relieve ourselves, not to train us to kill. Oh, and Jackie boy, what’s with suing only Sony? Why not Microsoft as well, they are the ones promoting the game via television?
Jackie boy, chill.
Maybe Im odd, but I left my 5 year old play GTA IV…BUT
First thing I do is turn off the SFX to ZERO
I leave music on, and I turn off the Cell Phone (suspend my mission)
and I let him walk around, drive the cars, and even punch people.
Mind you this is always under the supervision of me and my wife. He hears no bad words, he loves just driving it around and exploring.
yes Im a horrible parent to some of you Politcal Freakness people, but while he plays we use these moments to explain the difference betwen a game and real life how it relates to real people and feelings.
We are teaching him that if you get hit by a car or hurt someone in real life there are real life problems this causes.
My son KNOWS the difference and knows whats right and wrong, I parent him 24/7 I grew up un-supervised for most of my gaming life and I never harmed anyone.
I agree there are problems when people just srop their kids down in front of a game and pay no attention, but Im not that parent.
GTA IV can be fun for kids, if you do the right things.. Although I do agree its not marketed or should be Really played by children.
I have to wait for bedtime to play the missions.
Glenn,
I don’t judge you poorly for that at all. In fact, I think your story goes hand in hand with my point. You’re managing your child’s media intak. It’s really about how involved and engaged a parent is in the life of their child that makes the difference. Thanks for dropping in!
Regards,
Dré
Thank you for a sane point of view. All these morons have never even played the game. It’s like saying the food sucks at a restaurant you’ve never been to or that France sucks even though you’ve never been there.
Parenting is the key…parents are the most important part of a child’s life and until we as a society address that issue, nothing else really matters.
WHen I was 7 years old I played Doom 2 all the time I would Go to the last level where monsters Spawned forever put on god mode and go on a killing spree for Hours. I have no criminal record and I dont hurt ppl I know the difference. I dont know if any of you have played that game or not BUT when you shoot things they explode blood and guts go flying and while it may be bad pixels it doesnt take much for a little kid to imagine whats going on. I knew what Rotten.com (dont go there) was when I was about 12. TO say that GTA causes Criminal Behavior is ridiculous I didnt not have a parent watching my video game intake However I agree that its a great idea and explaining to your children what is right and wrong so they know better when they are playing is also a good idea. However my parents explained those things to me quite seperatly without referencing my violent video games. So what it really all does boil down to is parents being held responsible for there children teaching them what is ok and what isnt. Making it so there children truely understand what going to jail can do to your life and what a criminal record can to do and how these things can make your entire life alot harder then it ever needs to be.
Excellent write-up, Dré. I’d love to see this article published on Fox News. If only the Republican party was still here to do what it was created to do - decrease government involvement in citizens’ personal lives.
@ John Doe…
Figures that it’s a “John Doe” that says this, but why, exactly should GTA IV be an AO game? With the exception of the blood and violence, everything is suggested or implied…There is nothing in this game that can’t be seen in an R rated film. So I guess R rated films should be changed to NC-17 now? Seriously?
I’M SORRY FOR ANY OF THE “SAID” PARENTS THAT THINK MY FLAMING IS WRONG.
To start things off, i’m a 16 yr old that owns GTA4. Both my dad and mom were present at the time that i bought this game.
I don’t understand where you can say that a game is going to drive your kid(s) to do such facts that Jack Thompson stated. there’s too much violence in the world, we all know this and from the looks of it, is not going to stop. The media and all the parents that believe them say “if you let your kid pick up a copy of GTA4, you’re training a killer”.
Now i ask the parent(s) that lets his son/daughter play this game, would you want your kid to go out in the streets and do such things (killing, Pimping, robberies)or play this game where it’s safe and not dangerous.
If what was said in this video is true, I wouldn’t be able to stop and post in this website. I should be killing people and “chopping up” hookers in the streets.
I have a simple yet controversial explanation to this “Trend” of GTA or any of the past series killings. There is something bothering such “player” and this is a way of relieving themselves. Yet the media and all these “concerned” parents say, “This kid was playing GTA4, he played an M-rated game, with killing and stealing, this is why he committed such and such crime”.
Now i ask, Did any of the people that said and of this questioned his life style? Did it ever in there right mind occur to them, that this kid might have been living a troubled life? The answer to these questions is NO. There was an opportunity to show that GTA4 was the “Cause” of this,and they took it as a way of showing there hatred towards the game.
Ernest Flo…
please reply with anything that you have to say, but read what i wrote before flaming.
I suppose it bears repeating, but i think the article’s argument is the one we always hear in response to media scapegoating. It almost seems that the “just be a good parent and don’t let you child see anything you deem morally reprehensible” argument is as rote a response as the media “outrage”. So here we are again, talking about the media and the parents, when really we should be talking about communities, societies and our overarching moralities, our responsibilities to each other. When we talk about or debate whether or not Glenn should let his 5 year old virtually punch NPCs or not, we do Glenn a favor by hashing out the pros and cons, we reason together to get perspectives on particular issues (like whether virtual fisticuffs, as tame as they seem to adults, should be viewed by 5 year olds who’s mental processes we understand from our own personal experience) that are yet unexamined. Why write articles that state an oft repeated sentiment that you know will garner support amongst players of GTA. You’re preaching to the choir. I mean, why can’t we talk about the fact that even adults are malleable, that the satisfaction derived from killing a virtual person is at least in part rooted in an inclination toward real violence. Game violence only exists because of real violence. Violence is the objective beginning from which game violence originates, so it is, at least in some way, connected to it. Figuring out that connection, its practical effects, the cost of censorship of violent representations, these are good debates. Why not have these rather than the “I’m a good parent, don’t be a bad parent, we’re all against the media argument”. Let’s do some real work people.
If you enjoyed that video of Gleen Beck, you should watch this one as he gets his ass handed to him in a debate about GTA from an expert who happens to disagree with him. LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKFpwWdpl_U