[PatuxetnBBall]

I have to agree with the comment that (paraphrased) most all of the anti-GTA sentiments expressed here are the usual trolling responses.
The comment where you tell a soldier of our country that the vidoes they train with (or reinforce training I gurss would be more accurate) are nothing compared to our little games we play with controllers that do not resemble anything we will use in real life to control ANYTHING(barring UAV pilots, who actually do you XBOX360 controllers, but thats another topic) is ridiculous. After you recieve training that costs millions to protect our countr, then you may belittle the methods our country uses to train our soldiers.



To say that the games we play here are apporaching the level of realism the simulators the military uses to reinforce training is simply uninformed trolling.



Do you know what would happen if GTAIV received an Ao rating? Sony and Microsoft refuse to allow Ao games on their consoles. Meaning the XboxLive service for GATIV would be shut off, games would be recaleld rrom all of the stores and so on.



And then saying that the reponsibility of parents should be foisted off onto the government, which by the way would end up costing you more in taxes to pay for this, is ridiculous because it IS the parents responsibility.

Which brings me to my last point

You cannot honestly say that video games are that influential. You are basically calling for censorship, much like say, 1984. But wait, you say, thats only a book not a highly detailed virrtual environment!

Ah, yes, let's look at what is more influential, books, videos, or vidjigames.

Let's see, The Communist Manifesto. The Koran(English spelling), The BIBLE

Shoudl those books be rated adults only and censored? They have caused more killing the the bubonic plague and all modern warsa combined. The bible contains refernece to sex(Straight and gay), drugs, (rock and roll), prostitutes, torture, killing and so on.

I rest our case.

[souljaboya1]

www.blogscooper.com/New-research-reveals-kids-who-dont-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/



try this website, games critics may find it interesting, now i'm off to actually find that book

[Malone2006]

let us also remember that game was launced WORLDWIDE. so why is it that gta4 sparks killing rampages in america, but the good people in canada just north of us dont feel the need to pull out their sniper rifles in the middle of the streets, at least as often as us? and like everyone else so far has said, it is up to the parents. you have to be 18 to buy the darn game to begin with, so if you dont want to expose your child to this "initiation of drunk driving and killing", i suggest you stay the hell out of gamestop, get your kid some pogs (remember those things?), and keep them locked in the basement for the duration of their lives. because although the crimes committed in the game dont happen as frequently in real life, that's the reality of things.

[sirisuperfan]

I have a few comments I would like to make on the subject of GTA IV:

1.) This game is no more violent then the previous versions of the game and in fact offer much more dynamics including building relationships. It certainly does not have the gore you would see in other popular games icluding BioShock or DOOM.

2.) The "drunk driving" mode is actually not fun at all and certainly does not encourage ME to drink and drive - in-game and in real-life - I hail a cab if I'm too entoxicated. Plus, if you drive drunk in GTA it's extremely difficult and if you drive pass a police officer you attract a wanted level. How does this result in GTA encouraging DUI?

3.) I have been going to the same Gamestop for four years to buy all of my video games. I'm a 29 yeard old adult. When I purchased GTA IV the saleman, who knows me, stated "You realize this game is rated Mature.". Are you kidding me?



I think politicians are too uptight and this has caused the outrage over this game. If the government and parents want to address violence and obsceneity why not focus on primetime network television instead of video games being made for and played by adults?