Why parents and politicians will never leave GTA alone

Yeah, we all already know about the latest incident involving the teens who went on a crime spree saying they were inspired by Grand Theft Auto. We always try to tell them "it's not for kids, it is rated M for Mature or over 17!" But by now you should know that will fall on deaf ears. Why? Because these same parents and politicians who try to ban violent or sexually explicit video games been around long enough to remember video games exclusively as "a kid's toy." You probably noticed the vast majority of people who want these games banned are in their late 30s or older and never played a video game themselves. When they think of video games they think of games like Mario, Sonic, Pokemon, or anything else that your average 12-year-old thinks they are too "cool" to play. To them, the idea of a violent or sexually explicit video game is like putting a Freddy or Tera Patrick attraction in the middle of Disneyland with a sign that says "For Mature Audiences Only" at the entrance. It just doesn't belong there, regardless of the mature warning.

Just like Disneyland, while enjoyed by adults, is for kids first they believe video games are just for kids and video game versions of R and NC-17 movies just don't belong in America. They won't change, they will always consider it wrong, and they will continue to fight until the only thing left are games like SMG (a great game but non-violent) and Pokemon. The best thing we can do as gamers is vote (after you reach eighteen) against candidates who want to take away our First Amendment rights and speak out in a civilized way. Sitting on a video game forum calling people like Jack Thompson evil or saying the parents are the real ones to blame won't do anything because people like him don't read the forums to begin with and don't care what you think. But at the same time, going crazy over any law simply requiring positive identification to buy M-rated games doesn't make sense since it doesn't call for the ban of the games, just keeping it out the hands of guys like the kids who say GTA inspired them to do their crimes. Laws like that are no different than laws banning the sale of cigarettes, alcohol, or pornography to minors.

It's difficult for politicians to find non-controversial items to include on their election platforms. By "non-controversial," I mean to say that politicians look for targets that won't cost them campaign funding and/or votes. Up until now gaming has been a pretty safe target for a politician to attack because 1. gamers don't vote as gamers and 2. the lobbying group for the gaming industry is relatively small (although they are working to become more of a force).

I really don't think any of these politicians care one way or another about who's playing what game..i mean if these senators really "care about the children" they'd be just as aggresive in making sure the children had health insurance and a proper education. Or am I to believe that gaming is far more of threat? My point is there are huge inconsistencies in what a particular politician pushes for that suggest a lack of sincerity in their alleged motivations for targeting videogames. This leads me to believe that politicians go after games because they are a safe target to attack and doing so makes it look like they care about little Suzy or Timmy. This no doubt appeals to the Soccer Mom demographic and, in general, the sort of parent that thinks Yos-Yos need to be marked with a choking hazard. My thoughts have always been if your kid strangles himself with a Yo-Yo string, it's not a tragedy, it's evolution...but that's neither here nor there.

If we want to get gaming out of the headlines we need the general public to be educated about games..that's not gonna happen with the media in its current state. Whenever games appear on the news there's always some expert invited on to talk about them. Problem is these experts all come from the same think tanks sponsored by corporations with political agendas and often times one of the political parties themselves. So what would you have expected that little tramp to say about Mass Effect? The cynical definition of a think tank would be a group of Ph.D.'s paid by supporters of a political party to sit around until called upon by said party to verify said party's opinion before the general public. In general, whoever you are..don't get your scientific information from the news. There are journals and respectable websites where actual scientific data is published, clean of the taint of agenda, that you can go to hear about the latest breakthroughs, findings, etc. Generally when science makes the news it's either spectacle (NASA lands RC car on mars, batteries go dead, sues Radioshack) or fodder for someone's campaign..substance is relegated to the journals and the internet.

You guys are close to the mark with the reasons games are targeted with the voter demographic but we need to be in the headlines and in the public eye on the attack. If your going to ban video games for violence then ban football and make all cheerleaders wear sweat pants and shirts. America is full of living examples of what they consider inapproaite but they support the vote. I am parent and in school to become a Pastor and my lock-ins will be trading card game and video game nights along with video game movie night. After all what better way to reach you unchurched heathens than to bring you to church.

Vote for me in the next election

The Preachanator

Parents, and Politicians will never leave GTA alone because its a horrible game that most people use to run around killing civilians running them over with cars, shooting them in the street, blowing them up, and it also promotes killing police oficers. The GTA series gives gamers a bad name, and is just plain bad in most respects. It has bad graphics, voice acting, stories, and gameplay. The only thing I can think of thats actually good about GTA is the large world. Now I love shooters don't get me wrong whether its aliens taking over, military, or people are just trying to kill you, but with GTA the players are encouraged to kill random people walking down the street. My point is the GTA series does more to harm the gaming world then it contributes to it and I for one could do without it.julianwelton

i think that you are in no position to make such statement as a fact. no one is encouraged to kill people. you are encouraged to press buttons and if you cannot separate that from reality, you shouldnt be playing a game. maybe you have some problem separating a game form reality but the rest of the adults dont. as for those who do, they have a problem with their internal thinking, it is not a problem with the game. you dont blame a kitchen knife when someone gets stabbed.

i applaud rockstar for having the guts to put out what it has the right to put out. without companies like them to push the envelope we would get herded into our pens to play games that people like you think are acceptable.

as to the issue, i agree that once the gaming generation reaches public office things will change, and this is just the current scapegoat, like rock music.

Jack Thompson.UltimaSlayer94

He lost his license as laywer.

Give gaming a decade or two. Most 30 year olds I know now have at least some decent video game experience. Eventually, those in a position to complain will have this experience too. However, poloticians like it because its a means from diverting attention from themselves, but eventually their main voter base will most likely be swayed by online opinion, and guess who sways opinion online, we do my friends... (heh, if I have any here...)

Anyways, I say let it go for now, we'll have our spot eventually. Just don't do anything stupid, like shooting people on the street and then say "oh I practiced at home on my computer!"

I can condense all that down to one sentence: Because it's well known and blatantly violent.