1P Start

Grand Theft Auto IV is still three days away from release, and the vast majority of people won’t have yet had the chance to sample the game. But that doesn’t seem to be stopping no-nothing do-gooders from calling for the game to be banned, before it even hits the streets, and before any of them have even played it.

We’ve already seen adverts for the game being pulled off buses in Chicago due to a biased piece of reporting from Fox News, and now more opinionated people have decided to butt in.

Parents Television Council president Tim Winter started the invented outrage by declaring:

“This brutally violent videogame must be kept out of the hands of children, and we are calling on all major retailers to reconsider any decisions to sell this game.”

The next day, California state senator Leland Yee sent a message to parent urging them to “avoid (the) latest ultraviolent videogame.”

Now hang on a minute Mr. Winter and Mr. Yee, how do you know the game is going to be brutally or ultra violent? You haven’t played it, so you are just guessing based on the old iterations. Now okay, GTA IV is going to have some scenes of violence in it, but then it is a game about criminality, and violence is an unfortunate part of that. We all wish it wasn’t obviously, but life is unfair.

As for keeping it out of the hands of children. Why? So they can stay totally blinkered to what life is like outside? And then when they do finally venture on to the streets, they get mugged and can’t handle it due to not being prepared. As for calling for retailers to not sell the game, why? They are in the business of making money, and this is going to be one of the biggest releases of the year.

Plus, it’s R rated anyway, so it’s not like kids can just walk in to any game shop and buy a copy.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even if it goes against all common sense. But surely an opinion should be based in fact, and first had experience? These two, and all the other parenting groups and media commentators either condemning, or preparing to condemn the game upon release, should actually play the game before passing biased judgement.

And even then, just let those of us who gain enjoyment from playing video games enjoy ourselves in peace, without having to listen to people disrespect our chosen form of entertainment.

[Source: Variety]