I’m all for entertainment. I know the difference between reality and fantasy. I can separate the two. I wouldn’t hire a prostitute, then beat her senseless with a baseball bat, and I probably wouldn’t enjoy doing it in a video game either. However, If you’ve ever dreamed about such an act, you can live it out in Grand Theft Auto 4. The following article lists 10 things you should know and consider before buying it. My fear is that some less than intelligent member of society will become desensitized to criminal behavior and eventually end up living at the expense of taxpayers for life, having left some young lady a vegetable for life. What do you think? Interesting article linked below.

http://www.forbes.com/home/200....html

Desensitizing is the norm today. Didn't you get the memo?

audtatious wrote:Desensitizing is the norm today. Didn't you get the memo?

Doesn't anyone watch p0rn anymore that they need such violent games?Ahhh the good ole days with Linda Lovelace

Good ole Horseface Lovelace

She had a face?

yep

Not a fan.

Here's the problem. Video games are marketed to KIDS. Slapping an "M" sticker on it is not going to keep it out of their hands, and much of the content therein is completely and utterly inappropriate for youths.

I could make the argument that it's not so good for adults either, but that's the choice of the adult what they want to fill their brain with.

My kids won't be playing it, and we've discussed the reasons why.

Besides, the kids sitting glassy-eyed in front of a TV screen playing GTA for hours on end will eventually be mowing my kids' lawns, so it's all a wash.

A tragic and unfortunate wash, but a wash nonetheless.

I wish there was a PG or PG13 version of the game.

I really enjoy the style of game. It's a "sandbox" environment. Basically a living city in which you are free to roam as you choose. You can explore, adventure, and carry out missions within the semi-realistic cityscape environment.

What I think everyone enjoys most is the freedom to do as you choose in the city. Free from laws about speeding, driving the wrong way, penalties for crashing, etc.. even enjoy some of the basic crimes that I'd never commit in real life. Stealing a car, stealing money, etc..

I do NOT care for the heavy crime aspect of the game. It's far too dark. I don't like any games that encourage violent crimes. I understand that it's just a game, but it sure isn't healthy.

Remove the guns, hookers, and hard core crimes and make it more "fun" and "lighthearted" and I'd be way more interested in the game.

Eikon wrote:What I think everyone enjoys most is the freedom to do as you choose in the city. Free from laws about speeding, driving the wrong way, penalties for crashing, etc.. even enjoy some of the basic crimes that I'd never commit in real life. Stealing a car, stealing money, etc..

Sure, there is the fantasy aspect of it but the difference is that you and I have learned to disassociate fantasy from reality. (At least I hope you have). The problem lies in the fact that a young mind that has not fully developed is incapable of deciphering reality from fantasy therefore replacing the real world with this simulated skewed version of how the real world works. Over long periods of time in this "fantasy land", a young developing mind struggles to acclimate to the real world and returns to the fantasy world for comfort. Eventually, the young mind becomes more comfortable in the fantasy world and rejects reality. This produces an anti-social behavior that is only compounded by peers making fun of their social differences. By desensitizing a young person to believe that murder and rape and theft are rewarded behaviors, then they take that with them when entering society.

This is the extreme of the spectrum, but I think that this should be outlawed from anyperson under the age of 18 playing such a game. If it is found that an adult has provided a person under the age of 18 with such a game, then they should be held accountable by answering to charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Just my thought...Dave

Never been a fan of the game. I've tried playing it several times to see what all the hoopla was about, couldn't figure it out. I was thinking the same thing rn when I saw the ads for it.

My issue with it is there's no "goal" to the game.

Interestingly enough, thet's probably why it's so appealing to a certain demographic: No goals, no rules, nothing but free time and an absence of consequences.

Sounds like a recipe for loserhood to me.

I prefer games like the MOH series, and Ace Combat... but I'm old, whadda I know?

You my friend need to play the simpsons game like that. I forget what it's called, but just look up Simpsons and sandbox game, and you should find it. I had a good time playing it a few years back.

There *is* a goal in a way. The game takes you through a storyline that revolves around completing missions. It starts out simple, i.e. driving Roman to the cab station, take Michelle home, etc. and moves into a more violent nature. The ultimate goal is to "make it" in Liberty City and not be stuck driving some crappy taxi for little pay. I understand the common misconception that all you do is run around, because you *can* do that, but to say the game doesn't have a goal is incorrect.

I also have a small problem with the idea of a free market, a free economy, less government intervention, which are all ideas many of the people in this forum espouse, but if a video game is too violent let's regulate the crap out of it.

I like Greg's approach. Talk to your kids; tell them why they aren't allowed to play the game. At some point parents need to quit begging the government to take care of a problem when all that's required is good parenting.

blaming a video game is just avoiding the real problem, parents suck. Nobody raises their kids anymore then on the back end they want to blame the surrogates they enlisted to do their job for the crappy results. I find it distressing that you need a license to drive a car, carry a gun etc but nothing to make a kid. Of the three an improperly raised human being is infinately more dangerous.

are you guys aware that no one under 18 can buy this? every store that sells this game requires ID to purchase it. theres a rating tag right on the front of the box too, i fail to why video games rated m take so much more heat than movies rated r. most of the parents who ***** about games such as the gta series, bought the game for their children to begin with

Eikon wrote:I wish there was a PG or PG13 version of the game.

there is. its called "Bully" and it's a piece of crap. honestly, i can understand people enjoying GTA. i for one have played it numerous times and must say it's fairly amusing. yes, amusing in a sadistic kind of way, but amusing none the less. i agree with AZHitman tho, my kids will not play this. not until they are old enough to really understand that the game is purely fiction and the actions shown in the game should NEVER be tried outside of the game. for the irresponsible parent's who will let younger children play it, need to at least talk to them about the game and make them understand it's a game, and should not be tried in real life.

AZhitman wrote:Here's the problem. Video games are marketed to KIDS.

Sorry, but that's an overgeneralization and an incorrect one at that.

That's like saying "Sorry, movies are marketed to kids. No more R rated movies."

"Videogames" encompasses a LOT. There are kids games. And there are non-kids games. Anyone who can't tell the difference between the two is stupid enough to deserve what they get. I should not have to lose out for the sake of someone else's stupidity.

Videogames are NOT solely marketed to kids. Nor to they only appeal to kids. In fact, if you take a look at the gaming market right now, you'll see that kids are a minority of the demographics being targeted by the gaming industry. The Atari/NES generation are adults now. We are also the VAST majority of the gaming consumerbase. We are adults and we demand to be treated as such. We WILL NOT SURRENDER OUR RIGHTS to play these games because there are stupid people out there who haven't discovered how to use their brains.

I'm sick of everyone saying games like GTA are evil because they "appeal to kids." TV appeals to kids. p0rn appeals to kids. Violent movies appeal to kids. gamb|ing appeals to kids. Cops and robbers appeals to kids. The solution is not to get rid of the temptation. It's to MANAGE it. Raise kids not to be idiot bungholes. Take some initiative as a parent. How about as a society we discourage people from being dysfunctional, counterproductive retards? GTA isn't the problem. Stupid people are.

The only way for a kid to get a hold of an M game anymore is for a parent or elder friend to buy it for them. Penalties and laws make it very unappealing for stores to sell M games to minors. The problem isn't the games, it's the parents who let their kids PLAY the games.

But really, I'd argue that it's not even that. I grew up playing "M" games. I played DOOM as a Kid. I played Duke Nukem 3D. And I didn't turn out a useless hate-mongering violent nonhuman. Because I was raised to know the difference between right and wrong, and to know the difference between reality and "pretend" (be it video games or otherwise).

Also, I'm sick of everyone focusing on the very worst of the things you can do in GTA. Yes, you CAN pick up a hooker and then kill her. But you don't have to. And you won't be punished for not doing it. In fact, you can play GTA and never once break a single law. If you want. But of course no one ever recognizes that fact. They only look at the fact that you CAN do bad things.

Anyone who bothers to put forth some mental effort and look BEYOND the hookers and guns will find that GTA is an extremely intelligent and amusing satire on the modern world--good and bad. Stopping at the presence of hookers and the ability to do horrible things is a terrible misestimation of the game's focus.If all you take away from GTA is hookers and murder, then I'd say you're one of the people who is best off keeping their distance from it.But I'd also venture to guess that anyone who only sees that much hasn't actually given any time to a GTA game anyway. So they have no right to make any judgements on it either way.

i thought about this thread for the better part of the day with intentions of posting again but MoD said everything i had to say lol so

^ +1

EDIT: re-read and didnt like how it sounded.

New study out.

BOYS who don't play videogames at all are at greater risk of getting into trouble than those who play violent games occasionally, according to two Harvard psychologists.

The pair also said there was also no evidence to suggest violent games turn young people into criminals or violent people, despite some media reports.

"If you look at the violent crime in the US over the past 20 years among teenagers it's gone down, and gone down significantly, and if you look at videogame play, it's gone up," said Dr Lawrence Kutner and Dr Cheryl Olsen of Harvard Medical School in a recent interview.

"The big concern that you hear the politicians and the pundits argue, that playing violent videogames will somehow turn your child into a criminal or a violent person, there's absolutely no evidence for that."

Dr Kutner and Dr Olson conducted a two-year study of 1250 children and 500 parents, funded by the US Department of Justice, to uncover links between games and children's behaviour.

The pair found that while there was no direct link between games and violence, there was a correlation between adult-rated games and aggressive behaviour.

Half of the boys who played adult-rated games had been in a fight in the past 12 months, compared to 28 per cent of boys who played games with a less mature rating.

Among girls, 40 per cent who played adult-rated games had been in a fight recently compared to only 12 per cent of those who didn't.

However Dr Kutner and Dr Olsen said it was unclear if adult-rated games triggered aggressive behaviour, or if aggressive children were drawn to playing them.

'Risk markers'Dr Kutner and Dr Olsen said while it was normal for children to play games, there were certain "risk markers" that parents should watch out for that may indicate an increased chance of getting into trouble.

"If you have, for example, a girl who plays 15 hours a week of exclusively violent videogames, I'd be very concerned because it's very unusual," Dr Kutner said.

"But for boys (the danger sign) is not playing video games at all, because it looks like for this generation, videogames are a measure of social competence for boys."

In an interview with G4 TV's X-Play program, Dr Kutner said Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho had not played any games at college, according to his roommates.

"That struck them as really odd, because everyone else did," he said.

"That fell right into line with our research findings, that the kids who don't play (games) at all are actually at greater risk of getting into trouble."

Airhorns and lab experimentsDr Kutner and Dr Olsen dismissed previous studies by "experimental psychologists" that attempted to measure links between games and aggression by using electric shocks and loud noises in laboratories.

"There seems to be a core of experimental psychologists who’ve really grabbed the headlines on this topic," Dr Olsen told X-Play.

"They tend to take college students in Psych 101 and they pay them a little bit or give them some course credit and they have them play a violent or a non-violent game for fifteen or twenty minutes.

"Then they have them do something like blast an airhorn or give a little shock to someone they can't see in another room.

"They try to say aggression in the real world is the same as aggression in the lab, where they're blasting an airhorn for a fraction of a second longer."

Dr Kutner and Dr Olson, who are married, are co-founders and directors of the Centre for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The results of their research into games and children's mental health were published last month in a book titled Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0...c_rss

Quote »Half of the boys who played adult-rated games had been in a fight in the past 12 months, compared to 28 per cent of boys who played games with a less mature rating.

Among girls, 40 per cent who played adult-rated games had been in a fight recently compared to only 12 per cent of those who didn't. ...[/quote]Interesting that they draw no conclusion from those facts. With 2 to 3 times more fights in the group that played aldult-rated games than the group that didn't. If the good Drs. ignore that, then perhaps they have ignored other equally valid evidence.

Dude.....They are from Harvard. What did you expect?



You should throw up the "they were paid off by the evil game companies" flag on this report similar to every anti-MMGW report receiving the "paid off by the oil companies" BS I see everywhere.

90Q45blue wrote:There *is* a goal in a way. The game takes you through a storyline that revolves around completing missions. It starts out simple, i.e. driving Roman to the cab station, take Michelle home, etc. and moves into a more violent nature. The ultimate goal is to "make it" in Liberty City and not be stuck driving some crappy taxi for little pay. I understand the common misconception that all you do is run around, because you *can* do that, but to say the game doesn't have a goal is incorrect.

I also have a small problem with the idea of a free market, a free economy, less government intervention, which are all ideas many of the people in this forum espouse, but if a video game is too violent let's regulate the crap out of it.

I like Greg's approach. Talk to your kids; tell them why they aren't allowed to play the game. At some point parents need to quit begging the government to take care of a problem when all that's required is good parenting.

WHAT?

There's just something wrong with that.Less government intervention, more PARENTAL intervention.

What do you expect? For the government to take your kids and spank their butts because they've been little sh*ts? No, of course not! It's not politically correct to spank your kids butts (speaking of course in generality of punishment) and its becoming more of a social no-no to do so because of all of these crazies.

My parents spanked me when I was acting up and it's made me a better person. Gave me discipline and told/showed me what was right and what was wrong.

All the government is gonna do is throw them in Juvi or something on the taxpayers dollar, not solve the problem, and give them a chip on their shoulders. That's a ridiculous idea.

I am going to have my kids self punish.

i personally dont like video games. people always say "i wont do it in REAL life" but all i can think is even if you have fun beating an innocent person with a bat or shooting someone in the face in a video game takes a little bit of sickness and crualty IMO. some people need a better conscience to decide if its good to even pretend doing this to people.

GTA3 was brought up in many court cases of how people got ideas to kill people for that game........interested to see how worse it will be this time around

the biggest problem with kids that mimic the actions in games and take it to the real world. i efing hate it when they blame the movies and games when kids do bad things. blame it on poor parenting. if you teach your kid basic standard of morals, they wouldn't go out and do stupid sh1t. spank your kids folks.

smockers83 wrote:Never been a fan of the game. I've tried playing it several times to see what all the hoopla was about, couldn't figure it out. I was thinking the same thing rn when I saw the ads for it.

AZhitman wrote:My issue with it is there's no "goal" to the game.

Sounds like a recipe for loserhood to me.

I prefer games like the MOH series, and Ace Combat... but I'm old, whadda I know?

Basically all I was going to say. I bought it and hate it. I usually find myself flying around in a helicopter for about 10 minutes and then it hits me. Holy crap this game is boring. I really believe stories like this will keel over as the generation that grew up on games gets older. The older generation doesn't really understand gaming as a major part of life today and don't understand that TV is a lot less productive and in the least equally influential. After all, material that is PG13 in movies and TV is M rated in videogames. All this negative attention is due to a game that sucks anyways. It's really frustrating.
Modified by redtop91 at 4:16 PM 5/24/2008

I agree.

I rented the game from blockbusters, played it 2 days and let it sit on my dressor the rest of the week.

It gets very boring, very fast. IDK< im just not into games as much as I use to sense I got a life. lmao.

I'm gonna call it like I see it here. I say make all the games you want, play all the games you want...has nothing to do with how you turn out.

The real problem is that parents suck at being a parent. They use TV and games like baby sitters. Wanna blame someone...blame the lazy parents that let their children rot inside the house while the world goes by. All of the sudden the kids to fat to play sports and only thinks about his level 67 wizard and when the next Lan party is going to be.

Place accountability where it belongs...on the people who are supposed to be rearing the child.

This is just like days when they took Twisted Sister and Judas Priest to court and tried to blame rock music for suicides and troubled youth.

How many of us listened to that without offing ourselves? How many of us are successful and happy today? I listened to everything they said not to...but my parents kicked me outside to play hockey and football and my Dad taught the proper way to wreck my bmx bike...and I didn't wear any fvckin gay a$$ helmet either.

Parents suck and need something to blame...it just happens to be the video game this time around.

WDRacing wrote:and I didn't wear any fvckin gay a$$ helmet either.

It's amazing how clear this statement makes things.