Grand Theft Auto III is under fire once again...

[Stoic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3104892.stm

Claims by teenage boys in Tennessee that they were acting out the Grand Theft Auto game when they shot at vehicles are threatening to put the US entertainment industry back on trial.

One man was killed and a woman was badly hurt when William Buckner, 16, and his step-brother Joshua, 14, decided to relieve their boredom by opening fire on traffic on Interstate 40 with a .22-calibre rifle.

Lawyer Jack Thompson has taken up the case and plans to sue the makers of Grand Theft Auto, saying they should bear some responsibility for the death of Aaron Hamel, a 45-year-old nurse and the injuries caused.

Mr Thompson said if manufacturers wanted to keep selling violent games to children, they should be prepared for the consequences he believes repeated playing can have on young and impressionable minds.

Last time I checked that game was rated MATURE for Mature audiences only. Neither of those two were old enough to play the game. The Manufactures main target in advertising campaigns were Adults, that's why it was mainly advertised at night on more adult oriented programing. I didn't see many GTAIII commericals during the powerpuff girls, or during Hamtaro did I miss something?. I don't know how they can blame the manufactures (Take2), when clearly the retailers at fault for actually selling the M rated games to a 14 year old.

That's just my 2 cents.

[Mr Pilkington]

The answer is simple. If you can't distinguish reality from fantasy, you shouldn't be allowed to own a gaming console. Plain and simple. I blame the parents. I can't tell you how many of the kids I see in Wally at age 9 or 10 have that damn game. The sad part is 95% of those kids wind up injured, dead or in juvy because they play GTA3 out in the streets. It's a virtual nanny to many of them, so they think things like that are socially acceptable and go out and cap people with mommy's 25 cal. My question is where are the parents? Shouldn't they be monitoring these games? There has not been a parent one in that store whom I have talked to, who knows that you can pick up hookers. Yet and this disturbs them more than when I remind them of the Cop-killing sprees you can go on. I hope this game does get banned. I have my copy of all 5! And hell when GTA4 comes out, I'll be there! But I just can't stand letting dumb people get these kind of notions. It's just fucking stupid, kids today.

[Stoic]

Actually GTA4 is vice City, GTA5 will be a game set in the future, or that's how rumour has it.

I have The first game, I played the second game breifly, I've been a fan of the series honestly since I was about 12. But my mom knew I can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. And besides I was always mature for my age. Hell I'm 17 and a full time college student But I digress

Most stores in my area have a carding policy about video games. I know this because of the first time I purchased an M rated game with out my mom. This was actually after I turned 17 I purchased a used copy of Parasite Eve, and the guy asked to see some ID...

It's like the Columbine kids. Didn't he paint his room black like 6 months before the shooting and the parents not know about it? But it's not just the parents... Because most of the violent video games are from Japan, and you are telling me all the parents over there are activitly involved with their kids? Bullshit. They are mostly work-aholics over there. So there has to be something else going on here. What it is I don't know...

Yeah I've been watching Bowling for Columbine to much lately.

[Mr Pilkington]

Actually GTA4 is vice City, GTA5 will be a game set in the future, or that's how rumour has it.

Either you are not knowing your GTA's, or you sources are just wrong beyond all. Vice City is simply an interim game. And expansion pack if you will. Kind of like GTA London to GTA2. Same f'n game, two different towns. GTA 4 posses allot of rumors, simply due to the huff ‘n puff over 3 and VC. But be sure that it will be well over a year before we see a domestic release. Between now and then I’m personally looking forward to the rumored “complete GTA3.” An American version including the hour and half cut form the first PS2 release.

[Dirk_Temporo]

Rockstar announced that they are going to give all the new GTA's names instead of numbers.

[Lyrs]

I blame the parents.

Rockstar should sue these guy's parents, too bad they didn't do it earlier.

[LightningCountX]

"Last time I checked that game was rated MATURE for Mature audiences only. Neither of those two were old enough to play the game. That's just my 2 cents."

yea, thats true, and also Mr Pilkington said

"The answer is simple. If you can't distinguish reality from fantasy, you shouldn't be allowed to own a gaming console."

That is true also....If i ever feel the need for violence I go to the games, and do it on the game characters in GTA, not people =\, thats kinda sad also =\

[MAS PRODUCTIONS]

This is just another case of pointing fingers at the easy target. Its simple to say that it was the game's fault but they seem to miss the fact that parents are responsible for their children not the gaming industry. The game was made for adults and marketed as such. Personally I feel this has nothing to do with the game. These kids are mentally unbalanced and were allowed by their parents to do this. I suggest that they put the teens into a mental instution and the parents in jail. Here in Arkansas, if a child skips school for a long amount of time, the parents can be sent to jail. They should do the same in this case, the parents are just as responsible for this crime as the children are.

[Lyrs]

how come the kid's got a gun either way?

[fyrtenheimer]

This is just another case of pointing fingers at the easy target. Its simple to say that it was the game's fault but they seem to miss the fact that parents are responsible for their children not the gaming industry. The game was made for adults and marketed as such. Personally I feel this has nothing to do with the game. These kids are mentally unbalanced and were allowed by their parents to do this. I suggest that they put the teens into a mental instution and the parents in jail. Here in Arkansas, if a child skips school for a long amount of time, the parents can be sent to jail. They should do the same in this case, the parents are just as responsible for this crime as the children are.

The same applies here (about the jail stuff)
But then again, these kids were what ..16 and 14? By that age, parental guidance or not, the kid should be able to distinguish "right from wrong" and what obviously not to do. It's by the age of 7 does the average kid know all that.

No need to point the finger at Rockstar or the parents. The kids were just fucken retarded.