All reported incidents related to this game is due to hype. I mean serious hype, more than Halo.

Any game that receives maximum scores from ALL critics/reviewers is going to incite some form of public stupidity.

Gotta love this:

Anything to get mothers wound up.

I always wonder why folks say that the games like GTA can corrupt minds, but only as much as any other form of literature. Many more books and films are way more disturbing than any GTA game. How can people complain about the violence in a computer game, when films like SAW or the Hostel are on our TV screens!?

Besides, if someone can't differ between a game and reality then they better get themselves admitted in a mental hospital

Because it is easyer to shift blame than to raise your child.

You forgot Rambo 4, where you see up-close how a bayonet is thrusted to a small child and a baby is thrown to a burning building.

I can imagine the stabbings on the increase, now that a bug has been found that prevents the game from being played on some consoles. It just freezes on the intro screen and requires a powerdown of the system.

According to Rock*, it affects both PS3 and X-BOX360 consoles, but they don't know why. It seems to be hardware related at the moment, and is causing more than a few tears.

I'd hate to be on that helpdesk.;)

Thanks for reminding me AVG... i was working in a major store's toy dept that day.:dead:

people look at the downside to GTA, yes you *can* do the murders etc, but you dont *need* to. its in the game for those who want to, but you can do it without resorting to the extreme violence mentioned so often!

Steve, you and I are from the same era. I had friends who's parents did not allow them to watch Warner Brothers cartoons because they felt they were violent. Gosh, imagine if they took a peek at GTA:o

I agree whole heartedly here on this point. I think it started with dear Hillary Clinton when she said a whole villiage needs to raise a child. Crack-pot thought really. It is up to the parent to know what your kids are up too, who they hang with and how school work is going. Simple formula really, Ask questions=getting a response. If it equals the wrong response, help them find the right answer.

Yes sir, I watched the fighting and tramplings on the news for a friggin console just to play games. Not to mention people getting held up at knife/gunpoint on the way to their car.

I wasn't being serious, but i guess since you mention it your experience doesn't really prove the theory either way. Obviously if every kid that watched violent cartoons went out and attempted to act them out in RL folks wouldn't be having this debate.

Your question was direct, and seemed serious enough. On the other hand, wasn't my original statement just a little bit over the top?

And my point seems to have been exactly the same: that what we watch and what we play does NOT shape us nearly as much as what we are taught by those whose job it is to raise us.

http://www.bruceongames.com/2008/04/...eve-the-press/

Lazy, lazy, lazy, crap journalism.

I once got duffed up outside a chipper in Edinburgh - perhaps the waft of simmering palm oil or stress of waiting for a chicken pakora was responsible?

You read far too much news, Subman.

Chipper....:hmm:
Edinburgh...:hmm:

What type of trainers had you on ;)

It started way earlyer than that, way earlyer.