GTA IV is out today.  Uh, yay…  My husband will be probably purchasing this game, but I won’t be, nor will I play it.  GTA is simply not the kind of game I like to play.  Hmm… what a simple thing to say, “GTA is simply not the kind of game I like to play,” so consequently, I will not buy it.  So why can’t the rest of the people that don’t like GTA take that kind of attitude and leave those that want to play it alone?  As for the kids — MA and AO mean that the game is not intended for children, so parents should be responsible and not purchase this game for their children and vendors should be equally sensible and not sell the game to children just as they wouldn’t sell alcohol and tabacco to children.  How hard is this to understand?  Anyway, the more these folks hype the violence and sex within GTA, the more curious teens become.  Parents could also use the game as a teaching moment and play the game with their teen.  Or maybe they will be surprised to find out that their kid doesn’t like the game because it’s difficult to play and they can’t get through the dialog in the cut-scenes — GTA is story driven after all. 

As for me, I played GTA III once and I watched my husband play.  Causing mayhem is fun for about an hour and then I got bored.  My husband for some reason didn’t.  Then my husband discovered the prositutes and that aspect of the game totally turned me off.  My view of the world isn’t that cynical.  My husband thought is was funny but after interacting with the prostitute a few times, got bored and moved on without lasting mental damage or the impression that the mayhem and criminal behaviour he could do in the game were in anyway acceptable in the real world.  GTA is escapism for adults, just as WOW and shooters like Call of Duty are.

Anyhow, here’s an article on the GTA IV contraversy.  If there are folks out there that are brave enough to admit to buying and playing GTA IV, please leave a comment on how it is.