Thai cab driver stabbed, GTA4 blamed

[Jim Steele]

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=194561

It's the classic GTA controversy with a twist:

According to police, the teenager admitted to committing the murder explicitly because of GTA IV. "He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game"

Emphasis mine.

This has triggered an effective ban:

The incident has lead videogame distributors in the country to call for a halt in sales of GTA IV. "We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games,"

This is beyond ridiculous. Why do we let the actions of a few psychos influence policy?

"Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

Or next week, someone could murder their aunt and say they got the idea from Miss Marple.

Just fuck off.

 

[PKerr]

I've this time and time again in gaming forums.

People that do that crap are sick.
You never know what will set someone off.

To blame a game is just silly.

It's time for people to start taking blame for their own actions and stop finding someone or something else to blame it on.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

People commit heinous crimes for stupid reasons and blame games, movies, albums, inanimate objects, celebrities they've never met and talking dogs. It gets a lot of press. Always does. Real question is whether or not the perp is sane enough to stand trial and go away for a long time.

 

[Pingfah]

Eh, it'll be back on the shelves in 6 months.

Remember Child's Play III and it's "connection" to the Jamie Bulger killing? The Mirror ran a massive headline that read "BURN THIS EVIL VIDEO". Not only was it back on the shelves a few months later, but the Mirror gave a spiffing review to Child's Play IV.

 

[LeadHead]

Not to blame this kids parents specifically, but kids don't do thinks THAT stupid unless they haven't been raised with boundaries and taught common sense. Like the common sense not to commit a murder and robbery simply because they wanted to see what it was like.

 

[darthraidr]

if the teen did say that he did it because of GTA, then it is a twist... normally media or politicians jump to that conclusion without any basis...

but, if we look at the numbers, we've had one (maybe more?) acts of violence from the millions of copies of GTA that have been sold recently?

oh well, videogames are an easy scapegoat...

 

[Trubinator]

More idiocy. Take any criminology class and you'll find out almost immediately that nobody really takes this kind of explanation seriously in the professional world.

 

[HRHTheKING]

The other day, I took my car to a Pay and Spray.



I BLAME GTA!!!!!!

 

[Pingfah]

if the teen did say that he did it because of GTA, then it is a twist... normally media or politicians jump to that conclusion without any basis...

but, if we look at the numbers, we've had one (maybe more?) acts of violence from the millions of copies of GTA that have been sold recently?

oh well, videogames are an easy scapegoat...

I say it doesn't matter why the kid said he did it, the fact that the kid mimicked something he saw in the game still doesn't make the game responsible for his behaviour.

Violent acts can be seen at any time of the day in numerous different forms of media, if he hadn't taken his inspiration on precisely what to do from the game it could simply have been from somewhere else. That one particular game didn't suddenly turn him into a murderous maniac overnight.

The real question is whether viewing or engaging in repeated acts of simulated violence over a sustained period can turn a sane non-violent person into a violent one, given the vast numbers of perfectly well adjusted players and viewers of the most horrifically violent games and films I would say not.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well these things are fun as always.

From Destructoid

In the wake of the murder of a Thai cabdriver on Saturday, and the consequent ban of Grand Theft Auto IV sales throughout Thailand, the country's Minister of Health has released a list of what it considers to be the ten most dangerous video games:

Grand Theft Auto
Manhunt
Scarface
50 Cent: Bulletproof
300: The Video Game
The Godfather
Killer 7
Resident Evil 4
God of War
Hitman: Blood Money

What I'd like to know is why can they never just hold a person responsible for their own actions, whether or not they say something inspired them to do it.
I've watched horror films, listened to rap music and played video games for as long as I can remember, and I've never had the urge to go out and see how it feels to murder someone.

 

[dark angel_707]

Well these things are fun as always.

From Destructoid

In the wake of the murder of a Thai cabdriver on Saturday, and the consequent ban of Grand Theft Auto IV sales throughout Thailand, the country's Minister of Health has released a list of what it considers to be the ten most dangerous video games:

Grand Theft Auto
Manhunt
Scarface
50 Cent: Bulletproof
300: The Video Game
The Godfather
Killer 7
Resident Evil 4
God of War
Hitman: Blood Money

What I'd like to know is why can they never just hold a person responsible for their own actions, whether or not they say something inspired them to do it..

its because of the "not my fault!!!111" culture and also its easy to shift the blame onto videogames, killed a few people blame Tetris or Miss Pacman

edit: I can understand banning crap like 50 Cent: Bulletproof and shame they didn't ban star trek legacy

 

[M'Sharak]

This is beyond ridiculous. Why do we let the actions of a few psychos influence policy?

Not to give any credence whatsoever to claims that GTA4 or any game directly causes violence but Thai policy has been known more than once to be driven by even flimsier stuff than this. They're not quite as paranoid a regime as the one in the country next-door (at least not this year) but they're close.