Video games and the blame game (Technology)

In its first full week of sales the controversial new video game “Grand Theft Auto IV” has sold 6 million copies, earning its developer, Take-Two Interactive Software, more than $500 million. But with triumph comes opposition.

If you don’t know anything about the game, let’s just say GTA IV content is not for the easily offended. Critics are lambasting it as well, expressing particular outrage over the game’s mature and explicit subject matter.

In GTA, players are able to participate in a wealth of illicit adventures from running drugs in stolen cars to assaulting strangers with stolen guns. There’s even a point in the game when a playable character is tasked with driving a car drunk.

The drunk driving sequence has met with adamant disapproval from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who are the latest addition to GTA’s growing number of detractors.

MADD released a statement in conjunction with GTA’s release on April 29 stating, “MADD is extremely disappointed by the decision of the manufacturers of the game Grand Theft Auto IV to include a game module where players can drive drunk. Drunk driving is not a game and it is not a joke. Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable.”

MADD went on to call for tighter restrictions to be placed on GTA’s sales by requesting the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to “reclassify Grand Theft Auto IV as an Adults Only game”. They would also like “for the manufacturer to consider a stop in distribution”.

So in essence, there is fear that GTA would justify illegal behavior, causing those who play it to mimic their experience in real life.

Now, MADD does wonderful things for this country. Their cause is a noble as they come, and if they feel the need to make their outrage known on a national stage, that’s their right. The only drawback taking such a hard-nosed stance against the influence games like GTA might hold over the masses is this:

It undermines the importance of personal accountability and espouses a lack of confidence in humanity’s judgment.

As it stands now, GTA has a “Mature” rating. That means the game is suitable only for persons aged 17 and older. If the game’s rating were to be changed at the request of MADD to “Adults Only” then it becomes suitable for persons aged 18 and older.

So the question then becomes, what’s the difference between 17 and 18? Is there some kind of safety mechanism in the minds of teenagers that doesn’t kick in until their 18th birthday? Certainly GTA’s critics can’t believe that a 17-year old could mimic what they see in the game without thinking it’s wrong, while an 18-year old could somehow be immune?

I don’t deny that drunk driving is a heinous thing, but to think the problem would somehow be alleviated through stringent legislation of a video game is not addressing the problem.

It’s not the charge of Take-Two to play surrogate parents to a nation. Playing parent is a parent’s job, and if a parent decides that a game like GTA has no place in the home, then so be it. In their press release, MADD stated that, “drunk driving is a choice”, but so is dropping $60 on a video game.

Choose wisely.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff