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Game-makers face axe call after murder



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Published Date: 11 August 2008
CONTROVERSIAL computer game Grand Theft Auto IV could be banned in Spain and Malaysia, after being linked to a murder in Thailand.
A Thai teenager was arrested on suspicion of murdering a taxi driver last week, and after he claimed to have been inspired by GTA, the game was pulled from shelves.

Now the Catalan Taxi Federation has asked the Spanish government to do the same, citing the Thai murder case.

And it has been reported that the Consumers Association of Malaysia has also called for his country to ban the game.

The game, created by Edinburgh firm Rockstar North, is the latest in the long-running franchise which sees gamers run around lavishly created virtual cities carrying out all manner of criminal activities.

This latest instalment has earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours.

In its first day on release the game sold 3.6 million copies and earned more than £150 million.





The full article contains 176 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 11 August 2008 11:13 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

,

11/08/2008 12:33:20
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
2

Peedie Paws,

Edinburgh 11/08/2008 12:48:14
we might as well go back to living in caves. I once played Spiro the Dragon and I certainly didn't feel the need to go out to hunt down dragons!
3

It's heading straight for us!,

Edinburgh 11/08/2008 13:02:03
Absolutely! and while were at it ban 'call of duty' in case I get an urge to invade Normandy and kill Germans!
4

Boswall,

11/08/2008 13:48:06
Nonsense.

I distinctly remember there being no crime what so ever before computer games were invented.
5

fresian,

edinburgh 11/08/2008 13:52:55
2 & 3 you are missing the point here guys. Murder is a crime. Slaying dragons is not a criminal offence, and neither was killing Germans back in the early 1940s. In fact you would have received a medal for it.
6

Jenny MacArthur,

11/08/2008 13:57:04
Can we ban the bible at the same time too please! I know for a fact it has inspired idiots like Bush and Blair to invade sovereign nations and murder hundreds of thousands of their people, not to mention its having driven gay teenagers to suicide due to the persecution of hate-filled Christians emulating the evil things described within its pages. This horrible text needs to be outlawed NOW.
7

Hmmm!!!!,

11/08/2008 13:59:22
People use anything apart from their own backbone to pull out from admission of guilt on stuff. It was GTA. Lot of rubbish!
8

Niadh,

Edinburgh 11/08/2008 14:05:01
I don't believe it!!
Twice in as many months I find myself agreeing with Jenny MacArthur. Better go and get my head checked.

Anyone who uses someone or something else as an excuse for committing a crime needs their head examined.
I have played a lot of games over the years but for some strange reason have not yet had the urge to go out and recreate them in the real world.
Must be because I can tell the difference between fact and fiction.
9

Skip McClendon,

11/08/2008 14:32:00
GTA is a thorughly unpleasant game, the console equivalent of a video nasty.

But to claim that it prompts violence or murder is ridiculous. People with a propensity to commit violent crime will always find an excuse to do so.

The Ancient Romans, for example. Very fond of violence, used it at the drop of a hat. But not known as big players of Grand Theft Auto.

10

Boy Wonder,

11/08/2008 14:40:56
If they're banning computer games ... could they please also ban Religion, Monarchy, BBC licence fees, politician's expenses, mobile phones and prawns (I don't like them!)?
11

YummyMummy,

11/08/2008 14:55:18
Quality. Does that mean i can go out shoplifting and blame Gordon Brown for the increase of, well, everything except income and get him 'pulled from the shelf'
That actually would be worth it
12

Georgy Pordgy,

Outside 11/08/2008 15:09:58
#8 "Twice in as many months I find myself agreeing with Jenny MacArthur. Better go and get my head checked."

Me to
13

Cynicaltalk,

11/08/2008 15:44:05
Bad people do bad things. That's the blunt truth and no amount of blame can be apportioned to a computer game.

I also ( reluctantly ) agree with Jenny McArthur.
14

deek the painter,

11/08/2008 17:15:01
this is a joke i play gta all the time and never had the urge to go and kill someone

plus the courts dont let you use drink or drugs as an excuse so why do they let you use a video game as an excuse
15

A Friend of Fernando Poo,

11/08/2008 17:51:52
Cynicaltalk reckons:

"Bad people do bad things. That's the blunt truth and no amount of blame can be apportioned to a computer game."

The superstitious will always blame inanimate objects rather than the people themselves for causing crime. Just look at how they talk about banning guns or knives based on the same spurious logic.
16

Jenny MacArthur's Humvee,

11/08/2008 20:34:42
I played the game for a week as a tester before it came out and what I can't belive the PC brigade haven't made a brouhaha about is the mission where you have to kill loads of Jews and steal their diamonds. I'm now going to burst water pipes and flood my whole block then say I was playing Mario.
17

Niko Bellic,

Juniper Green 12/08/2008 00:04:50

I think the people who seek the ban may have a point.

Enric Miralles got lots of ideas from watching a drunkard play Tetris

 

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