GTA4 blamed for eight year old shooting grandmother
polycounter lvl 14
http://kotaku.com/grand-theft-auto-blamed-after-eight-year-old-shoots-gra-1201375715
Video games are as bad as heroin.
Video games are as bad as heroin.
Replies
Love the line where it says killing is encouraged in GTA, did they even play you kill someone and the cops come flying down on you
I'm not saying the game is an issue at all but I do find that I drive more aggressively after playing GTA and that I visualize everything as a potential slow motion jump obstacle ...
- BoBo
QFT.
Amazing people still think like that. Sess is a great knowledgeable guy, and here's his opinions on the topic a while ago:
[ame="
NEWS:
"Grade schooler nukes entire country off the face of the Earth, from Mars. Parents say they don't know how the launch button got thrown in with little Timmys toys. Further investigation found that little Timmy had a copy of the video game 'Extreme Gore Porn 3' which his parents bought him for his last birthday.
Experts agree there's no one to blame in this case but the game makers and the button manufacturer."
We keep saying that video-games are more than "just games", that they can have an emotional impact. So then is there some chip installed somewhere that makes it so that the impact can only be positive? I think if we're going to say that video-games can have an effect on people, then that effect could go both ways.
That said, I think it's all in how you take the game. I played tons of original GTA, and Mortal Kombat, and Doom, and Duke Nukem, and pretty much everything growing up, and it gave me zero desire to go and hurt anyone, in spite of those games being violent.
For me personally, the reason is that I simply don't take those games seriously. They're entertainment. But when I play other games, like say Bioshock or Mass Effect or whatever, then I do take them seriously, and then I do let them have somewhat of an impact on me.
Is it possible that someone out there will take GTA seriously? I really doubt it. But you never know. Crazy world we're living in.
Replace "video-games" with any other subject.
Books are more than just books, they can have an emotional impact.
Movies are more than just movies, they can have an emotional impact.
Art is more than just art, it can have an emotional impact.
Music is more than just music, it can have an emotional impact.
The radio is more than just the radio, it can have an emotional impact.
This is nothing more than someone trying to find a scapegoat and video games are currently the easiest.
In anycase all those "news" are funny to me. I played brutal games since I was 6 (yeahh... those fatalities in Mortal Kombat), I watched brutal movies since that age too (Rambo anyone ? or other 80s action movies).
When I watch those action movie now (or they new revisions) i simply find they funny. How ridiculous they are is beyond imagination. All this blood, infinite ammo, and one guy destroying entire army. It's just LOL.
And no. I'm not going outside and killing people at random.
The problem is simple. Television and movie industru feels treatet by video games. The do not controll it, guys who are in charge and stone age rooted and the do not understrand it. If they do not controll and understrand they have to destroy it as it impose treat to their current buisness and money.
I say to hell with them. Let them burn to the ground.
His parents are the ones to blame and well, some people are just mentally ill from the start - video games or not.
it's my job as a parent to make sure my kids are only exposed to things that i think they are ready for. things that they can handle both emotionally and mentally.
personally, i don't feel that either the games industry, movie industry, or book industry are responsible for events like this... why was he playing that game in the first place? who gave it to him? who decided it was okay for him to play it?
that's where i'd point the finger.
Had I found my dads gun when I was 8, I would have shot something too.. and damn if I didn't try. I was curious to just see it again (I saw it when someone got crazy in our neighborhood). Clever bastard had it locked away somewhere... and I seriously looked for it.
So, yes. Parents. Always harping on kids about "putting away your toys".. take your own medicine and put the guns away.
1. letting their kid play gta4 when its very clearly 17+, 12-14 is different to let it "slide" but 8?
2. leaving a firearm accessible like that
When people try to overtake me on the main road I always end up throwing banana peels at them
1 - An 18 rated game being played by an 8 year old?
2 - Guns that are not locked away in a child proof locker!!!! the 8 year old picked up a loaded gun! LOADED GUN!!!! why do most American's insist in having them? shot gun! really!! what the hell would you need one for?
How many gun deaths are in the US every year?
In 2011, the latest figure available from the Centers for Disease Control,
Accidental discharge 851
Suicide 19,766
Homicide 11,101
Undetermined Intent 222
Total: At least 31940 people died from gun injuries in 2011. Each to there own I guess? Anyway I'm off to play some cricket and have a pint
Am I the only one who has no issue with a kid playing an M rated game, if their parents allow it? I have teenage nephews, who get a lot of video games from me throughout the year. If a title is M-Rated, I inform his parents of the rating and what they can expect their kid to be playing. Why do we laugh and make memes at all the 13 year olds playing CoD on XBL, but suddenly play the holier than thou M-Rated card when something like this happens?
Guns not allowed - UK Death rates involving a gun or firearm = 44 source (2013, url)
Guns allowed - USA Deaths rates involving a gun or firearm = 31940
"UK has a population of 63m"
"US has a population of ~314m"
Now I am not an expert statistician but I can see your figures for population vs death rate does not add up, could it be that nipping into a shop and buying a gun has anything to do with it…:shifty: Let me think.
Ah yes maybe if an 8 year old boy could not freely pick up a loaded SHOTGUN! this statistic would not have happened.:poly142:
Suicide 19,766
Homicide 11,101
Undetermined Intent 222
Jesus man... people are shooting themselves more than any other statistic.
Does anyone else not find this insanely alarming?
Who cares what weaponry anybody has in their home, so long as it's legal and the proper precautions are taken. This is a case of a guardian not taking the proper precautions with their weaponry, not a case of gun laws in America. The fact remains that the vast majority of legal gun owning Americans do not commit crimes with said gun, but arrogant individuals like yourself want to point the finger right where the media wants you to point it. For what? Some higher sense of being? Give me a break.
I'll take the blame for a minor derail, so let's try and get it back on the track of game-related discussion here. I still have no issue with kids playing M-Rated games, with their parents consent. I've seen a few people mention the fact that the kid was playing a M-Rated game. Is this an issue with people?
Probably just me being weird, but i never got this mentality "no no, it's perfectly fine that kid had gun, problem is X"...Sorry, if kid has a gun, THAT's your problem, any farther talk is pointless and just wasting energy.
Kids simply aren't old enough to really understand what exactly does it meana to take life, and that the gun can actually do it with such an ease. nor should they really understand; they should be out, play with other kids or something and not having to deal with something like that in the first place....
That's how i see it atleast....
Read the bottom of the news real. Are you taking the fooking piss? Why is some shitty little idiot family who let their son get a loaded gun and shoot someone on the prime spot when thats below it?
I think chemical warfare should hold more weight no?
"Who cares what weaponry anybody has in their home, so long as it's legal"
Oh dear, your missing the point! ......I will make it easy for you to understand.
If the law was that you could not own a gun, then what damage could an 8 year old boy have done to his 80 year old granny?
Why do you need a shot gun or any gun for that matter in a home is beyond me?
This not a dig at America like you say it is, I dont like having guns around me in any country, I have family in Switzerland and all my cousins like to dig out there guns and ammunition and it just freaks me out as to why you need a gun in your house. I am always on the lookout for my kids worrying they might find one of the dam things.
Like I said each to their own I guess.
There's many reasons to owning a weapon that range from a multitude of subjects..
If the law was that you could not have children do you think over population would be solved too?
Problem is the gun was loaded and was in reach.
Errr....the problem was there was a gun in the first place!
It's like leaving your kid alone in the car, on the passenger seat, with the motor still running.
anyhoo, not my problem, its a problem in a specific area in the world that happen to be loaded with gun all over the place
I couldn't imagine growing up with the guilt. Being young you don't understand the consequences, but as you grow you learn what you did and feel worse every day