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Rockstar’s stalwart franchise has long being a torn in the side of concerned parents and censorship campaigners. The GTA series has being at the forefront of video game controversy ever since their first outing back in 1997. The first game in the series was a top down open world that allowed players to mow down pedestrians in cars and shoot up the streets with an array of different weapons. The general public and mainstream press at the time where shocked at such levels of violence in a game that was in their opinion targeted at children. A problem that has always dogged games like GTA that feature violent or graphic content is that although that most carry an 18 or R rating, video games are still generally viewed as a medium for children. This of course is far from the case as the annual survey of the average gamer carried out by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association), puts the average age of a video game player at 30. Nevertheless GTA has always been used as an example for video games effect on the youth. Whether it ranges from excessive playtime causing mental health issues that affect many children or even incidents of young people carrying out extreme acts of violence being attributed to the influence of the game. Although the latest game in the series has just being released and once again carries an 18’s rating it wasn’t long before controversy reared its head. It was an employee of a video game retail outlet that raised the issue of negligent parents purchasing GTA V for their children, even with the content warnings on the box and the advice of the retailer falling on deaf ears. It would seem that Rockstar can rarely release a game without it causing some level of controversy. Rockstar’s Table Tennis probably one of the rare exceptions in their catalogue of games not to be involved in any controversy.

“GTA V is already putting Rockstar in hot water over the scenes of torture featured in one of the mission, an obvious satire on current American politics but a step to far for many”

The first GTA game set the tone for the public’s reaction to the violence that featured in the series. The game received general negative reaction from the news media in many European countries with the game being banned outright in Brazil. The next major controversy came with GTA III as the series moved in the 3D realm with the violence now more realistic than its predecessors. The main complaints levelled against the game was the apparent lack of consequence to the criminal actions carried out by the main character, with no lasting repercussions for killing police or military personal. The message being sent to the player in the game doesn’t reflect real life. A just argument if it is a child playing the game who may not be able to reason out the differences between the virtual and the real world. However as is always stated by the game developers and publishers is that these game are for adults who are able to distance themselves from the games universe and the one we inhabit. Similar issues where raised with the next game in the series GTA Vice City set in a fictional Miami during the 80’s, however this time it was Cuban and Haitian groups that also added to the debate. They argued that they had being poorly represented in the game as nothing more than criminals and thugs.

“GTA IV saw Rockstar break new ground with criminal violence not the only controversial issue, the main characters ability to drive while intoxicated raising the ire of many concerned campaigners.”

All of these grievances where soon overshadowed with the release of GTA San Andreas and the major controversy the unfurled around the sexual content of the game, the fiasco that was otherwise known as the “Hot Coffee Mod”. A sex based mini-game that was removed from the final releases of the game but was modded back in later by those who found the hidden source code. Although not featured in the retail release and any modifications to the game breaking the EULA (End User Licence Agreement), the news media focus it accusations entirely on the games creators instead of those who distributed the mod. The mod features the main character CJ engaging in sexual intercourse with one of several girlfriends that appeared as part of the dating mini-game. The “Hot Coffee Mod” allows players to control CJ actions while engaged in the act of intercourse, with similar controls to the dancing mechanics used in other parts of the game but didn’t feature any nudity. Regardless of whether the content was hidden or a breach the EULA the game faced major criticisms by numerous interest groups, even senator Hillary Clinton at the time demanded that new regulations be drawn up for video games. The controversy resulted in the games re-classification by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) from mature to adults only. It marked a point where GTA and its creators Rockstar were made the focus of the media’s negative attention towards video games. The series has continued that tradition right up to the current release, in fact the Guinness Book of Records Gamers Edition even cited the franchise as the most controversial in the industry with over 4,000 articles written on the subject.

“The GTA series has run the gambit of culture taboos from drug trafficking, glorifying criminal acts, full frontal male nudity, excessive violence to the sexualization and subjugation of women.”

All thee controversies aside the question still remains that, is GTA a bad influence for young people? The problem with such a question is that there is no simple answer, there are far too many variables in the equation to find a definitive cause of negative behaviour in young people. It is far easier to lay the blame with one source instead of fully investigating the myriad of reasons for young people to act out in violent or disobedient ways. Countless surveys of that effect of violent video games on the mental state of young people have been deemed inconclusive, with some arguing that games do have a negative affect and other contending such views. There are some that go as far as to argue that violent video game allow people with violent dispositions to alleviate their stress and behavioural triggers. Whether these statements are true is irrelevant as it is not just video game alone that can influence somebody to carry out a violent act, if video games are to blame then so is film, TV, literature, the internet and any other number of mediums that feature violent or sexual content. Prior the rise of video games into mainstream culture, it was often violent movies or TV shows that took the brunt of the general public’s criticisms. It was the rock n’ roll stars of the 50’s and 60’s such as Elvis and Johnny Cash that were blamed for corrupting the minds of young people. Video games are simply the most misunderstood medium at the moment and therefore make for an easy target. Until the video game industry becomes as well known and ubiquitous as film or TV, it will always be used as a way to explain the complex negative issues regarding youth wellbeing and health. Instead of spending time addressing the growing problems of youth violence the media just looks to a game like GTA for the easy answers to their problems. The scapegoat for much larger economic and socio-political problems that can’t be solved with news report attacking GTA over the content within their game. Children by their nature are more impressionable and vulnerable to graphic content then others, however simply looking to ban violent video games is not going to stop them from being influenced by another source. More effort should be made to protect children from such games not by censorship of such material but through proper parental guidance enforcing moral authority on the media that their children can consume. In an industry that boost more content than ever before why should a child be allowed to play such violent games, when a host of more appropriate titles are available on the market.

By Colm O’Sullivan

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