Two lawsuits target GTA publisher

[scribblehead]

If this has been posted before, then plz delete it mods!

"Best-selling series put on the defensive in two unrelated legal cases.

In the wake of a recent deadly Tennessee shooting in which two teens shot and killed a man, the family of the deceased has filed a lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive, publisher of Grand Theft Auto, according to ABC News. Both teens have plead guilty to reckless homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment.

The game was implicated as an inspiration for the teens, ages 14 and 16. According to the news dispatch, the plaintiff's attorney, Jack Thompson, stated, "The industry needs to cough up money so victims and their families can be compensated for their pain... The shareholders need to know what their games are doing to kids and their families. They need to stop pushing adult-rated products to kids. These products are deadly."

The Entertainment Software Association reportedly responded in a statement that said, "Parents are present at--and involved in--the purchase or rental of games 83 percent of the time, according to a September 2000 Federal Trade Commission report." The statement did not mention that Grand Theft Auto games are rated "M" for Mature and are intended only for audiences aged 17 and older.

In an unrelated lawsuit, graffiti artist Christopher Ellis alleges that Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive used his graffiti artwork, titled "Daze," without permission in Grand Theft Auto III."

Seriously are they ****ing nuts?? how can they actually think of prosecuting a gamedeveloper for this.....thats some ****ed up shit right there dudes...

 

[Northwood83]

I agree about marketing games to kids..That kinda stuff really should stop. Although I dont think it wouldt prompt a kid to go out and do this kinda stuff I do think it has an adverse affect on kids.

 

[scribblehead]

Originally posted by Northwood83
I agree about marketing games to kids..That kinda stuff really should stop. Although I dont think it wouldt prompt a kid to go out and do this kinda stuff I do think it has an adverse affect on kids.

well yeah the marketing is probably part of the problem, but where's the parents in this case...i mean come on, don't tell me they're not part of this problem

 

[Northwood83]

I agree the parents play a big role. Theres no way in hell I'd let my kid grow up on most of todays games..Hes only getting NES until hes 5 :cheers:

 

[crabcakes66]

M rated games should be treated like porno movies.....

 

[dawdler]

Originally posted by crabcakes66
M rated games should be treated like porno movies.....

Downloaded in the thousands by teens wanting to show off?

Anyway, I think its stupid... Cause if you do a lawsuit against one, you have to do a lawsuit against all. GTA is not the first game like this. Gta is even the most unrealistic of them all. What about the developers of Mafia? Just as much killing. Does it matter if it is in played in the 30's? Dont think so. You kill in every freakin game! Wouldnt surprise me if we see Valve being sued too, after kids have gone out in the city screaming "HEADCRABS!" and bashing down everyone they see with a crowbar (5 bashes, 1 just walks into a table, laughing about how the objects on it shake when he bumps into it).

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by dawdler
Downloaded in the thousands by teens wanting to show off?

Anyway, I think its stupid... Cause if you do a lawsuit against one, you have to do a lawsuit against all. GTA is not the first game like this. Gta is even the most unrealistic of them all. What about the developers of Mafia? Just as much killing. Does it matter if it is in played in the 30's? Dont think so. You kill in every freakin game! Wouldnt surprise me if we see Valve being sued too, after kids have gone out in the city screaming "HEADCRABS!" and bashing down everyone they see with a crowbar (5 bashes, 1 just walks into a table, laughing about how the objects on it shake when he bumps into it).

Heh......a teen cant exactly walk into a store and buy a porno....while he can do exactly that with M rated games.

I understand theres warez and everything but most teens get theres games from stores.......

It should be enforced as much as tobbaco laws are.....

when i was a little younger i used to disagree ...becuase i always new the differance between games and reality....so i thought all th political arguements were BS..but it seems more and more that line is disapearing for alot of teens....

for the simple fact that there parents dont teach them.

 

[dawdler]

Originally posted by crabcakes66
for the simple fact that there parents dont teach them.

Yep, that's probably the biggest contributor for this. I for one have grown up in a relativly free family. If I was 8, I could easily see a horror movie rated from 15. My parents didnt bother, as long as I knew it was just a movie. Its the same with games. But now I'm over 20... Somehow I get the feeling there werent this many violent games back then. Sure, I didnt play alot, but I did play (Atari rulez! Never got me an Amiga though), I cant really remember any of the games even borderlining graphic violence... Not that they had much graphics then

Now, there are games like GTAIII, Postal2, Mafia, Doom3, HL2, JKII/Academy, NWN, etc etc... All have a single purpose: Kill the enemy. And lots of them. All display them in relativly lifelike 3d (if you compare with games 10 years ago). Its even more important now than ever to remind kids its only a game. We KNOW its a game, cause we have seen the entire evolution from pixelated fairies to shadowed polygonal monsters. But the ones jumping straight in to the polygonal monsters?

What about the future? When games are 10x more detailed than today, and kids jump straight into them, not see some of the "funny" polygon games today (like NWN, with its square feet and extremely low poly characters)? Kind of makes me scared how my kids would handle it...

Ah, I rant to much

 

[el Chi]

Postal 2 made me feel genuinely ill.

I can't stand it when people scapegoat games. Especially in this case when it's families of shooting victims looking for someone/something to blame. And then the worst is when they sue and try to profit off their tradgedy. As far as I'm concerned there's something inherently wrong about that. As if the money they win replaces the person they've lost.

People do odd things, and the US has freely available firearms and until the majority of the US population wakes up to that fact they will continue to have shooting tradgedies and high numbers of gun-deaths.

I'm surprised that so many of you have said that you'd rather not have your kids play games. Just seems interesting to me as you're all (I'm presuming, here) avid games fans...

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by el Chi
Postal 2 made me feel genuinely ill.

I can't stand it when people scapegoat games. Especially in this case when it's families of shooting victims looking for someone/something to blame. And then the worst is when they sue and try to profit off their tradgedy. As far as I'm concerned there's something inherently wrong about that. As if the money they win replaces the person they've lost.

People do odd things, and the US has freely available firearms and until the majority of the US population wakes up to that fact they will continue to have shooting tradgedies and high numbers of gun-deaths.

I'm surprised that so many of you have said that you'd rather not have your kids play games. Just seems interesting to me as you're all (I'm presuming, here) avid games fans...

My kids will be able to whatever they want to, within reason. Be it video games or real firearms.

My tv and my computer will not raise my child/children.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

This is stupid. Blaming the whole problem on what is basically a catalyst for something the parents and the world allowed to grow in those guys.

Yes, the parents should have brought up their children better but they cant take all the blame when the world is pumping out so much crap. Its everywhere, not just on the TV or Computers. Its all around us constantly coming down on us.

The game developers want the broaden their market as much as possible, so they try by the most subtle means to market their games to children, by making the games appear OK to parents. Now then, even with that said the parents should know better than to buy a game, that has been classed as over 18's only, for their children.

If you let children play these things at such a young age, they will grow up with problems. Now then, that isn't to say they will go out killing people but they will be worse off than they would otherwise be.

Our society is living in under false morals. So many people try to take the moral highpoint when they are undermining themselves by allowing so much rubbish into their minds.

I sometimes wonder if i should even be playing most of the stuff i do on the computer, o if i should really watch that TV programme. On the one hand my rational mind is telling me "Don't worry, this isn't real, how could this really have an effect on you?" But then all my common sense is telling me that you allow this stuff in, it will eat away at you. You might no repeat what you saw on the TV but it will still affect you.

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by Farrowlesparrow
Yes, the parents should have brought up their children better but they cant take all the blame when the world is pumping out so much crap. Its everywhere, not just on the TV or Computers. Its all around us constantly coming down on us.
]

Well damn man....They have to blame somebody. Far be it from the media to realise that they are part of the problem......

I agree that its a combination of things, but i still think its the parents responsibility to not let there kids get to caught up in all the garbage of modern society.....games are meant for enjoyment for petes sake.....

 

[Guest]

These arguments are the most retarded things I have ever heard. Maybe there wouldnt be so many shootings if parents paid more attention and got involved in their kids lives, or if the US actually brought in some gun control laws rather than letting every hick run around with a shotgun, or if kids learned that they cant solve shit without blowing peoples heads off. Ive played violent games for 14 years, yet it hasnt somehow made me think violence is OK and that if a bully picks on me its alright cuz I can just go pick up a shotgun and go after them Tommy Vercetti style. Man people are idiots.

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by Bass
These arguments are the most retarded things I have ever heard. Maybe there wouldnt be so many shootings if parents paid more attention and got involved in their kids lives, or if the US actually brought in some gun control laws rather than letting every hick run around with a shotgun, or if kids learned that they cant solve shit without blowing peoples heads off. Ive played violent games for 14 years, yet it hasnt somehow made me think violence is OK and that if a bully picks on me its alright cuz I can just go pick up a shotgun and go after them Tommy Vercetti style. Man people are idiots.

umm.....thats basically what all of us have been saying.

Please refrain from US bashing ....im ****ing tired of it.

 

[Guest]

I wasnt US bashing. It is a fact though that you guys have veeeery lenient gun control laws.

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by Bass
I wasnt US bashing. It is a fact though that you guys have veeeery lenient gun control laws.

The problem is that the laws we do have are not enforced.

This country is a democracy...we can not magically change laws to make guns ilegal, the right to bare arms is in our damn constitution.(it seems alot of non-us people have a hard time understanding this)

Its true....there are alot of unresponible hicks.....But it seems that more strict gun control laws only hurt legitamate gun onwers/hunters/recreational shooters.

If we could teach people to be more responible we wouldnt have to take away there guns.

Im not a politician. I dont know what the proper solution is.

I do know that other nations thinking that we can just all of a sudden make guns ilegal is ludicris.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

One thing i don't get about the Constitution. Its also talked about as if its set in stone, but doesn't the government often just "rub" bits out and re-write them? At least, thats how i understand it, what with the amendments and such. Perhaps Ive got the wrong end of the stick.

 

[dawdler]

Originally posted by Farrowlesparrow
One thing i don't get about the Constitution. Its also talked about as if its set in stone, but doesn't the government often just "rub" bits out and re-write them? At least, thats how i understand it, what with the amendments and such. Perhaps Ive got the wrong end of the stick.

Havent you heard the Simpsons song, Amendment To Be? It explains everything

 

[oldi1knoby]

I don't see how these little pricks are getting these M rated games. I am 21 and my brother is 23. We both stand well overf 6'2", and are very big guys. We are clearly adults. Yet when I went to purchase a copy of GTA:Vice City with him in tow, we got carded. When I purchased Mafia, I got carded. When I buy an M-rated game at Software Etc, they card me every time. I think more stores should enforce this. Gamestop is the only one that does it. CompUSA and wall-mart, who you would expect to do it, have never carded me.

In the end it will come down to the parents. Yes, a kid can't go buy porn and booze and cigarettes, but there are parents who will buy that stuff for their kids. If they want to SUE anyone, it should be the shitty parents who raised these morally retarded bastard kids. Why anyone would get a kick out of this amazes me. I can see shooting a .22 in the backyard at a road-sign you stole(I did it), but shooting at people is just wrong. These kids deserve to fry.

The constitution was written in pencil, not ink. It has many places for revisions. We revise it regularly to echo the current public opinion. Some laws are old and outdated and don't help anyone. You have the right to bear arms, if you do so without taking away anyone's civil rights(right to freedom and life).

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by Farrowlesparrow
One thing i don't get about the Constitution. Its also talked about as if its set in stone, but doesn't the government often just "rub" bits out and re-write them? At least, thats how i understand it, what with the amendments and such. Perhaps Ive got the wrong end of the stick.

the consittion hasnt been amended since... 1992 i think


I believe it takes 2/3 of a congress to let an amenment pass.


"but doesn't the government often just "rub" bits out and re-write them?"

never in the history of the united states as far as i know.......

This country is not THAT corrupt....contrary to popular belief.

 

[MrWhite]

To sum it up, if the parents know the kid isnt all right in the head, then dont buy them violent games


unless this has already been said

 

[el Chi]

I'm not a parent, but I can imagine it being particularly hard to acknowledge that your child "isn't alright in the head".

 

[MrWhite]

I mean that they know that the child has behavioral problems

I have my own way of saying things

 

[cyborgguineapig]

Yeah but what if these parents are ******* idiots too, then what can we do?
Like for instance that story about the parents who were keeping there kids locked in a 4 ft by 4 ft cage 23 hours a day, remember?

There are just ****** idiots in this world and if you think about it, that meteor hitting in 2014 doesn't sound so bad after-all. :dozey:

 

[nw909]

Originally posted by cyborgguineapig
There are just ****** idiots in this world and if you think about it, that meteor hitting in 2014 doesn't sound so bad after-all. :dozey:

YAY!

too bad there's no chance now

 

[MrWhite]

Originally posted by cyborgguineapig
Yeah but what if these parents are ******* idiots too, then what can we do?
Like for instance that story about the parents who were keeping there kids locked in a 4 ft by 4 ft cage 23 hours a day, remember?

There are just ****** idiots in this world and if you think about it, that meteor hitting in 2014 doesn't sound so bad after-all. :dozey:

Well thats the world for ya, people die, people kill

Good people can't do anything about it

 

[el Chi]

Originally posted by MrWhite
I mean that they know that the child has behavioral problems

No but that's precisely it. One can be too easily blinded by unconditional love.

 

[Gunner]

Originally posted by crabcakes66
The problem is that the laws we do have are not enforced.

This country is a democracy...we can not magically change laws to make guns ilegal, the right to bare arms is in our damn constitution.(it seems alot of non-us people have a hard time understanding this)

Yes but the constitution was written when the country had to defend itself against England. It's been more than two centuries for Christ's sake. Times changes, ordinary civilians don't need guns. It's ridiculous.

 

[Login_Here]

Its like a story i heard about with a guy that had epilepsy and played N64, he was living home and was playing N64 all day long and then he had an epilepsy-attack (couldnt find any other word) and died and then his mother sued Nintendo beacuse that her son played N64 and died.
How stupid isnt that?
And they even knew that the guy had epilepsy.

I think that most of these kids that do stuff like that are easily influented by games or that they have had a bad growth (dont know if its the right word...).

Its so sad, and that the FPS shooting part of the gaming world is the ones who has to take the hit.
And another story i saw was 2 guys that attacked an old woman in a park with a baseball bat (they where probably influented by GTA).

Thats my two cents.

BTW, sorry if there is any likeness to any other posts (i didnt feel like reading much today... so i didnt read the whole thread).

 

[Steelwind]

What I don't understand, is that one of the kids was quoted saying that they didn't know anyone could get hurt. What the hell are they smoking? They're 14 and 16 for crying out loud. We're not talking about some elementary school kids. They don't know at that age, that a firearm will kill someone? Give me a break, they knew what they were doing. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions. It's always someone else's fault.

It's absolutely ridiculous that someone can think that holding a small controller in your hand and moving a cursor around a TV screen entitles them to go out and shoot a real weapon at other people. There is absolutely no connection there. A game with a six button controller can in no way teach or suggest a person to go out and kill.

 

[Lordblackadder]

This reminds me of the nitwits who blame GUNS for crime.

 

[DarkelP]

Guns were made with one purpose in mind....to kill. If you have a gun, your first impulse is to shoot someone, to shoot somethink, and its always something alive.
Thats why gun laws are a good idea, i know if i had a gun on me when i was being bullied, i would of pulled it out, maybe even fired it. Not because it was in a game, or a film or anything, but because I know that it would kill, and when your being bullied, you want to stop it any way that you can.
I'm not saying that I would go crazy and shoot up my school, but when your at breaking point, you'll take any escape that can be given.
In my own opinion, americas gun laws are stupid and irresponsible, I mean why not let all people in america have a nuclear missile, some biological weapons, hell why not an army with enough firepower to wipe out the whole human race. You think I'm being stupid, but if its your right to carry a firearm, then why not all that I've mentioned.
We are a violent race, if we have the means to kill, we will kill, it makes us feel powerful.
Its not games or anythin that makes us do this, its the fact that we have the means to do it. Wipe out the means, and the want will fade....
and just look at how many gun crimes there are in america comapred with countrys that have strict gun laws...
Blaming games is like sayin that this picture :sniper: makes me want to kill people, its bollocks, people should take the balme for there own actions.

 

[Lordblackadder]

Originally posted by DarkelP
Guns were made with one purpose in mind....to kill. If you have a gun, your first impulse is to shoot someone, to shoot somethink, and its always something alive.
Thats why gun laws are a good idea, i know if i had a gun on me when i was being bullied, i would of pulled it out, maybe even fired it. Not because it was in a game, or a film or anything, but because I know that it would kill, and when your being bullied, you want to stop it any way that you can.
I'm not saying that I would go crazy and shoot up my school, but when your at breaking point, you'll take any escape that can be given.
In my own opinion, americas gun laws are stupid and irresponsible, I mean why not let all people in america have a nuclear missile, some biological weapons, hell why not an army with enough firepower to wipe out the whole human race. You think I'm being stupid, but if its your right to carry a firearm, then why not all that I've mentioned.
We are a violent race, if we have the means to kill, we will kill, it makes us feel powerful.
Its not games or anythin that makes us do this, its the fact that we have the means to do it. Wipe out the means, and the want will fade....
and just look at how many gun crimes there are in america comapred with countrys that have strict gun laws...
Blaming games is like sayin that this picture :sniper: makes me want to kill people, its bollocks, people should take the balme for there own actions.

Actually you have it exactly backwards, the 'will' finds the means. Nitwit.

Yes this reminds me of what nitwits who blame guns for crime, think.

 

[DarkelP]

Yer ok, its the person who commits the crime, thus they must pay for it, and take responsibilty for it? is that what your saying?

 

[Lordblackadder]

Originally posted by DarkelP
Yer ok, its the person who commits the crime, thus they must pay for it, and take responsibilty for it? is that what your saying?

Getting rid of guns isn't going to inhibit people from harming eachother.

Look at history.

 

[DarkelP]

Yer, i agree, but getting ride of guns will help, but not get ride of the problem

 

[Lordblackadder]

Originally posted by DarkelP
Yer, i agree, but getting ride of guns will help, but not get ride of the problem

NO.. you still have it backwards, listen to me.

Firearms are an Equalizer of Force, an old lady with a gun is a good match against a young/strong intruder even if he's armed too.

But she's helpless if they're both unarmed. He can harm her with his bare hands, this is why GUNS are GOOD.

You're not a bad guy Darkel, so I'm taking the time to talk to you.

But you gotta think, make it a habit.

 

[DarkelP]

Hmm, yer i see what you mean now...

I would think...but today is being totally shit today, so im in a 'screw thinking' kinda mood.
Thanks for explaining it better for me

 

[ComradeBadger]

The thing about me is, I didn't play games as a kid, and my first game was Half Life... I was 11, and my parents thought long and hard about whether I should be allowed to play it, since it was a 15. They decided to allow me to have it, but they put some thought into it. It really is up to the parents to control their children, and decide for themselves, actually take an interest in their offspring's development, and think about what they give to them.

 

[Lordblackadder]

Originally posted by mrBadger
The thing about me is, I didn't play games as a kid, and my first game was Half Life... I was 11, and my parents thought long and hard about whether I should be allowed to play it, since it was a 15. They decided to allow me to have it, but they put some thought into it. It really is up to the parents to control their children, and decide for themselves, actually take an interest in their offspring's development, and think about what they give to them.

You're a kid! I can't believe I've been talking to a kid as though.... nevermind. I'll definately watch my language around you from now on.

Actually I'll make an embarassing disclosure, I often play HL with the Gibbage off.

Your parents could've done the same to save your innocent eyes from the carnage.