GTA V.S. NYC

Time for more politicians whining about video games using incorrect quotes...

Kotaku has a post about how the politicians of NYC are complaining about the recent GTA "IV" trailer. I'll take the time to comment on some of the horrible inaccuracies that happen when people that are totally out of touch with the situation try to comment on things they have no idea about.

I can start as early as the second line in the "news" post.

And outraged political leaders say the rampant brutality of the game, Grand Theft Auto IV, has little in common with reality.

Yes, I'm aware that they're trying to say that New York isn't as violent as GTA, but if they're so different, why are we forced to listen to this garbage about how evil the game is?

"Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland," said City Councilman Peter Vallone, chairman of the Council's Public Safety Committee.

And here's where the real problems begin... GTA is NOT set in NYC, GTA is SEEMINGLY set in Liberty City. There has been no real confirmation that the game takes place there, beyond a handful of landmarks in a very cinematic trailer. The problem is that it's a video game, set in a fictional city that somewhat resembles an American city for the purpose of recognition and immersion. Key emphasis being on VIDEO GAME, not real. As for "setting Halo in Disneyland" I'm sure if aliens were invading Disneyland, you'd want someone like Master Chief there to defend it, no?

As the trailer shows well-known landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Cyclone in Coney Island, a character voiceover warns: "Life is complicated. I killed people, smuggled people, sold people. Perhaps here, things will be different."

No, it does not show any well-known landmarks. It shows parodies of them. it shows the BACK of a large statue in the water for about 1 second. It shows a bridge, nowhere is there a sign stating "HAY GUYS LOOK AT TEH BROOKLYN BRIDGE!11!!!1!" it's just a bridge. The voice-over is used to establish mood, it has no relevance to what will happen in GTA. Note the "Perhaps here, things will be different." part. For all we, and they know, GTA IV might be about a (seemingly) Russian immigrant going to LIBERTY CITY (not NEW YORK CITY) to establish a peaceful life for himself. Maybe he'll open a barbershop, or a restaurant.

"It's despicable to glamorize violence in games like these, regardless of how far-fetched the setting may be," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

People thrive on conflict, it makes the world go round. Without conflict we'd all just prance through meadows filled with wildflower singing happy songs. I think it's safe to say that we'd all get tired of that pretty quick. But if you're stating that it's despicable to depict violence in any fictional setting, I guess you had better stop watching TV, the fact that violence is broadcast is glamorizing it right there. It's being shown because people want to see it, many people watching it brings glamor to the person acting out the violent act. Break it right down, and almost anything can be considered violent.

Now for the biggest pile of crap in the whole "news" article...

In previous incarnations, players advanced through the game by killing cops, selling pornography to children and killing prostitutes. Details of the latest version have not been released.

Advanced through the game by killing cops, selling porn to kids, and killing prostitutes? I honestly can't ever remember selling porn to kids while playing any GTA games. I also don't see why killing cops, and killing prostitutes requires two separate points. They're both people, they just have different professions. Putting police up on a pedestal because of their chosen profession irritates me. Killing a cop is no different from killing a prostitute. Which is not to say it's right, but this is a video game, not reality. Sure, you can kill people in GTA, you can kill people in probably 60-80% of video games out there, BUT IT'S NOT REAL! Murders happen all the time in movies, let's start attacking directors, script writers, producers, etc.

"The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers," said Jason Post, a spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg.

That's fantastic, I don't think people need mayoral support to produce a work of parody, or expressing themselves creatively. This statement also shows how out of touch these people are. You don't earn points for killing random people in GTA.

The next few paragraphs aren't too bad, so I'll just not comment on them. The final one, on the other hand I would like to comment on.

"We've seen games that have been set in real cities, and that has been a weird route to take. By setting it in Liberty City they can get away with that satire," said Jeff Gerstmann, an editorial director from Gamespot.com.

The fact that they consulted Gerstmann, the worlds biggest GTA fanboy, on the matter just annoys me. Largely because any game in the GTA series scores foolishly high in his eyes, and any game, no matter how similar to or improved over the GTA series is panned as being just a knock-off.