Less then twenty years ago there came a day when we no longer needed to plug an endless amount of quarters into arcade machines. Nintendo released their first home video game system, the NES. Their first game, Super Mario Brothers, became an instant classic.
Who wouldn't fall in love with two Italian plumber brothers and their never ending quest to save a princess from an enraged dinosaur? But now many years later, the videogame industry has come along way. Games no longer deal with pointless story lines. Now they deal with real life situations and have graphics that make you feel as though your actually there.
This includes a company known as Rockstar Games, which is responsible for the Grand Theft Auto series and other popular games such as State Of Emergency . But the newest edition to the series, GTA: San Andreas may not be the type of videogame we are all used to. It brings us closer to virtual reality then any of us could have ever dreamed.
As the character Carl Johnson you are free to roam through four islands of videogame bliss. There may be one other simple thing though that sets San Andreas apart from any other videogame though.
Instead of fun-loving Italian plumbers, you're an inner city thug in a city tearing itself apart with gangs, drugs, prostitution, and corruption. You can do a drive-by with your hommies, massacre any cops that stand in your way, hop in the getaway vehicle, hit the NOS, pick up a hoe, and still make it home in time for dinner. San Andreas is the definition of a gangland masterpiece and technological advancement. But where do we draw the line?
A multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed in Alabama against the makers of San Andreas, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager, to go on a rampage and kill three men, two of them police officers.
According to the teen's own statement, he broke into a police station, lunged at Officer Arnold Strickland, grabbing his .40-caliber automatic glock and shot Strickland twice. Officer James Crump came running and was soon shot three times.
He kept walking down the hallway towards the door of the emergency dispatcher. There, he turned and fired five shots into Ace Mealer, grabbed some keys, and sped off in a police car. This all took less then a minute. Now Strickland's brother is suing Rockstar Games for the death of his brother.
When something like this happens a logical person with the ability for abstract thought can only be asking themselves one simple question; what are people thinking?
Three men are dead because of a trigger happy teenager with no parental supervision, not because of a videogame. Blaming a murder on a videogame is just as ridiculous as if someone were to accuse Monopoly of teaching kids to steal. It's ridiculous for two reasons; it's only a game and it's not real.
The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) also labels every game in America with a videogame rating to warn those who may not be mature enough to handle the content of more adult orientated game. San Andreas received an M (Mature) rating for blood, gore, intense violence, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs, and urges plays to be 17+ years or older before playing. It was clearly a game intended for adult entertainment.
When someone commits a crime it is not the fault of M rated games, R rated movies, or Parental Advisory CD's, it is the fault of the person who was guilty of the crime. It may be questionable whether or not media can alter moods, but it defiantly does not load up a gun and take away three innocent lives.
Grand Theft Auto should be found innocent of all charges to send people a message that they need to take responsibility for their own actions.
