"Impact of VCS ads" Update

[jarjar]

First Posted Here on the 21st of November, there has now been an update, and looks like (as with all things about VCS at the moment) it has lost...:

 

 

T will no longer display advertisements for violent video games

 

BOSTON -- The MBTA will no longer display advertisements for video games that are meant for adults after a citizens group complained about posters for a game that encourages players to steal, murder and have sex with prostitutes, a top official said Tuesday.

 

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood had demanded advertisements for "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories" be pulled off the subways.

 

 

 

In a letter dated Monday, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's General Manager Daniel Grabaukas told the group that the MBTA's board had approved a ban on ads for games rated suitable only for persons 17 or older.

 

"We are thrilled that the MBTA has been so responsive to community concerns," said Susan Linn, co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "The children of Boston can now ride the MBTA without being targets for advertising that glorifies violence.

 

Linn added that the decision "sends a strong message to the videogame industry that public property cannot be used to promote violence to children. We hope that other cities will follow suit."

 

A media watchdog group, The National Institute on Media and the Family, has listed "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories" among 10 games parents shouldn't buy for their kids this holiday season, citing its violent content.

 

"...Source..."

 

Oh, and apparently, VCS is in the top ten list of games parents SHOULDN'T buy there children this holiday season, but I think we already knew that .

[Vanilla Shake]

Expect R* to create their own version of this protest group in GTA IV.

 

I was just in New York recently, in Manhattan, and there were a lot of posters for VCS......I'm surprised nobody's complaining about them yet.

[jarjar]

As always, it just takes one idiot to complain and bomb, it's all over the news.

 

I would thin R* would do something funny on it, maybe posters in a subway tunnel in GTA4 that say "No Violent Games" or something.

[Sinful]

I would thin R* would do something funny on it, maybe posters in a subway tunnel in GTA4 that say "No Violent Games" or something.

lmao, that'd be awesome.

 

I don't understand this... If ppl don't like the game, just don't buy it

Isn't it 18+? So why are they even concerned about the children? Don't children gotta ask their parents to buy it anyway? And AFAIK, the ads didn't show any violence, just some cool VCS artworks...

[jarjar]

 

I would thin R* would do something funny on it, maybe posters in a subway tunnel in GTA4 that say "No Violent Games" or something.

lmao, that'd be awesome.

 

I don't understand this... If ppl don't like the game, just don't buy it

Isn't it 18+? So why are they even concerned about the children? Don't children gotta ask their parents to buy it anyway? And AFAIK, the ads didn't show any violence, just some cool VCS artworks...

Yes, exactly, considering it was all over this poster:

 

 

It amazes me they had a case at all, for god sakes, it's a post of a character from the game done in Photoshop. It's not even violent.

 

Considering it was all started by prostitutes who were unhappy because people play the game and kill prostitutes in it, yet they are braking the law everyday and they can tell people they are unhappy with an ad for a fictional game based location and setting and win? What is the world coming too.

[Long]

All that protest because of a picture?

wow those people are retarded it's not like the picture shows someone killing a prostitute

[mageezer]

I do partly agree with the whole Commercial-free Childhood campaign. I don't think children should be exposed to advertising full stop, although chances are they always will be, at least for many years to come. And I guess GTA does glorify violence. But anyway, stopping advertisements on a train won't do sh*t. There's always TV advertising, Internet advertising, Word-of-mouth, seeing the game in stores and of course all the other posters around the city.

 

And why the hell is there a top 10 list of games that parents shouldn't buy for their kids? Parents shouldn't buy ANY game that's 18+ rated for their kids (ideally). I'd like to see this list, where is it anyway?

[Rossboy]

I just find it funny that GTA games get persicuted for cartoon vioence and are rated 18, when games like Resident Evil 4, where you can clearly see decapitation and Leons head is rolling around on the floor and also immense amount of blood and gore (especially when the parasites explode from the Garrods' heads) gets a rating of 15 and posters are allowed to be displayed!

[Shaking_Junk]

How can the get it banned because it's M for mature, 17 and older?

 

Do they not allow R rated movies to advertise on public transpo? That's for 17 and older.

[Diego Mendez]

The guy at Gamestop told me that in the near future possibly, that someones going to pass a law that makes it like ultra illeagal to sell a game to an underaged person. its f*cking rediculus. Im okay though, im 18.