Concerned parents rant on sex in GTAIV

[xygtaxy]

ok well even if i told my mom i could still get it cuz i watch porn anyway end of story

[Copilot]

xygtaxy you know that song under you avatar goes "I'm an emo kid non conforming as can be" not "IM AN EMO KID NUTHIN 4 ME AS CAN BE"

 

 

I suppose the game could come with a hand-out describing the extent of the mature content. At least that way it would be the kids fault for not showing the hand-out to their parents, rather than R*'s fault for not giving a warning.

 

They gave it a mature rating, that should be enough of a warning that it isn't for young children.

[jester7707]

Simple solution to your concerns about kids and the underage in general. sit down and chat with them, teach them what you just repeated in everyone of your 10 paragraphs. And if you don't want him/her playing the game. Don't let them. Be a parent.

 

 

 

Look at the government sending children at 18 to die in the middle east, and some being captured and getting their damn head cut off with a rusty cleaver. And yet you think video games like GTA IV is damaging.

Edited April 28, 2008 by jester7707

[kool_J_rap]

If you have kids, and you don't want them to play the game, then don't buy them the f*cking game. Period. Whats so hard to understand ? f*cking suburban richie-ass stuck up parents these days I swear...

[kaotik]

The most common theme on all the replies is concentrating on the M17+ or R18+ rating ... thats great in those countries.

 

However I will admit fault by not including that I am an AUSTRALIAN parent where the game recieves an M15+ rating. While Rockstar say the game is censored in Australia, they do not detail what content has been censored, and its THAT fact that is pissing me off the most. I dont know if its the sex acts like the handjob, or the single scene with the gun/baseball bat up the ass. I mean come on, I shouldnt need to speculate about this stuff.

 

I have a 14yo who I personally think is reasonably mature for his age, I can trust him with most responsiblity and in many situations I am quite comfortable, however he has proven that he can't be trusted with explicit sexual content and this is my problem. He is unwilling to discuss things (god knows his mother and I have tried) so dont try putting the parenting blame on me there either.

 

What pisses me off is that Rockstar are being so evasive on the Australian censorship issue, as a parent of a "nearly 15yo" teen that "nearly" meets the criteria of the rating, I would like to know the exact content before allowing him to play it so that he doesnt manage to find something I dont know about (and would prefer that he didnt find).

 

Oh I so dearly wish there was an R18+ rating for games in Australia so I could just simply say "Nope, thats it no chance I dont even need to play it myself to know that its unsuitable for you".

 

I will still be getting the game for myself obviously, it just means I can only play it when the kids are asleep or away visiting their friends instead of playing it with them so we can all laugh and take turns and get a kick out of the game (and its just plain cruel to play it in front of them knowing that I will never let them actually play it).

I don't recall the source, but I do recall reading that someone actually contacted Rockstar and inquired about the Australian cuts. Rockstar stated specifically the only thing being removed from the game for the Australian release is the scene with the shotgun up the ass.

[Copilot]

Look at the government sending children at 18 to die in the middle east, and some being captured and getting their damn head cut off with a rusty cleaver. And yet you think video games like GTA IV is damaging.

I agree 100% with you. Parents are caught up in their own little american world and think these video games are damaging when in third world countries there are 10 year old soldiers who behead people and shoot up villages. But they think some fake 3d sex is going to hurt your child.

[Nineteen71]

Which is why GTAIV wasn't intended for young people.

[tilleyedie]

Truth is R Star did let people know what they were buying if u real the esrb. it tells u partial nudity sexual content and what not, as a parent the person should have sense enough to know exactly what they are getting there child.

[Aristo_69]

The law says nobody under the age of 18 (apart from Australia) and nobody under the age of 15 (unless accompanied by an adult in Australia) should be allowed to play the game.

 

 

Parents buy their 9 and 10 year old kids, MA 15+ and R 18 games and then wonder why they've got all this sex and violence. Subsequently, the developer of the game gets criticised.

 

If you don't want your kid playing a violent, sexually explicit and somewhat sadistic video game, then READ THE f*ckING RATING LABEL and DON'T BUY IT .

 

It is not Rockstars responsibility to make sure people are informed of the content. The game copped an adult rating, so the content should be viewed by adults and adults only. End of story

 

[Lord Illicious]

Thanks for your time, and I am already wearing the flame suit. If you reply with anything I have covered in my post that doesnt include an intelligent counter, then dont be surprised if I do not reply to you, especially WAHH ESRB etc.

If you bought your kid (that is under 17) a game that is rated "M" (or what ever else that does not comply with the proper ages) by the "Entertainment Software Rating Board" then you cant complian about it.

 

MATURE 17+

 

Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.

 

GTA4 clearly has the M rating on the box in the US (may differ in other countries).

 

If the game was sold to a minor by a retail seller/store then and only then the parent has every right to complain or take any legal actions.

 

Sound like you advocate masterbation instead of sex and have no problem with the crime and drugs in a game.

Doesnt that sound sick to you?

[cash68]

Cliffs: Get off the drugs, grown an attention span and READ it.

 

Now, I understand there is a very large number of kids on this forum, both those under 17, and those over 17. I am well aware that what I am about to post will be met largely with criticism from those kids, however I need to get this off my chest and hopefully in front of a Rockstar employee if they read these forums.

 

First and foremost, I DO NOT advocate the banning of GTAIV in any way shape or form. I love the game, the series and everything about it. Hell, I wrote one of the first video walkthroughs of GTAIII still hosted with gta3.com (unfortunately I lost all the videos in pictures about the same time as the website went down) ... I digress ...

 

I have a problem with Rockstar ... quite a big problem as of GTAIV. Its not the sex itself that I have a problem with so much as the fact that Rockstar wont "man up" and detail all the activities that a player can complete in the game, specifically in relation to said sex acts.

 

As a parent, I would like to know all the activities that can be completed by a player so I can determine if my teenage son can play the game. LOL IRONY WHAT ABOUT THE VIOLENCE DUH calm down children, let me explain as best I can for your obviously limited intelligence on the issue of sex and violence in video games.

 

Violence in and of itself is not disturbing, it begins in the playground and is sensationalised regularly in the news, music, movies and computer games. Children grow up with violence in the DAILY lives. However, children DO NOT grow up with sex in their daily lives (I mean sexual acts, not sexuality) - meaning there arent billboards of a man getting a headjob on every highway, nor are there advertisements on television for strip joints with the john getting a lap dance during the evening sitcoms.

 

Sex in a young teen male is like amphetamines, if you are 14 or so, hell even older will work as well, try not jerking off for a month ... let those people around you know to pay attention to your moods. I guarantee that within a week you will become moody, angry even violent (potentially) unless you are a little catholic boy who already doesnt spill his seed because it will piss god off ... thats beside the point. However, as soon as you jerk off, the "pressure" (mental) as it were will be released and your mood immediately will calm down. This is the "reward" effect of masturbation, the "reward" of sex as it were.

 

The problem is when you combine the sexual acts with either immediately preceeding or following violence that it becomes a serious issue ... in males during puberty there is a very real danger that the association of a violent act followed/preceeded by sexual act can glorify that violent act providing sex as the reward for violence ... this as you can imagine is very dangerous, and for the most part many here will say "I was looking at bondage on the internet when I was 9yo and I am now 18 and I am OK" ... well sure, but are you really? ... How many here are incapable of having an actual INTIMATE relationship? Most here get ballsy with "Ahh f*ck off bitch" and thats the actual realisation of the problem, you are incapable of intimacy with a partner because you werent taught intimacy, you were taught objectification (internet porn, etc). Its this objectification of sex, emasculated by violence that I have a problem with. Sexual respect and intimacy are in sharp decline in favour of short f*cks and casual relationships, its pretty clear in society today, and its a symptom of a much larger underlying problem. This can tentatively but with confidence be linked back to a violent nature, while not physically manifested, it is manifested by ambivelence and lack of intimacy in a relationship ... a lack of respect as it were.

 

It takes alot of balls to take a step back and see the reality, and I doubt many under 25s here will be able to without resorting to calling me names and carrying on like 13yo kids who have just had their internet porn taken off them.

 

I dont have a problem with the voilence and the sex in the game for someone who is mature enough to handle it (and the fact the 13yo kids here will say "I am mature enough" proves they arent) as long as you are capable of differentiating the sexual and violent behaviour, which unfortunately most teens arent able to do. Its a little thing called conditioning (see references to Pavlovs Dog on wikipedia for more info).

 

I am not a prude of a parent, I dont have a problem with my teenage kids seeing sex (both stylised and strong) as long as its contextualised correctly without violence present within a close approximate timeframe. In essence, I wouldnt have a problem letting my kids play GTAIV if it wasnt for the simulated sex present.

 

This isnt a case of supervision (there needs to be an element of trust in every parental relationship) this is more about the fact that kids just cannot be trusted to tell the truth when it really counts. Kids lie ... when a kid wants something they wont tell the truth, there wouldnt be any kid under 17 here who would honestly say to their parents "Hey, can you buy me GTAIV, it has handjobs and lapdances with strippers" ... yeah sure, record the event on video and post on youtube and you will be a legend.

 

Basically I am thankful that GTAIV was leaked on the internet, and *accidentally* released early by some shops, the handjob video was released as a result before the actual full release date, and as now I am an informed parent who can make the informed decision not to play the game when the kids are around/awake/whatever. I for one certainly hope other parents will learn of the content before falling to their childrens lies of "Its OK mom, its just a bit of shooting like the other one I play" or "But mom, Johns mom bought it for him so it must be OK".

 

Its unfortunate for Rockstar that the game was pirated and the street date was broken, however as a consumer I have less sympathy for them because they were not forthright enough with the public to inform parents of the full nature of the content prior to the release date, instead now parents will buy the game on their kids insitence, and when they discover the sexual content will freak out and there WILL be a much larger sh*tstorm than Hot Coffee ever produced.

 

The ESRB is wholely inadequate for describing the ACTUAL nature of the content ... the public has an individual approach to what is considered strong sexual content, some parents may consider themselves quite liberal and see the ESRB rating of strong sexual content thinking its fairly innocent as depicted in the previous GTA games, and therefore they see the warning and ignore it based on previous history. However these same parents will be the ones knocking R* door down when they discover what their kids can actually do in the game. So please, dont pull the ESRB card on me, it wont work and I am not interested in what 3 little words say in comparison to the actual content. I consider the actual content as "Graphic sexual content" not "Strong sexual content" and many parents will agree with the slight difference in distinction.

 

Rockstar can avoid all the negative publicity (although I firmly believe they revel in it) if they would be a little more forthright and public about the full length and breadth of the content so that those parents who they DONT want the game to get in the hands of their children ... wont let it get into their hands. Help inform the consumers before the purchase and you will avoid all the negativity associated with parents screaming at their children enjoying the hooker giving Niko a handjob.

 

ESRB only gos so far, its inneffective as is clearly indicated by the large number of children who love the fact their parents are too stupid to find out about the content in the game before they buy it for them, its unfortunate, however Rockstar can help by being a little more forthright and helping inform those parents before the sh*t hits the fan.

 

Thanks for your time, and I am already wearing the flame suit. If you reply with anything I have covered in my post that doesnt include an intelligent counter, then dont be surprised if I do not reply to you, especially WAHH ESRB etc.

Sex is natural. Violence isn't.

 

The fact that you're okay with violence and not sex just shows how completely upside down your values are.

 

PS: God is pretend.

[rape/spit]

when you ring the bell, dog knows it time to eat.

[draard999]

Bullsh*t!

I'm 15, mature enough to drive, legally, alone, yet, I am not mature enough to play ag game?

C'mon

i've never met a mature 15 year old driver, but i'd be damned if a couple dozen of u guys haven't t-boned me or rear-ended the sh*t out of my car lol.

 

and i know where you're coming from, OP, but i don't think rockstar is to blame. they have made an ADULT game and have even said themselves that it shouldn't be played by kids. what more of a warning do u need.

[eastry]

To OP,

 

I read the whole thing and it made sense. Unfortunately peppered throughout the post were little juvenile remarks that made me not take you very seriously as a person let alone a parent. You just come off as a dick and I want to let you know that. At least you're doing what a parent should do and researching the game a little more thoroughly than just checking the ESRB comments (only you were researching for yourself as a gamer rather than for your kid as a parent). Also I think there was an article by the ESRB or some European ratings board that described the sexual acts you could partake in so they should get a little more credit for warning people. Anyway, that's all, dick. I'm glad I'm not your kid.

[xRTRx Anathema]

I got halfway through reading the rant then stopped because I couldn't be bothered.

[dark bizard]

Look, what do you think is worse? Seeing someone have there head blown in 2, or havign sex in a game?

[DaRkMiLlEnIuM]

TLWR - To Long Wont Read

[Kiinted]

Well, not completely surprised by many of the posts in the thread, its unfortunate that the majority of rational comments were made in PMs instead of posted in the thread.

 

Perhaps I should be a little more specific again (yes, the opening post was rather specific, yet vague as to the precise concern I have as a parent, and why I am pissed off at Rockstar).

 

Firstly, Rockstar have screwed up twice in Australia, first with the original GTAIII being released before ratings and finally getting the RC rating, secondly with Hot Coffee.

 

Most of all, and you wont understand this until you are a parent, but the sex in such a violent game is just plain wrong, it really doesnt need to be there ... seriously. Those old enough to play the game should be old enough to get out and get some ... perhaps thats why its in there, you be the judge. No point in going further on this one, if you dont get it, you never will so its pointless going any further.

 

My other major concern and why I am pissed off with Rockstar is that I am worried another Hot Coffee incident will be repeated in GTAIV. Its easier to simply turn off code that allows a sequence of events to unfold than rewrite the code to remove that sequence altogether ... hence the potential that the coders at Rockstar didnt turn off all the code unlocking events that would result in an RC classification (and upset many more parents than just me) who have allowed their 15yo and 16yo to play a game that they wouldnt have otherwise let them play.

 

This concerns me because if I find GTAIV suitable for my 14yo after playing it through (not 9, 12 or whatever other numbers were mentioned in the thread) ... a 14yo (near enough to the M15+ rating in Australia) which has grown up with responsibility for the most part, and someone I trust with both sexual and violent material (just not at the same time, and no ... hollywood is very different, movies on par with the violence/sex in GTAIV get an R rating here) ... if I find it suitable then let him play, and unbeknownst to me a Hot Coffee style scene is unlocked/found/whatever without me knowing, then I would be very bloody pissed off.

 

There is worse in movies, I know, and those movies he doesnt get to see. I am the one who buys movies, and we as parents watch the movies together before the kids see them. Yeah, asshole parent ... whatever. Anything even remotely similar to the simulated sex in GTAIV in a movie and none of the kids would see it, full stop.

 

The other thing that concerns me is as a gamer, independent of the kids, and that is a worry that R* screw this up and the Government outright bans them, including future releases for repeatedly flaunting censorship. I wholeley suppot the R18+ rating in Australia and I have done everything I can including writing to my local member, if only to get games that are so damn borderline (like GTAIV) into the higher rating making it easier to make the distinction between acceptable and unacceptable for my kids who are near enough to the classification age that as a parent I should be able to make the informed decision to allow or prevent their access to it.

 

Undoubtedly the kids wont be playing it in my house, they wont even know I have it ... and what they dont know wont hurt them, however I would certainly have been much happier knowing that the Australian version was much "cleaner" than they 18+ and 17+ ratings allow overseas, and not just a single cutscene which is what is appearing to be the case.

 

All I ask is that Rockstar come clean and provide information publicly to parents letting them know specifically what was cut in Australia so those parents of 13/14yo kids who sometimes give the kids a treat by letting them play more mature games can make a much more informed decision on the specific content, because not all parents will bother finding out for themselves, they will simply buy it, and the kids will go off and play it in their rooms never knowing whats inside that they normally wouldnt want the kids seeing.

 

To those that understood my concerns and sent intelligent comments via PM, thankyou ... to the rest ... meh ... its plainly obvious most are'nt parents, and would be pretty upset if their parents actually knew what was in the game they were about to play (and took it off them before they could play).

[xer0er]

The answer to the original post is simple:

Don't buy it for your kids. Make sure you're kids aren't playing it.

If you are complaining about not knowing in detail what is in the game, don't buy the game for your kids and don't let them near it.

 

If your kids were sick, and you had the choice between medicine X (GTA), or a tonne of other medicines (other games), yet medicine X doesn't detail too clearly what is inside it, and those that it does detail is quite questionable for your child.

 

Would you buy the unknown medicine that the only known contents are made with adults in mind, or would you buy the friendlier, children-friendly other medicine they have?

 

If your kid is getting a hold of medicine themselves (as in illicit drugs, or to be literal, GTA), wouldn't you try to catch them out?

Hell, GTA isn't comparable to illicit drugs! It's a lot less! So if you wanted to catch them with drugs, your job is even easier if it is GTA.

 

Hope everyone understood the context-tossing of my post.

[Kiinted]

The answer to the original post is simple:

Don't buy it for your kids. Make sure you're kids aren't playing it.

If you are complaining about not knowing in detail what is in the game, don't buy the game for your kids and don't let them near it.

 

If your kids were sick, and you had the choice between medicine X (GTA), or a tonne of other medicines (other games), yet medicine X doesn't detail too clearly what is inside it, and those that it does detail is quite questionable for your child.

 

Would you buy the unknown medicine that the only known contents are made with adults in mind, or would you buy the friendlier, children-friendly other medicine they have?

 

If your kid is getting a hold of medicine themselves (as in illicit drugs, or to be literal, GTA), wouldn't you try to catch them out?

Hell, GTA isn't comparable to illicit drugs! It's a lot less! So if you wanted to catch them with drugs, your job is even easier if it is GTA.

 

Hope everyone understood the context-tossing of my post.

I wont be letting my kids play it till I have confirmed what is in the Australian version (then wait a while for exploits to be found to unlock censored content if any), I didnt make that as clear as I should have in my earlier posts.

 

I dont have a worry about the kids playing GTA at all unless they are over a friends place, where I dont have any control ... so with that I have to trust the other kids parents not to have bought it, which is the hardest thing to do. However my kids can't keep their mouths shut, if a friend had it they would be at home bemoaning that "But his parents bought it for him" at which point I will be calling his parents and letting them know what I consider to be objectionable in the game (if there is anything in there I find objectionable) and asking that they make sure that the game isnt played while my kid is there. Its a c*nt act, but its also responsible parenting. Who knows, maybe the other parent didnt realise the extent of the content and they themselves dont want their own kid playing it ... even worse.

 

Again, till I am certain of the content in the game, I wont be letting the kids play it, part of what pisses me off is that Rockstar wont come clean and explain precisely what was cut or censored saving my kids potential wasted playing time waiting for me to finish going through the game working what I consider to be acceptable or not (however they wont know I have the game, so technically in their minds they arent waiting, only I know they are ... bah it spirals downhill from there).

 

As for the opening insults in the posts raised here and in PM ... yeah, hey well I used to be cool, then I became an adult with kids to take care of, the "coolness" factor dissappears at that point and to be perfectly honest this forum is 1 part intelligence, and about 10 parts pubescent masturbation which I can barely put up with (again with the insults ... I know I know) I knew the opening post would gain the result it did, and I couldnt help letting the inner child out to taunt the other kids in the playground though.

[rist]

Cliffs: Get off the drugs, grown an attention span and READ it.

 

Now, I understand there is a very large number of kids on this forum, both those under 17, and those over 17. I am well aware that what I am about to post will be met largely with criticism from those kids, however I need to get this off my chest and hopefully in front of a Rockstar employee if they read these forums.

 

First and foremost, I DO NOT advocate the banning of GTAIV in any way shape or form. I love the game, the series and everything about it. Hell, I wrote one of the first video walkthroughs of GTAIII still hosted with gta3.com (unfortunately I lost all the videos in pictures about the same time as the website went down) ... I digress ...

 

I have a problem with Rockstar ... quite a big problem as of GTAIV. Its not the sex itself that I have a problem with so much as the fact that Rockstar wont "man up" and detail all the activities that a player can complete in the game, specifically in relation to said sex acts.

 

As a parent, I would like to know all the activities that can be completed by a player so I can determine if my teenage son can play the game. LOL IRONY WHAT ABOUT THE VIOLENCE DUH calm down children, let me explain as best I can for your obviously limited intelligence on the issue of sex and violence in video games.

 

Violence in and of itself is not disturbing, it begins in the playground and is sensationalised regularly in the news, music, movies and computer games. Children grow up with violence in the DAILY lives. However, children DO NOT grow up with sex in their daily lives (I mean sexual acts, not sexuality) - meaning there arent billboards of a man getting a headjob on every highway, nor are there advertisements on television for strip joints with the john getting a lap dance during the evening sitcoms.

 

Sex in a young teen male is like amphetamines, if you are 14 or so, hell even older will work as well, try not jerking off for a month ... let those people around you know to pay attention to your moods. I guarantee that within a week you will become moody, angry even violent (potentially) unless you are a little catholic boy who already doesnt spill his seed because it will piss god off ... thats beside the point. However, as soon as you jerk off, the "pressure" (mental) as it were will be released and your mood immediately will calm down. This is the "reward" effect of masturbation, the "reward" of sex as it were.

 

The problem is when you combine the sexual acts with either immediately preceeding or following violence that it becomes a serious issue ... in males during puberty there is a very real danger that the association of a violent act followed/preceeded by sexual act can glorify that violent act providing sex as the reward for violence ... this as you can imagine is very dangerous, and for the most part many here will say "I was looking at bondage on the internet when I was 9yo and I am now 18 and I am OK" ... well sure, but are you really? ... How many here are incapable of having an actual INTIMATE relationship? Most here get ballsy with "Ahh f*ck off bitch" and thats the actual realisation of the problem, you are incapable of intimacy with a partner because you werent taught intimacy, you were taught objectification (internet porn, etc). Its this objectification of sex, emasculated by violence that I have a problem with. Sexual respect and intimacy are in sharp decline in favour of short f*cks and casual relationships, its pretty clear in society today, and its a symptom of a much larger underlying problem. This can tentatively but with confidence be linked back to a violent nature, while not physically manifested, it is manifested by ambivelence and lack of intimacy in a relationship ... a lack of respect as it were.

 

It takes alot of balls to take a step back and see the reality, and I doubt many under 25s here will be able to without resorting to calling me names and carrying on like 13yo kids who have just had their internet porn taken off them.

 

I dont have a problem with the voilence and the sex in the game for someone who is mature enough to handle it (and the fact the 13yo kids here will say "I am mature enough" proves they arent) as long as you are capable of differentiating the sexual and violent behaviour, which unfortunately most teens arent able to do. Its a little thing called conditioning (see references to Pavlovs Dog on wikipedia for more info).

 

I am not a prude of a parent, I dont have a problem with my teenage kids seeing sex (both stylised and strong) as long as its contextualised correctly without violence present within a close approximate timeframe. In essence, I wouldnt have a problem letting my kids play GTAIV if it wasnt for the simulated sex present.

 

This isnt a case of supervision (there needs to be an element of trust in every parental relationship) this is more about the fact that kids just cannot be trusted to tell the truth when it really counts. Kids lie ... when a kid wants something they wont tell the truth, there wouldnt be any kid under 17 here who would honestly say to their parents "Hey, can you buy me GTAIV, it has handjobs and lapdances with strippers" ... yeah sure, record the event on video and post on youtube and you will be a legend.

 

Basically I am thankful that GTAIV was leaked on the internet, and *accidentally* released early by some shops, the handjob video was released as a result before the actual full release date, and as now I am an informed parent who can make the informed decision not to play the game when the kids are around/awake/whatever. I for one certainly hope other parents will learn of the content before falling to their childrens lies of "Its OK mom, its just a bit of shooting like the other one I play" or "But mom, Johns mom bought it for him so it must be OK".

 

Its unfortunate for Rockstar that the game was pirated and the street date was broken, however as a consumer I have less sympathy for them because they were not forthright enough with the public to inform parents of the full nature of the content prior to the release date, instead now parents will buy the game on their kids insitence, and when they discover the sexual content will freak out and there WILL be a much larger sh*tstorm than Hot Coffee ever produced.

 

The ESRB is wholely inadequate for describing the ACTUAL nature of the content ... the public has an individual approach to what is considered strong sexual content, some parents may consider themselves quite liberal and see the ESRB rating of strong sexual content thinking its fairly innocent as depicted in the previous GTA games, and therefore they see the warning and ignore it based on previous history. However these same parents will be the ones knocking R* door down when they discover what their kids can actually do in the game. So please, dont pull the ESRB card on me, it wont work and I am not interested in what 3 little words say in comparison to the actual content. I consider the actual content as "Graphic sexual content" not "Strong sexual content" and many parents will agree with the slight difference in distinction.

 

Rockstar can avoid all the negative publicity (although I firmly believe they revel in it) if they would be a little more forthright and public about the full length and breadth of the content so that those parents who they DONT want the game to get in the hands of their children ... wont let it get into their hands. Help inform the consumers before the purchase and you will avoid all the negativity associated with parents screaming at their children enjoying the hooker giving Niko a handjob.

 

ESRB only gos so far, its inneffective as is clearly indicated by the large number of children who love the fact their parents are too stupid to find out about the content in the game before they buy it for them, its unfortunate, however Rockstar can help by being a little more forthright and helping inform those parents before the sh*t hits the fan.

 

Thanks for your time, and I am already wearing the flame suit. If you reply with anything I have covered in my post that doesnt include an intelligent counter, then dont be surprised if I do not reply to you, especially WAHH ESRB etc.

When you go to a sex shot the DVD's there say the DVD is an over 18 only DVD. This game is also an over 18 game, so you are a bad parent for allowing your child to play this adult themed game.

 

You sir need to take parenting classes.

[xer0er]

The answer to the original post is simple:

Don't buy it for your kids. Make sure you're kids aren't playing it.

If you are complaining about not knowing in detail what is in the game, don't buy the game for your kids and don't let them near it.

 

If your kids were sick, and you had the choice between medicine X (GTA), or a tonne of other medicines (other games), yet medicine X doesn't detail too clearly what is inside it, and those that it does detail is quite questionable for your child.

 

Would you buy the unknown medicine that the only known contents are made with adults in mind, or would you buy the friendlier, children-friendly other medicine they have?

 

If your kid is getting a hold of medicine themselves (as in illicit drugs, or to be literal, GTA), wouldn't you try to catch them out?

Hell, GTA isn't comparable to illicit drugs! It's a lot less! So if you wanted to catch them with drugs, your job is even easier if it is GTA.

 

Hope everyone understood the context-tossing of my post.

I wont be letting my kids play it till I have confirmed what is in the Australian version (then wait a while for exploits to be found to unlock censored content if any), I didnt make that as clear as I should have in my earlier posts.

 

I dont have a worry about the kids playing GTA at all unless they are over a friends place, where I dont have any control ... so with that I have to trust the other kids parents not to have bought it, which is the hardest thing to do. However my kids can't keep their mouths shut, if a friend had it they would be at home bemoaning that "But his parents bought it for him" at which point I will be calling his parents and letting them know what I consider to be objectionable in the game (if there is anything in there I find objectionable) and asking that they make sure that the game isnt played while my kid is there. Its a c*nt act, but its also responsible parenting. Who knows, maybe the other parent didnt realise the extent of the content and they themselves dont want their own kid playing it ... even worse.

 

Again, till I am certain of the content in the game, I wont be letting the kids play it, part of what pisses me off is that Rockstar wont come clean and explain precisely what was cut or censored saving my kids potential wasted playing time waiting for me to finish going through the game working what I consider to be acceptable or not (however they wont know I have the game, so technically in their minds they arent waiting, only I know they are ... bah it spirals downhill from there).

 

As for the opening insults in the posts raised here and in PM ... yeah, hey well I used to be cool, then I became an adult with kids to take care of, the "coolness" factor dissappears at that point and to be perfectly honest this forum is 1 part intelligence, and about 10 parts pubescent masturbation which I can barely put up with (again with the insults ... I know I know) I knew the opening post would gain the result it did, and I couldnt help letting the inner child out to taunt the other kids in the playground though.

But what you don't seem to understand is, Rockstar are doing their job.

They don't owe you anything.

 

They don't need to explain what is in it and what isn't in it, to assist parents in their decision to let their kids play it.

 

Rockstar have already assisted parents by saying bluntly; DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS PLAY THIS GAME.

 

This isn't Viva Pinata, it isn't made for kids and thus doesn't need to tell kids (or their parents to be precise) what content it holds. It tells them that it isn't for kids, and you shouldn't let them play.

 

What part of "Don't let children play this game. If you let your kids play this game, you're a bad parent", don't you understand?

Those aren't my words - they are words from the DEVELOPERS of the game.

 

I'm an adult and have all possible legal rights that any other civilian adult has.

I've played the game for hours on end, and I can safely say that I wouldn't let my kids play it until they were 16 or 17, backing up the ESRB rating.

 

Once again to make it clear - this isn't a child's game, or for anyone under 17.

A concerned parent really shouldn't worry about holding back gameplay like this for to make sure that it is safe.

[p-s-wii]

Some people sound so stupid..''why do you but all he sex and violence in the games it's not fair on us 13yo'' Well Durr it is ment for 17/18+ so you shouldnt be playing it in the first place.

[atix]

to the OP: you made your point in a very good way. you explained pretty well. even tho has most people said: Game is or 18+ (normally an age where u r considered "adult" and things like GAME sex or GAME violence shouldnt affect you!) so if your kids arent 18 or+ simple...dont get them the game.

 

If you are so concerned about it you might aswell respect the age rating.

 

[lordmalak]

P1aGu3 i can see why your concerned you want to know whats in the game exactly

in order to make an informed decison on weather your child should be allowed

to play the game: However your logic is flawed

 

1 you race to the assumption that the animated acts within game will lead

to your child getting aroused- this may not be so alot of people dont get

pleasure from watching animated porn

 

2 you use Wikipedia as a reference for information Wikipedia is a public

encyclopedia and can be edited by anyone with an account although

the pages are screened before they are put up they are not screened

by experts merely people employed buy the site to ensure that offensive

materal is posted

 

3 you over look the fact that even if violence is preceded by or preceeds

sexual acts with in the game that a teenager can not see how this is not

the way things go in the real world. and also your argument of sex as a

reward for violence is clearly or looking the fact it is most comenly

assicated with abuse where the person is repeated objectified to

offensive matrial against their will or worse eing the victims of it themselves

 

4 you claim that people under 25 have commitment problems and its due

to sleep around you offer know evidence to support this.

and you dont mention the fact that people with commitment problems

in there 30's+ do so because they in they had bad outcomes in relationship's

that they became OVER committed to when they were younger making them

more cautious in the future and less willing to place themselves at risk.

Nore do you mention problems in the family dynamic growing up as being

a likely factor for a lack of commitment in relationships

 

i could go on but you wont have read this far due to my lack of grammer

and you would assume that somehow makes me less intellgent then you

and my view not counting

Edited April 28, 2008 by lordmalak

[AllHailPopTarts]

A majority of replies in the thread are highly misinformed.

 

Most of you lack a fundamental understanding of the process of subconscious associations engendered by viewing certain things in succession.

 

There's various studies etc. etc. relating to the link between sex and violence. If you care, look them up.

 

The OP has a point. I don't know if from a philosophical point of view he can ethically claim some type of grievance against Rockstar for not informing him of the full impact of a purely voluntary action on his part though. As a steward of anything (as a parent is), one cannot eliminate risk, and to do so with too broad a stroke has a negative impact in the way of preventing natural processes relative to the development of something in context of it's eventual natural environment (e.g. your kid/reality). So your job really is to balance risk vs. acclamation for your child.

 

Your science is correct, but it's not Rockstar's job to make a largely subjective judgment as to how appropriate it's material is for your child. As it were, if they did, you'd likely be complaining that judgment was not only wrong, but misleading and harmful.

[Kiinted]

A majority of replies in the thread are highly misinformed.

 

Most of you lack a fundamental understanding of the process of subconscious associations engendered by viewing certain things in succession.

 

There's various studies etc. etc. relating to the link between sex and violence. If you care, look them up.

 

The OP has a point. I don't know if from a philosophical point of view he can ethically claim some type of grievance against Rockstar for not informing him of the full impact of a purely voluntary action on his part though. As a steward of anything (as a parent is), one cannot eliminate risk, and to do so with too broad a stroke has a negative impact in the way of preventing natural processes relative to the development of something in context of it's eventual natural environment (e.g. your kid/reality). So your job really is to balance risk vs. acclamation for your child.

 

Your science is correct, but it's not Rockstar's job to make a largely subjective judgment as to how appropriate it's material is for your child. As it were, if they did, you'd likely be complaining that judgment was not only wrong, but misleading and harmful.

Thanks for an excellent reply, I guess my grievance is that if that youtube video hadnt been released, I doubt I would have stumbled across it in my own gameplay experience (I wouldnt have bothered wasting time picking up hookers, its not a part of the gameplay that interests me) however my kid would have learned about it through school (school is way better at this than the internet) and as a result well a kid wont hear something and ignore it especially like this.

 

All I am saying is that there are alot of gullible and misinformed parents out there buying this game for their kids, with a little more proactive approach from Rockstar, the public would be more informend and parents would have more power in making the decision. Unfortunately the ESRB clause is far too well used and as a rating doesnt explain in detail the concepts covered by each simple word description. As I said earlier, parents have their own opinions on what level they are comfortable with their child experiencing, and that may be a little more conservative than the ESRBs level.

[GTAjunkie16]

It's rated M so don't let your son play it.

[pinky]

 

A majority of replies in the thread are highly misinformed.

 

Most of you lack a fundamental understanding of the process of subconscious associations engendered by viewing certain things in succession.

 

There's various studies etc. etc. relating to the link between sex and violence. If you care, look them up.

 

The OP has a point. I don't know if from a philosophical point of view he can ethically claim some type of grievance against Rockstar for not informing him of the full impact of a purely voluntary action on his part though. As a steward of anything (as a parent is), one cannot eliminate risk, and to do so with too broad a stroke has a negative impact in the way of preventing natural processes relative to the development of something in context of it's eventual natural environment (e.g. your kid/reality). So your job really is to balance risk vs. acclamation for your child.

 

Your science is correct, but it's not Rockstar's job to make a largely subjective judgment as to how appropriate it's material is for your child. As it were, if they did, you'd likely be complaining that judgment was not only wrong, but misleading and harmful.

I agree with OP about a lot of what has been said apart from one point, shouldn't the the blame be placed upon the censorship authority itself?

It is their duty to classify the game correctly and ensure that people are informed of the content or have access to the details if required.

R* created the game and then in good faith hand it to these places to do their job and classify it correctly, giving the purchaser the correct information.

The onus is on them to do their jobs.

 

No means no to a child too, or it should.

Too many little me me me now now now attitudes already in the civilised world, try and bring up a child you can be proud of. I am sure you are trying judging by your OP, just sometimes it ain't easy without the correct information to base your decision on. Just point the finger in the right direction next time.

Edited April 28, 2008 by pinky

[DDR Midian]

An 18 year old is (or... should be) mature enough to see whatever he/she likes. Anyone under that age plays the game and someone isn't doing their job. If the government doesn't want children buying GTA IV they should exercise proper governing. If a parent doesn't want their child playing GTA IV they should exercise proper parenting.

 

Most parents wouldn't let their children walk into a brothel. If they have control over that they should learn how to take control over video games and movies too.