Concerned parents rant on sex in GTAIV

[xer0er]

I can see the points about the combination of sex and violence having an impact subconsciously, as I have a fair knowledge of the human mind and what not, so I wasn't picking at that.

I was picking at the other things in general.

 

The game really pushes it compared to its predecessors.

[Allstar James]

i understand wat ur saying but did u say ur 18 and have a teenage son. Thats weird.

[sidny]

simple solution: don't let your kids play this unless they are 17+

 

 

if your kid bitches and whines then oh well, YOU are in charge...be a man about it.

EXACTLY i mean movies show violence sex everything and why do only games get the sh*t ?

 

movies show sh*t loads of stuff including rape and murder

why is it they only wine about the games

 

why do parents buy there children games then they wine about how violent they are

[beardy]

the game is for made for people 18+ not people who are 14,

 

If you let your kid play it then it's up to you and you really can't complain.

[xer0er]

I feel this is relevant;

 

When GTA III was released in Australia, it wasn't edited. A mother bought her five year old son the game.

Now, the game was clearly rated MA15+.

 

The mother watched in horror as her son picked up a hooker, had sex with her, and then killed her and got his money back.

 

She complained at the shop. I believe they refunded her, but she wasn't happy with that.

She took it further and got the game banned.. It was then cut (hookers only), and re-released.

 

Of course, this may sound weird, but it is NORMAL.

Unlike the USA, prostitution is legal in NSW. I could go pick up a hooker right now, have sex with her and it would be perfectly legal.

That is how we work in NSW. Paying for sex is normal, and we should teach our kids that.

 

We should never teach our kids that killing our service provider to get our money back is normal. Because it isn't.

You should never kill your hooker after she provides you with a perfectly legal and normal service, and we must convey this message to our kids, so that they know that it is not acceptable, for when they are adults and on the prowl for some street meat.

 

So, please, take this post into thought before you reply.

 

 

[Smalljob]

People choose them self to buy GTA IV, if they don't like whats going on in the game, then don't buy if for F*ck sake!!

 

It's the same with many many movies when the rate is 18 year, how many movies without sex ??

 

I really feel that only a sick person can say that sex is worse than Violence and killing.!!

 

so if you really are a Concerned parent over this game, then i am really Concerned for you !

Edited April 28, 2008 by Smalljob

[DDR Midian]

Paying for sex is normal, and we should teach our kids that.

Going slightly off topic, and regardless of the moral and social issues surrounding it, I find this quote hilarious.

[daldd]

It has a rating for a reason, and it's not rockstars responsibility to list everything a player can do in a game, that's the ESRB's job, and with it stating STRONG sexual content as one of the reasons this game got an M (which is reason enough for you to stfu) rating in the first place, right on the box. This game is made for adults, 17+ and if you're kid is 15 years or older, I gurantee you he/she has gotten to 2nd base already, I lost my virginity at 15. Don't be so naive. Again, you have no reason to bitch and go on and on with a story, THE GAME IS MADE FOR ADULTS!

[1066ant]

Paying for sex is normal, and we should teach our kids that.

 

We should never teach our kids that killing our service provider to get our money

1. But not having to go and get a hooker would be a better thing to teach a child.

2. Quite right, although obvious.

 

btw how the heel did a 5 year old manage to get all the keys right and pick the hooker up in the first place!

[RONIN1191]

OP, I agree with you- and THIS is why parents need to take a more active interest in their child(ren)'s life - as parents we are the ground troops, the enforcers of any and every rule, whether it is our own or the government's. With that said, the solution to your problem is simple- do not let them play if you do not feel they are capable of differentiating between fantasy and reality and are of the mind that sex is the reward for gratuitous violence. Most people do know right from wrong- when GTA III first came out the big buzz was that you could use hookers and then kill them to recoup your funds. I don't know a person alive who thinks that is permissible in the real world, but why not in a game? Games are designed to give you an unprecedented feeling of freedom, of power that you would not otherwise experience in life.

 

If each parent were to take full responsibility for their children and their child's actions and were to be held accountable for them, I think society would be very different. That is not to say that everyone is a deadbeat parent, but there sure are a LOT of them. Long story short, if you feel your kid can't handle it, don't expose them to it until you feel they can.

 

I did not know you could get a handjob in the game but I certainly am going to try that one out just to see what it looks like. I never really did much with the prostitutes past III simply because its not something that appeals to me. But I do want to see how that works.

[AngerOfTheNorth]

Paying for sex is normal, and we should teach our kids that.

Going slightly off topic, and regardless of the moral and social issues surrounding it, I find this quote hilarious.

I know - anyone else starting to think the OP is a little messed up?

[leftydc]

Lets put it this way parent. In states and probly some other countries where sex drinkin and all that stuff is illegal until you are 21 or 18 is worse than letin teenage people figure out sex and drinkin on their own, BECAUSE what ur not allowed to do is what u want to do the most,

where i live and many other european countries we do have commercials showing hot sexy woman with titts and and all for some nite club or for some perfume comercial etc. we even have sex ed from 4th grade or something, and sex is lega from 15 and up. and i dont say that everyone is crazzy about f*ckin brains out in some abnormal way, sure there are exceptions but thats everywhere. Look at states when they go college thats when they are free and thats when they f*ck their life up orgys sex and drinkin till you cant stand like in GTA hehe. WHY hide what is real in life, its you the parents basicly lyin to the kids. so smarten up, and for f*ck sake if ur kid is a teenager he should already no how to do all that stuff

 

my bad spellin is because im actually too lazy to comment on this parent thing where they hide all the reality away from kids, but i just found now to once say something back.

 

[leftydc]

oh and one more thing probly why ur kids think that sex is reward from violence or cant choose between reality and fantasy is because parents and some societies try to hide everything and lie about how its all bad or bla bla, if they learned the truth and reality of life they wouldnt be needed to be protected so much they would no themself from right and wrong,

im sayin it coz i remeber my teenage life very good coz im 22

[cupidstunt]

Mate what the f*ck is wrong with you?

 

People arent zoo animals. We can understand that we dont recieve sex as a reward We do each and every thing by our own decisions.

 

Sex and violence are equally part of life.

You say were not surronded by media for graphic sexual activities, such as head jobs as you say, but nor are we surrounded by graphic violence. Adverts for violent movies sure, but we also have adverts for romantic (and therefor sex) related movies. In The UK and Ireland there is an advert for shampoo shown before the watershed with a woman taking a shower and moaning sexually. That is the idea. It is not coincidence.

 

Sex and sexuality, are THE SAME THING. Why are you scared of your child seeing sexual acts? What are they going to do? Masturbate!? OH NO! NOT MASTURBATION.

 

Grow up.

[Gomack]

What a huge load of bullsh*t.

[GrantOWNS-U]

HAHA!!!

prola!!

 

Rofls XD

they shudnt complain

if anything GTA is doing them a favor.

if there kids ask about sex, what they gona say

 

Go play GTA 4 son / daughter. ROFLS!

[Fontana]

Honestly...games are the last place to start this war, an unneeded war at that. People put too much emphasis on "subcon" affects, and how it is warping you. Movies have this, novels have this, even cable television has this. They rate it mature for a reason, the only reason you would be worried about the game as a parent is that you are not confident in your ability to keep it out of your own home or letting your child have friends with "bad" parents as you would label them. A game is just that, a game. People think way too much into things, and the fact that your morals should have any judgment on anyone else's actions is a wrong ideal in the first place. You don't have to protect anyone from pixels.

[Gomack]

Paying for sex is normal, and we should teach our kids that.

lolwut

[dinnyhoon]

 

let me explain as best I can for your obviously limited intelligence

 

I stopped reading here. If you can't even get half-way through making your point with out a pre-emptive insult, I'm sure you have nothing of value to say.

[xer0er]

let me explain as best I can for your obviously limited intelligence

 

I stopped reading here. If you can't even get half-way through making your point with out a pre-emptive insult, I'm sure you have nothing of value to say.

Yeah.. If all GTA players are of "limited-intelligence", I think the OP should refrain from letting their child play GTA, don't you think?

[xtenebrous]

To be honest sex in a game isn't bad, GTA3, VC, SA it was fine because it wasn't visual, I had no problem with it, I am 17 and personally I don't think Rockstar should of allowed the player to view Niko and a prostitute having sex, it's not because it's a prostitute or anything it's all down to the fact that it's just not right, violence in games is fine but sex is something completely different, I'm not gonna say "sex is bad you shouldn't do it" or any of that crap because I'm all for having sex but when it's part of a game where you have some 10 year olds will probably be playing then it becomes a problem, they just assume it's something good for pleasure, no knowing of any of the things that come with having sex, especially unprotected

 

I don't think it should be removed but the ability to actually view it should be because it just isn't needed, if you're old enough, you know what's going on, they should leave the little kiddies to try and come up with their own ideas instead of showing them directly and unlike Mass Effect, you can just easily do this, you don't need to talk to the prostitute after every mission to eventually come to this sex scene, you just drive up, honk, accept her offer so somewhere and you do your business, Rockstar really went to far this time, even as a massive GTA fan I just don't see why they needed to push it so far.

 

I don't really think people will think sex is a reward for killing will be the problem, sex is in previous games, if people are sick enough to sit and jerk off to an animation of two people having sex now that you can actually see it then they really need to grow up because it's only a game..

I see where you are coming from because Darren Brown has proved that you can get an enjoyment out of doing something bad if you "train" to do it, even if the training is sub-concious.

Edited April 28, 2008 by xtenebrous

[Fontana]

How about, you parent your child as you see fit and let him play what you shall. If this involves laying rules about what he can and can't do in the game then that is your choice. I will parent mine as I see fit. I would rather not have material preemptively taken out to fit your morals and standards, and how you feel all games should be in this ideal world.

[xer0er]

How about, you parent your child as you see fit and let him play what you shall. If this involves laying rules about what he can and can't do in the game then that is your choice. I will parent mine as I see fit. I would rather not have material preemptively taken out to fit your morals and standards, and how you feel all games should be in this ideal world.

QFE.

 

Also, if the OP wanted to come on here and just rant, without taking any of our opinions, views, thoughts, and the cold hard facts by the game developers and the rating boards around the world, why the hell did they waste their time making all these long-ass posts!?

[PabloSanchez]

Sex and hand jobs = Good

Violence and Murder = Bad

I think you have it the wrong way round.

 

[RageOfTheJester]

 

I guess I could be a little clearer again. the previous gta versions more or less had stylised sex, cars rocking etc. forget hot coffee which rockstar rightly got raked over the coals for (in future, take the content out altogether, dont just patch out the event sequence but leave the code in place). the bottom line is that the sex wasnt explicit, it was stylised in a way that was humorous even to an early teen, and many parents were comfortable with that.

 

Now however the sex is far more explicit and without any real warning ESRB isnt adequate inactually explaining the acts themselves in context of the game, censors may not find content unless explicitly shown (ala hot coffee) so they cant be held accountable for not being able to trigger the precise series of events that culminate in a blowjob for instance, unlike a movie where its laid out in clear sequence and there is no skill required and an accurate rating can be assigned.

 

Its the unknown content I am concerned about, its the easter eggs and poorly patched code that allows an otherwise unratable piece of content to be viewed. hot coffee is the precedent and in all honesty i believe it was planned more than being accidental, after all it was a mindblowing amount of free publicity with an illiicit overtone so appealing to a younger generation.

 

Ratings board cant be blamed if the content was unavailable to them, and who can say what other hot coffee related eggs are in gtaiv waiting to be found due to poor patching instead or complete removal of offending content. while unlikely its quite possible.

 

Again, i wont be letting the teen play the game until i am satisfied that all the exploits are found and the levels of sex when executed in context dont exceed my level of acceptance for him, its my choice as a parent to make, all I ask is for relevent details from rockstar to help me and other parent make an informed decision, unfortunately rockstar are avoiding the details on specifically what has been censored in the australian version, and its this specifically which is pissing me off about them.

i am mistaken about the hot coffee mod, however, everything below this still stands.

 

you KNOW that this game is meant for adults regardless of the content removed. it is a game meant for adults and not for children. be a responsible parent and stop acting like R* owes you any explanation. it is clearly marked on the package what content the game contains, and you can also go watch the "ladies of gta4" video to see some of it.

 

i dont have kids, but if i did, regardless they would not be allowed to play this game until they were of age. man up. its not for kids, end of story.

 

 

heres the video

 

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/827005/...gta_042708.html

Edited April 28, 2008 by RageOfTheJester

[ryuclan]

youre a bleeding idiot. the HOT COFFEE mod was ONLY available on the PC version of the game which was open to modding. console versions werent able to use that content. should R* have eliminated the code all together? yea probably, but the media didnt specify that only the PC version of the game was able to access it.

Wrong I had the PS2 version and I could, in fact, access the Hot coffee gameplay. It wasn't a mod it was content already in the code that someone found and discovered how to utilize. There was two ways that we use to get it. One was using the Action Replay disc and the second was a cheat that you simply punch in on the controller and the next time you go to her house you get hot coffee. I think the console versions were removed from shelves for some time until the code was taken out and the newer versions were released...

[RageOfTheJester]

youre a bleeding idiot.  the HOT COFFEE mod was ONLY available on the PC version of the game which was open to modding.  console versions werent able to use that content.  should R* have eliminated the code all together?  yea probably, but the media didnt specify that only the PC version of the game was able to access it.

Wrong I had the PS2 version and I could, in fact, access the Hot coffee gameplay. It wasn't a mod it was content already in the code that someone found and discovered how to utilize. There was two ways that we use to get it. One was using the Action Replay disc and the second was a cheat that you simply punch in on the controller and the next time you go to her house you get hot coffee. I think the console versions were removed from shelves for some time until the code was taken out and the newer versions were released...

i stand corrected, but the rest of my post still stands.

[gdburt]

blimey - way to insult a huge number of people! You might've gotten some nice informed replies if you hadn't accused us all of being sado-masochists who masturbate while playing games, and have zero social skills.

 

Your kid will see far more sex in a 15-rated film than in GTA IV, and have the ability to pause it, too! Perhaps you think your son will play GTA with his todger out in readiness to masturbate at the slightest hint of sex, in which case I'd take him to a therapist and fast!

 

Ever watched a James Bond film? That's a constant cycle of violence and sex, and some of those are PG. In fact, quite a lot of things in GTA that people are shocked at, are also done in James Bond without anyone batting an eyelid.

 

Let's see what a James Bond film usually has..

Sex: yup (moreso)

Violence: yup.

Degrading to women: yup (moreso)

Racial stereotypes: yup (moreso)

Strip clubs: yup.

Innuendo: off the scale!

 

and on top of that: DON'T BUY YOUR KID AN 18-RATED GAME!!! Doesn't anyone ever learn?

[masaba]

I stopped reading at incapable of intimacy, you are retarded.

[inveni0]

What a stupid OP. The game is rated 17+. If you don't think that the game should be banned, then the ESRB has done all they can do. Why would you let a child play a 17+ game anyway? You think sex is the worst thing your kid will do? It may have the 'worst' consequence, but I guarantee it's not the worst thing he's doing (and he'll do it whether or not he plays this game).

Edited April 28, 2008 by inveni0