Report: "Nut Case" Defendant Inspired by GTA III
Report: "Nut Case" Defendant Inspired by GTA III
April 29, 2008
Fox News reports that Monterrio Davis, a member of the notorious "Nut Case" gang is on trial in Oakland, California for the murder of two laborers who were taking a break from an English language class.From the news story:
The murder trial has gained additional attention because police say "Grand Theft Auto III," in which players win points for committing violent crimes, was one of the inspirations for the gang's murderous reign of terror on Oakland's streets.
As GamePolitics has previously reported, other members of the gang have already been sentenced. The San Francisco Chronicle offered this description of the alleged relationship between the gang and the game:
The Nut Cases were an Oakland street gang who told police that they spent their time getting high and playing the video game “Grand Theft Auto,” then went and perpetrated the violent acts shown in the game, including robbery and murders. They called themselves the Nut Cases, and several members sported tattoos showing the Planters logo Mr. Peanut and the words “Nut Case.”
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Comments
I find it hard to believe the presence of the game was the sole factor.
I've been eating Planters Peanuts all morning!
Am I... am I going to kill someone?!?
There are games that have something LIKE points, but not quite points because they can be exchanged for other things. (money in GTA games, or red orbs in Devil May Cry 4)
I take offense to your belief that platform games are dying. Sure, there aren't too many good ones kickin' around, but the best ones are worth the sifting process:
Psychonauts
Super Mario Galaxy
Braid
Sonic Rush
Insulting platform games is a BAAAAAD idea.
Fox...YOU DON'T GET POINTS IN GTA III PERIOD!!!
Holy crap, I've gone back in time.....
Huh. What a surprise.
not to differant from southparks "Chewbacca" defense.
its all a bunch of bullshit, that makes not sense whatsoever to a rational person, but the politicians and idiots alike eat it up big time.
luckily so far our legal system hasn't been confused enough to wonder why chewbacca lives on endor with ewoks... i mean, a game causes actual violence despite 9 out of 10 people play them and only 1 in 10,000 would actually go nutzo despite that 1's phsycopathic history and/or gang related hysteria.
to top it i ask this... when did gang violence become inspired by a game that includes ORGANIZED crime?
gangs aren't organized.. and GTA3 was... now if they said san andreas i'd be more likely to believe their story, but GTA3?
and why is it GTA3 anyways? what about saints row or The Godfather?
or how bout some more Halo 2 snipers?
Gangs were the inspiration for GTA, as gangs have existed long, long before GTA.
But then let's not confuse this issue with Facts.
If we did away with GTA all the gangs would be gone, huh?
You see, Fox, we gamers done away with the points system back when your stories still had rationality and relevence.
Anyone have any idea whether or not the Baseball Furies or the Gramercy Riffs plan on appealing that civil injunction?
Either that, or I need to stop breathing in so much polluted LA air.
Let the record show that the Nut Cases are indeed, nut cases, and mental health is the main cause.
http://www.foxreno.com/news/8518729/detail.html
Demarcus Ralls should have been told the "cuz" defense never works in a criminal case. He blames everyone for what happened except himself.
Once again games had nothing to do with this.
... yeah am I the only one that stopped reading after that? I wonder if they paid him to do it?
No points in GTA III.
But still even if there were points, does that make you want to get points in real life?
I've never jumped on a turtle. I've never rappelled through a skylight. I've never shot anyone. I've never built a farm. I've never robbed a bank. I've never tried to teleport by running for a screen and a half. I've never lured an annoying neighbor in a room and then deleted the door. I've never run through a shopping mall with a katana and a camera. I've never street raced. I've never been in the mafia. But I do those things all of the time in video games.
How about all of the good things you can do in video games? They never focus on the fact that people aren't compelled to do those, so why would the be compelled to do the bad things?
Gah...
Ugh... for the last time. YOU ARE NOT AWARDED ANY POINTS FOR KILLS IN GTA. You don't even need to play the game to know this, just read the damned instruction manual!! GOD!
"The Nut Cases were an Oakland street gang who told police that they spent their time getting high and playing the video game “Grand Theft Auto,” then went and perpetrated the violent acts shown in the game, including robbery and murders."
I call Jack Thompson claiming getting high is A-OK as long as vidya gemz aren't involved in the next two hours. Hey, he's already supporting child abuse, what's the next logical step? (The Moore case)
Ratchet & Clank has platformer elements too. It would be cool if we had more.
Fox News=“Faux News” tee hee hee (;
I never said I hated the platform genre nor wish it to die a painful death, but it is true that you never hear much about the "platform" genre. Most games that contain platforming elements are otherwise called "action" games. And we don't get many 3D platformers this side of Mario Galaxy and R&C.
Some people say that "sandbox" games like GTA and Assassin's Creed are actually one of the things that have made platform games less popular. Platform games have become something of a delicate art. They walk the fine line between pure challenge and cheap deaths. Sandbox games made the videogame death more forgiving and probably seeked as an easy way out for developers to create good playing experiences.
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