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An exclusive GamePolitics interview with Rep. Lee Terry (R) demonstrates that the Nebraska Congressman, co-sponsor of a new video game ratings enforcement bill, has a grasp on some video game rating issues, yet a flawed understanding of others. 

As reported earlier this week by GamePolitics, Terry and Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) introduced the Video Games Rating Enforcement Act. If approved, the bill would mandate that game retailers check IDs of mature-rated game buyers. The measure would also require that information detailing the rating system be posted in view of customers. Terry spoke to GP about the proposal:

This is a rather simple bill in that it focuses on making sure that retailers ID young folks when they try to buy an M or A[O] rated game. And this is kind of my approach instead of trying to micromanage by legislation the standards or content…

What we’d rather do is just make sure that parents are empowered with information, what the standards really mean and then what’s specifically in that game and then to make sure that retailers don’t subvert the parent’s decision… If they don’t want their child to have an M-rated game, the retailers don’t sell it to them…

Based on the timing of the new legislation, we asked Terry whether it was planned to coincide with the intense publicity surrounding the April 29th release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Terry, however, maintained that the timing was purely coincidental:

As a matter of fact, I almost thought about waiting another week or two. I will have to take some responsibility. Mr. Matheson brought this to me several months ago and… it kind of got pushed to the back burner. So it was more coincidental… but [the GTA IV hype] probably did heighten the scrutiny of the bill within the press, which is a positive thing. But we did not wait until Grand Theft Auto IV came out to drop the bill. That was coincidental.

Oddly enough, the Terry-Matheson bill, which addresses video game rating enforcement, was introduced on Wednesday, less than 24 hours before the Federal Trade Commission’s latest report gave glowing marks to the video game industry for its retail ratings enforcement. Terry, however, was clearly not acquainted with the results of the FTC report, citing 69% as the rate at which FTC secret shoppers were able to purchase M-rated games. That figure, however, is from the FTC’s 2003 survey. In 2006 the number dropped to 42%. Yesterday’s figure was an impressive 20%. We asked Terry about the FTC report: (more…)

As GamePolitics reported last month, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson (left) appealed a decision by the US 8th Circuit Court which held that a lower court was correct in ruling the state’s 2006 “fine the buyer” video game law unconstitutional.

In her appeal, Swanson was seeking what is known as an en banc review of the case, in which all of the 8th Circuit’s judges would review the decision made by a three-judge panel in March.

GamePolitics has now learned that the 8th Circuit has declined to hold the en banc review. This means that the only legal recourse available to Minnesota is an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

If that happens, it will be the first time that the Supreme Court has considered a case involving video game legislation. Making this possibility especially intriguing are comments made by Justice Antonin Scalia to Law of Play’s Anthony Prestia in February of this year:

Justice Scalia replied that he did believe such legislation was constitutional. He began by explaining his belief that sound constitutional precedent holds that minors may be subjected to prohibitions that adults are not – he instantly drew the parallel to regulation of pornography sales…

Justice Scalia did not suggest that violent and/or sexual content in games rises to the level of unprotected speech. In fact, he did not even suggest that video games themselves are not protected by the First Amendment…

We’ve got a call in to A.G. Swanson’s office to see whether an appeal to the Supreme Court is planned. In the meantime, you can view the 8th Circuit’s denial of Minnesota’s en banc request.

Taking  the Parents Television Council up on an interview offer, Phil Villarreal of the Arizona Daily Star spoke with Dan Isett (left), PTC Director of Public Policy about Grand Theft Auto IV.

Along with a number of other watchdog groups, the PTC has been highly critical of GTA IV in recent days. Villarreal, however, reports that Isett’s knowledge of what is actually in the game is a bit lacking:

Isett: I’ve actually played ‘Grand Theft Auto IV,’ and it’s right in keeping with previous versions. The series continues to lower the bar and this is the first game that has an alcohol content warning. You get points for driving drunk in this game.

Villarreal: You know that’s not true, right? The game doesn’t have points.

Isett: If nothing else, it’s a rewarded activity. Necessary for advancement.

Villarreal: I don’t think so.

Isett: But there’s an alcohol content warning and a scene of drunk driving, correct?

Villarreal: Yes. Did you play that part?

Isett: No, no. I didn’t get that far…

We’ve got additional reactions to yesterday’s report by the Federal Trade Commission which gave high marks to the video game biz for its enforcement of ESRB ratings at point-of-sale.

A spokesman for State Senator Leland Yee (D), architect of California’s contested video game law, remarked:

The Senator is pleased and commends retailers for significantly improving on the latest FTC study.  Clearly retailers are much more cognizant of the potential harmful effects of ultra violent video games and are not selling such games to minors in as great a number. 

With that said, it is imperative that the industry does more to prevent the sale of adult oriented games to children. Twenty percent of minors can still easily get their hands on games that are inappropriate for them. That equates to hundreds of thousands of children who are potentially in harm’s way. The Senator looks forward to continuing his efforts and working with the various interested parties to end the sale of extremely violent video games to children.

Meanwhile, Gavin McKiernan, National Grassroots Director of the Parents Television Council, lauded GameStop for its 94% enforcement record, but said that, as a whole, the video game industry needs to do better: (more…)

The steep decline in sales of M-rated games to underage buyers reported this morning by the Federal Trade Commission is a clear victory for the video game industry on both the political and public relations fronts.

Taking a victory lap is the organization responsible for operating the video game industry’s rating system, the ESRB. Via press release, ESRB president Patricia Vance commented on today’s FTC report:

Video game retailers have clearly stepped up their efforts to enforce their store policies, and they deserve recognition for these outstanding results.  We commend and applaud retailers for their strong support of the ESRB ratings, and will continue working with them to help ensure that these levels of compliance are sustained if not further increased.

The ESA, representing US video game publishers, declined to comment, referring us instead to the ESRB.

Bo Andersen, president of the Entertainment Merchants Association, a trade group representing a number of video game retailers, also weighed in. For retailers, the report is a mixed bag. They scored superb numbers on game rating enforcement, but were criticized by the FTC for sales of R-rated and unrated DVDs to underage buyers. Andersen said:

Retailers don’t want children to be able to purchase or rent video games and DVDs that their parents do not want them to have. As a result, they have made real and significant investments in enforcing the voluntary video game and motion picture ratings in their stores. The FTC’s latest ‘undercover shopper’ survey demonstrates that these investments are producing strong results… While we are pleased with the progress that has been made in ratings enforcement, retailers still are not where they want to be as an industry.

On the consumer side, Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association, remarked:

This is an extraordinary accomplishment from the nation’s leading interactive entertainment retailers, as it clearly shows their increased commitment of keeping mature-rated games out of children’s hands. Perhaps most impressive is the incredible reversal in their failure rate over such a short period of time and with a comparatively new rating system.

This is truly a vindication for video game merchants who have been falsely damned by anti-game advocates and special interest groups, who now don’t have a leg to stand on.

GamePolitics also offered several high-profile game industry critics and watchdog groups an opportunity to comment. So far we’ve not heard back from the Parents Television Council, the National Institute on Media & the Family or California State Sen. Leland Yee. There was one critic we did hear from, though…

Despite the eye-popping retail enforcement numbers, anti-game activist Jack Thompson refused to give credit to the video game industry. Instead, he credited… Jack Thompson:

I’m more than happy to take credit for the improvement. The threat of legislation has improved performance, not some altruism on the part of the Strauss Zelnick’s [or] the industry. To America’s parents: Jack Thompson is delighted to have helped.

Of course, Thompson would have been all over the FTC numbers had they been unfavorable to the video game industry. Classy, Jack…

UPDATE: Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media & the Family has now weighed in. NIMF claims a bit of the credit as well:

The results of the [FTC’s] latest undercover survey are good news for retailers and the [ESRB], but most of all for parents… With its consistent pressure on the video game industry, [NIMF] played a significant role in improving ratings enforcement and education. Similar to our… Video Game Report Cards, the FTC survey shows that specialty retailers, such as GameStop, continue to lead in enforcement and the rental companies need to step up their efforts…

Full Disclosure Dept: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics…

Variety reports that a new legislative attempt to regulate video game sales has been launched in Congress.

Undoubtedly spurred on by the publicity surrounding the recent Grand Theft Auto IV launch, Reps. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Lee Terry (R-NE, seen at left) have introduced legislsation that would require game retailers to check a buyer’s I.D. before selling a game with adult content.

Of the “Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act,” Rep. Terry said:

[The bill seeks to ensure that kids] can only access age appropriate content without parental permission… The images and themes in some video games are shocking and troublesome. In some games high scores are often earned by players who commit ‘virtual’ murder, assault and rape.

Many young children are walking into stores and are able to buy or rent these games without their parents even knowing about it. Many retailers have tried to develop voluntary policies to make sure mature games do not end up in the hands of young kids, but we need to do more to protect our children.

In addition to mandating ID checks, the proposal would require retailers to post information about the rating system. Violators would face a $5,000 fine. Despite the abysmal record of such legislation on the state level, Terry expressed confidence that the bill would pass constitutional muster:

This bill doesn’t involve itself in content or defining the standards for ‘mature’ or ‘adults only. It simply requires the retailer to post what the industry has defined as ‘mature’ and ‘adults only’ so that parents can know, and requires checking of identification.

The proposal enjoys the support of the Parents Television Council.

For his part, Rep. Matheson has attempted to legislate video games in the past. As GamePolitics reported in 2006, a Matheson proposal by the same name failed to gain traction.

Rep. Terry was made to look a bit silly by The Daily Show host Jon Stewart following a congressional video game hearing in 2006.

By the way, GamePolitics challenges Rep. Terry to support his claim that rape is a feature in any commercial video game.

UPDATE: Omaha’s Fox News affiliate has a report on the bill. Rep. Terry told KPTM-42:

This bill is all about empowering parents so they can make more informed decisions about what games they’re kids are playing, knowledge is power and the more we know the better off we’ll be.

The Daily Mail serves up a rather bizarre video game bash piece this morning. Journalist and English mum Rosie Millard (left) writes that the Nintendo DS, of all things, turned her family dysfunctional:

The ‘toy’ caused endless rows, sessions of screaming and increasingly regular parental punishments… What is constructive about playing football on a tiny screen, or washing a virtual dog, or watching a hideous pink pony trot around a pink palace decorated with shells?

…Our Nintendo had taken the guise of a small but toxic drug which, little by little, was poisoning my children…

I have first-hand evidence that using a Nintendo turns my delightful, curious and funny children into argumentative demons full of aggression, wholly uninterested in anything apart from playing, and then playing some more.

GP: Although it doesn’t necessarily read that way, we’re thinking Ms. Millard’s article may be a bit tongue-in-cheek. By the way, did she buy her kids a chipped DS? Call the piracy police!:

When the pale blue, £150 Nintendo finally arrived last November, fresh from Hong Kong (I had bought it on the net), crammed with a ‘bundle’ of 20 games including Brain Trainer, Fifa 08, and Nintendogs, my children hugged me tightly.

Via: MCVUK

And you thought the GTA IV bashing was over?

Silly you…

The Catholic Exchange has jumped into the fray, terming the hit game a “dangerous cultural low.” Here’s more:

I don’t know the answer to this, but out of curiosity, I have a question: What percentage of car-jacking murdering gang members were committed to this life as children?

…There’s something odd about our culture when we try to prevent children under 17 from seeing violent or sexually overt material in a two-hour R-rated movie, but we’re cavalier about selling the same experience - actually, a more offensive experience since it’s entirely non-judgmental - in an M-rated video game that will be played every night for months.

GP: The unnamed writer apparently fails to grasp that the movie and game rating systems are both voluntarily enforced by their respective industries.

There’s only one word to describe parents who would buy this game for their children: Disgraceful.

But retailers, too, must be pressed to check ID before selling the game to children who most assuredly will seek to purchase it. Legally, stores cannot sell children pornographic magazines or handguns - but they can legally sell video games to children that contain pornographic content or that teach children how to gun down cops.

GameCyte has scored a video interview with California State Sen. Leland Yee (D), and is soliciting questions for Yee from readers.

The Senator, a child psychologist and frequent critic of video game violence, is the architect of California’s 2005 video game law, which was overturned by a U.S. District Court judge last year. California has appealed the decision. From GameCyte:

In the interests of stimulating mature discussion about video game violence, GameCyte contacted the offices of California State Senator Leland Yee, an outspoken critic of Rockstar and the ESRB — and received a rather unique opportunity. Want to know if the Senator really saw GTA IV before denouncing it? How Senator Yee feels about current game regulation? What he thinks adults should be able to play? Just ask.

GameCyte readers and fellow gaming journalists are invited to pose questions which the Senator will answer on camera next week, the resulting video to be available here and freely distributed to other interested game publications.

GP: If you want to suggest a question for Sen. Yee, you should jump over to GameCyte…

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has called upon the Federal Trade Commission to issue an alert regarding what he says is a potential risk to children who play the popular online game Second Life. 

As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Kirk said:

If you ask: Do you know about MySpace? The average parent will say yes. But the average parent doesn’t know anything about Second Life…

Sites like Second Life offer no protections to keep kids from virtual “rape rooms,” brothels, and drug stores. If sites like Second Life won’t protect kids from obviously inappropriate content, the Congress will.

Mt. Prospect, Illinois Mayor Irvana Wilks echoed Kirk’s concerns:

This Second Life is a new scare, unchartered territory. It hits home.

GP: We note that Rep. Kirk is currently running for re-election.

UPDATE: News.com has more…

It took a few days, but GamePolitics has tracked down some background on the process which led Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) officials to pull ads for Grand Theft Auto IV.

As we reported late last month, the South Florida transit agency yanked GTA IV ads from bus shelters following pressure by anti-game attorney Jack Thompson.

While following up on this story GP communicated with MDT Deputy Director Hugh Chen and Marketing Director Michael DeCossio. It was media relations official Manuel Palmiero, however, who ultimately supplied the information below. What follows are GP’s question, MDT’s verbatim answers and a few bits of commentary:

GP: The GTA IV ads themselves are inoffensive. Is Miami-Dade Transit making a value judgment as to the underlying product? If so, this judgment is based on…?

MDT: The Miami-Dade County Commission has adopted three resolutions in the last five years dealing with violent video games — R-1447-03, R-248-04 and R-573-06. You may look up all three at www.miamidade.gov/govaction/searchleg.asp?Action=searchleg.

The first resolution specifically condemned the “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” video game for its “hate-filled messages” and for appearing “to encourage or condone violence against ethnic minorities” and called on retailers to remove the game from their shelves. The other two condemned violent video games in general and urged retailers not to make such games available to minors. 

Miami-Dade Transit is a department of Miami-Dade County and as such follows the policies set by the Miami-Dade County Commission and Mayor.

(GP comment: This seems a rather bureaucratic justification. None of the three resolutions address public transit. Nor do they direct county agencies to take a hands-off posture with regard to video games. Nor does MDT answer the question as to whether they made a value judgment concerning GTA IV, although it seems obvious that they did.)

GP: Which official made the final decision to remove the ads?
 
MDT: After receiving and evaluating the request for removal of the ads, MDT staff made the recommendation to remove them.  [Ad company] Cemusa was instructed to remove the ads last Friday, April 25.

(GP: we received this info from MDT on Friday, May 2nd)
 
GP: Is MDT familiar with Change the Climate vs MBTA, in which the US First Circuit Court ruled that a quasi-governmental transit agency could not restrict ads based on viewpoint?
 
MDT: Miami-Dade Transit is a department of Miami-Dade County and as such is a unit of County government, not a quasi-governmental transit agency.

(GP comment: This answer is puzzling. The First Circuit Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for a quasi-governmental agency to restrict free speech. Since MDT is organized as a full-fledged unit of government, it has at least as much - and probably more - of an obligation not to restrict free speech. Nor does the answer acknowledge the Change the Climate case.)

GP: Is MDT aware of [complainant] Mr. [Jack] Thompson’s longstanding contentious history with the publisher of this game [Take Two Interactive], including his involvement on the plaintiff side in a pair of wrongful death lawsuits seeking $1.2 billion?
 
MDT: We were not aware of this information but it is not relevant to the matter at hand and would not have affected our decision to remove the ads.
 
GP: Other than Thompson’s, were any other complaints received about the ads?
 
MDT: We are not aware of any others to date.

GP:  Would you characterize MDT as a unit of government, as opposed to quasi-governmental? (I note the .gov website address)
 
MDT: As stated above, MDT is a department of Miami-Dade County government and therefore is a unit of government, not a quasi-governmental agency.

GP: What other types of ads are restricted? Alcohol? R-rated movies? How about a cable show along the lines of The Sopranos or Sex in the City? 

MDT: MDT’s contract with CEMUSA lists several types of ads that are restricted, including:

-Advertising that contains traffic-related symbols or words like “Stop,” Drive In” or “Danger” that are designed to distract vehicular traffic

-Ads containing immoral, lascivious or obscene material as well as ads promoting businesses engaged in any activity that requires that exclusion of minors

-Ads for alcoholic beverages
 
In addition, the contract states that MDT may “at its sole, absolute discretion” disallow any questionable ads, such as those that may violate community standards as we understand them based on our knowledge of the community and the feedback generated by certain types of ads in the past.

(GP comment: Now that Take Two has sued the Chicago Transit Authority over that agency’s removal of GTA IV ads, a similar suit against MDT seems highly likely…)

Video game legislation proposed by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino - and authored by Jack Thompson - has stalled in the Massachusetts legislature.

In March legislators heard testimony on HB1423, a bill which would equate violent video games with pornography.

However the Boston Business Journal now reports that the measure has been “sent into study,” which essentially means it is on life support. From the Business Journal story:

Menino’s proposal, which would make it illegal for minors to buy video games with graphic content, was sent into study in March — a big win for the state’s burgeoning video game industry…

But the mayor, seeing a link between violent content and violent behavior, still is in favor of the proposal, and plans to continue to push for it on a grass-roots level, said Larry Mayes, chief of human services for the city of Boston. “To get this through, we’re really going to have to do a statewide push. We want to go to the communities, particularly to the parents and sit with them and show them the material.”
 
Mayes said members of the mayor’s office plan to hold community meetings starting this summer to educate parents about such violent video games.  
The hope is those parents will then advocate for the ban.

Reuters is reporting that Grand Theft Auto IV publisher Take Two Interactive is suing the Chicago Transit Authority over the CTA’s recent decision to remove ads for the game from its vehicles and facilities.

As reported by GamePolitics, the CTA pulled the ads about a week before GTA IV launched. The move followed a sensationalistic Fox News report which seemed to draw a linkage between GTA and a rash of local shootings. From Reuters:

Take Two accused the authority and its sales agent, Titan Outdoor LLC, of violating a $300,000… ad campaign agreement that included running “Grand Theft Auto 4″ poster ads on the sides of buses and transit display spaces throughout the Chicago transit system scheduled for six weeks between April and June.

The suit seeks an order for the transit authority to run the ads as well as monetary damages of at least $300,000.

GP: Congrats to Take Two for standing up for its rights. Let’s hope they bring the same kind of legal pressure to bear on Miami-Dade Transit as well. There, GP readers will recall, Jack Thompson pushed the agency into removing ads from Miami bus shelters.

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle… Morons!

N’Gai Croal, Brian Crecente, Stephen Totilo… Losers!

So sayeth Glenn Beck, anyway.

Beck exploited the popularity of the Grand Theft Auto IV phenomenon again this evening. It was Beck’s second GTA IV-themed segment in the last few days.

GamePolitics readers will recall that Beck allowed Jack Thompson to smear the ESRB and several major retailers last week without once advising his CNN Headline News audience that they were listening to a lawyer facing possible disbarrment.

Dr. Cheryl Olson, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood was Beck’s guest this time. She was quite reasonable, but Beck made faces during certain parts of her commentary.

The highlight of the segment came when Beck played the role of the martyr:

I will tell you that all these video gamers… they’re bloggers, as well as video gamers - they’re writing all kinds of stuff about me [that] I’m the enemy now of video gamers. I could care less about video games. Video game bloggers? They’re losers…

UPDATE: Mark Methenitis, an attorney who pens the excellent Law of the Game blog, has written an open letter to Glenn Beck regarding Jack Thompson’s appearance.

In the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, columnist Katherine Kersten has a lengthy whine about Grand Theft Auto IV:

Games like GTA IV stimulate and glamorize our dark impulses. They create a taste for the psychological thrill that can come from dominating and degrading others. They encourage us to strip our fellow human beings of their dignity, and view them merely as objects of violence or sexual desire.

The hazards of violent games will only increase as new, more advanced technologies like the Wii system take hold… you can act out a game physically.

The average 32-year-old man who plays violent video games — and spends his free hours fantasizing about murdering passersby and roughing up strippers — is likely to be someone’s husband and father. What qualities of character will his wife find when she looks to him for love, steadiness and fidelity?

And when his young son looks to Dad as a role model — well, that’s the problem, isn’t it?

A Canadian legislator who criticized Bully: Scholarship Edition in March has taken note of the GTA IV release, advising parents to monitor what their children play.

John Nuraney (left), a member of British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly, makes some reasonable points in an op-ed for Burnaby Now:

One of the top video games for boys in grades 3 to 6 is Grand Theft Auto… While it is admirable that our children of today adapt very quickly to this technology, it is also alarming that, without proper guidance and supervision, they can fall victims to the unscrupulous, complex morals presented in this particular game…

There is a great need for public awareness and debate on the topic of youth and new media. Parents, teachers and retailers must take an active role to ensure that the developmental needs of children and youth are met in an increasingly electronic age…

What we need in dealing with harmful materials and their exposure to children is a campaign of awareness - a collaborative approach that shares the responsibility amongst parents, children and youth, educators, government and industry.

If you’ve experienced the “drunk driving” aspect of Grand Theft Auto IV, you know that it is pretty annoying. It makes it very difficult to control your ride.

Beyond that, it’s not a requirement. Nor is it a something that furthers your progress in any way.

But, as GamePolitics reported earlier this week, Mothers Against Drunk Driving have called for the ESRB to re-classify GTA IV as “Adults Only” based on the DUI feature.

Savannah, Georgia TV station WSAV-3 reports that the Traffic Commander of the Savannah-Chatham Police Department is also concerned. Lt. Scott Simpkins told WSAV:

How many people are going to go ‘hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’? So these are the things that I have to worry about when stuff like this hits the market.

Iraqi-born artist Wafaa Bilal’s controversial video game exhibit, which culminates in the player attempting to shoot President Bush, has triggered a lawsuit against the city of Troy, New York, according to the Albany Times-Union.

As GamePolitics readers may recall, Bilal, a faculty member at the Art Institute of Chicago, was invited to present his Virtual Jihadi exhibit at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in March.

RPI’s Republican Club, however, objected to Virtual Jihadi, which Bilal said was designed to show how US policy in Iraq has encouraged terrorism. School officials subsequently ordered the exhibit off campus. A local venue, the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, then offered Bilal the opportunity to display his work.

On opening night local Republican leader Robert Mirch, who also happens to be Troy’s Public Works commissioner, led a protest outside the exhibit. The following day, Troy code enforcement officials (who work for Mirch) shut the Sanctuary down over building code violations involving its doors.

The Sanctuary, assisted by the New York Civil Liberties Union, has notified Troy that it will file a lawsuit against the city as well as Mirch. Said Melanie Trimble executive director of NYCLU’s Capital Region chapter:

City officials cannot selectively enforce building codes to shut down an art exhibition they find distasteful… City officials cannot chill free speech in this city by using their official powers.

Bob Mirch is the head of Public Works which oversees the code enforcement. Code enforcement came the next day and shut the building down even though they had approved the building’s opening the day before. It’s no coincidence.

Sanctuary co-founder Steve Pierce added:

There is a climate of fear in the city.

For his part, Mirch said:

This is nonsense. And a publicity stunt. At no time was the sanctuary closed. The two situations are not connected. Not connected.

Capital News 9 has a video report.

Anti-game attorney Jack Thompson and Gavin McKiernan of the Parents Television Council appeared on the Glenn Beck program last night on CNN Headline News.

The first clip is Beck’s opening. Thompson and McKiernan appear in the second clip.

GP: Big thanks to several GamePolitics readers who uploaded and/or pointed us to videos of the show…

One of the bloggers at Ladies Lotto has raised the issue of GTA IV’s potential for violence against the game’s female characters.

clothesminded writes:

In GTA 4… not only can you pick up and have sex with prostitutes, but then you can kill them: with you[r] car, a gun, or whatever you have lying around. The sex is graphic… and the killings have great tag phrases.

In general I don’t have a problem with violence in the media, in movies, etc. In this game however… you can make what you want to happen. Meaning you are choosing to pick up the prostitute and kill her, as opposed to driving your car…

After watching… on youtube, i felt sick, sad and angry.