Thailand pulls GTA after real life murder
Mikey 5 comments
You might have heard the story yesterday about the , in which his excuse was that because he couldn't afford to buy the Grand Theft Auto video game, he did the next best thing - acted out a scene in real life.
Sad and sickening I know, but Thailand game distributors have now just over-reacted by pulling the game from store shelves.
The director of Thailand's Cultural Surveillance Centre says:
"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse. Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."
Talk about unnecessary scare tactics. This sort of thing is like catnip to the likes of Jack Thompson, although it still looks like he wont be practising law for much longer.
This can also be interpreted as an admission of guilt - to a certain extent. I wonder what RockStars' take on all this is. In the past they have fought the notion that their games could be blamed for real life murder.
But a confession like that from a teenage boy doesn't necessarily mean anything, as the 'video games made me do it' defence is a well known defence that murderer/gamers have used in the past but without anything to make the real connection.
I think pulling the game is just an over reaction, as there is nothing to stop anyone from buying it online anyway. So essentially all they are doing is taking away just one way the game can be obtained. If this becomes common practice, buying games online will also become common practice, which it is already for a lot of people.
andrew
Tuesday 5th August 2008 | 05:06 PMhow many people would think to buy a game online? so i guess if they do not see it in the shop, out of sight out of mind....
Rodney
Tuesday 5th August 2008 | 05:31 PM...in response to this comment by andrew. I used to buy them online all the time, from Direct2Drive. Cheaper and faster than going to a shop. Which just proves that if you make it easy enough and reasonably priced, people will buy instead of pirate. Then Direct2Drive stopped allowing Australians to buy from them, because they're a bunch of pricks. Sigh.
As for the article above in question, Silverchair (the band) once had a song blamed by a kid who murdered his parents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%27s_Son).
"Israel's Son gained controversy in January of 1996 in which Two American teenagers - Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett - had been charged with the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother. Defense lawyers attempted to lay the blame for these murders on the fact the pair had been listening to Israel's Son prior to the crimes what was dubbed the "Israel's Son Murders". Murmur Records released an official statement on behalf of the band, responding to these allegations, which pointed out that silverchair did not condone violence of any kind and that the song "seeks to criticize violence and war by portraying them in all their horror." Although no further connection was made between the song and the actions of the two young murderers, the US video was re-edited, much to the band's annoyance."
...in response to this comment by andrew. I've bought games online and I still do through Valve's Steam service. It's very common.
Jake
Wednesday 6th August 2008 | 06:48 AMHaving trained in Thai-fighting, the official sport and martial art of Thailand (muay thai) for a number of years, and acknowleding it as easily the most violent and indiscriminately fierce fighting sports in the world, I find this reaction a little arbitrary.
I suppose though, that considering that the country is >/=95% Bhuddist, it may have been some sort of religious stance opposing the portreyal of senseless violence...
Still, having played the game, I feel no more compelled to smite a cabbie than I did before playing the game. As overreactions go, this may take the cake.
Nate >.>
Tuesday 5th August 2008 | 04:49 PMYes, uh....."buying", that's it.