No, Grand Theft Auto Isn't To Blame For Dumb Teens Getting Violent

from the please dept

It's been shown over and over again that violent video games don't lead to violence -- but that hasn't stopped anti-video game crusaders from looking for any example that suggests otherwise. It appears they're having a field day with a bunch of stupid teenagers on Long Island who went on a rampage saying they were acting out scenes from Grand Theft Auto. The mistake here is to blame GTA for the acts. These kids were bored and decided to go on a rampage. If it wasn't copying GTA, it would have been for some other reason. Furthermore, just because the kids blame GTA, doesn't mean that GTA was responsible. Of course kids will blame GTA if they think that will get them out of jail: "It wasn't my fault, you see. I was under the influence of some video game..." It's an easy way to deflect blame, but doesn't mean that the blame shouldn't rest squarely on the shoulders of those kids, rather than the video game. Millions of people play GTA every day and have no intention of acting it out in real life.

Filed Under: blame, grand theft auto, teens, violence

Consensual Sex Mod In GTA Not Disturbing Enough To Get Many To File For Settlement Payment

from the really-not-so-bad dept

For years, we've been mystified by the "scandal" surrounding the "Hot Coffee" mod in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Here was a game that very overtly included all sorts of violence, killing, carjacking, drugs, robbery, prostitution and general mayhem. And, then someone slips in a modification that adds in some consensual sex? How dare they! Yet, it became a big issue for politicians and lawyers, who eventually worked out a settlement that gives those offended $5. The lawyers, in the meantime, stand to take home $1.3 million. And, now, it turns out that not very many people cared enough to join the settlement. There are probably two reasons for this: (1) most people really weren't particularly offended and (2) $5? ($35 if you actually kept the receipt) Not worth the time. So, once again, we have a situation where a class action lawsuit basically just moves a bunch of money to some lawyers, rather than doing anything useful.

Filed Under: class action, consensual sex, grand theft auto, hot coffee, mods, video games
Companies: take two interactive

GTA IV Actor Complains About His Salary After Game's Success; So Why Did He Take The Job?

from the jealousy-isn't-a-business-model dept

We've already written about the rather ridiculous campaign by actors to make sure they get a cut of every time their work is used. As we pointed out, the various entertainment companies have no one to blame but themselves for this state of affairs -- as they're the ones who have made the same claim in pushing to get paid for every use of their content. However, the more people all demanding their slice of the pie, the more difficult it gets for these companies to really embrace new business models. Now, we have the NY Times playing along with the actors claims, presenting an absolutely ridiculous and extreme "example." It takes on the cause of the voice talent performing as the lead character in Grand Theft Auto IV, Niko. The actor in question made $100,000 for his voice work and motion capture work, which took parts of 15 months. That seems like a rather reasonable fee -- and, clearly, it was reasonable to Michael Hollick, or else he wouldn't have taken the job. And, of course, if he demanded more, it's likely that Rockstar would have moved on and found another perfectly capable and willing actor to do the work for $100,000.

Yet, thanks to news reports that note that the game has raked in $600 million, Hollick is being put forth as an example of those poor actors not getting "their cut" of work they do in video games. This is after-the-fact arguing. Hollick had a deal that was worthwhile. It's only after the fact, based on the lofty sales numbers being bandied about that it makes for a good "story" to suggest that he was somehow underpaid. It's surprising that the NY Times would even play up that side of the story when even Hollick himself admits that the $1,050 per day fee he received was 50% higher than the union's negotiated rate. In other words, he was paid a premium for the work, making over $1,000/day (hardly a pauper's salary), got a ton of publicity for his work in the role... and only after the fact complains about the salary based on the overall revenue the game brought in, and the NY Times puts out an article with a headline suggesting he was underpaid.

Filed Under: grand theft auto, jealousy, royalties, video games, voice talent
Companies: rockstar, take two interactive

Video Games Don't Hurt Movie Sales If You Make Good Movies

from the funny-how-that-works... dept

Last week there was some buzz over the idea that the release of Grand Theft Auto IV might hurt opening weekend box office revenues for the movie Iron Man. We were skeptical that it would have a noticeable impact -- and, indeed, the movie received tremendously positive reviews and did much better at the box office than almost everyone expected, making over $100 million. Digg points us to a blog post that points out how this utterly destroys the Hollywood myth from last year that certain movies didn't do well because of the game Halo 3. As the post notes, the secret to getting people to watch a movie appears to be to make a good movie. So, rather than whining about the competition so much, perhaps the industry should take that same effort and use it to... make better movies.

Filed Under: grand theft auto, iron man, movies, video games

Take Two Sues Chicago Transit For Taking Down Grand Theft Auto IV Ads

from the now-the-ads-inspire-crime? dept

Take Two Interactive, the makers of Grand Theft Auto IV, have now sued the Chicago Transit Authority for taking down a series of ads for the video game that had appeared on the transit system. The Transit Authority took down the ads in response to a local news broadcast questioning the ads since there has supposedly been a wave of violent crime lately. So... now people think that just advertising GTA IV leads to crime? Considering there's no evidence that even playing the game leads to violence, what's wrong with the ads? It's hard to see why the CTA pulled the ads based on a silly, sensationalist news piece, though suing in response does seem a bit extreme as well. Of course, either way, now that it gets GTA IV back into the news cycle, Take Two may just be leveraging the Streisand Effect for all it's worth.

Filed Under: advertising, chicago, grand theft auto, lawsuit, streisand effect
Companies: chicago transit authority, take two interactive

Will Grand Theft Auto IV Hurt Iron Man's Opening Weekend Sales?

from the the-media-landscape-has-expanded... dept

While Marvel's lawyers have been doing plenty of work on their own to hurt interest in the new movie Iron Man, some are suggesting an even more interesting scenario: that the release this week of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV (to excellent reviews) will have an impact on how many people are willing to buy tickets to Iron Man's opening weekend. Certainly, the target audience is similar and you could definitely see some gameplayers being more interested in exploring the game than going out to the theater.

While I doubt the impact will be that noticeable (or that there will be any accurate way to measure it), it does say something about the changing media landscape. The video game industry has been trying to position itself as the "next generation Hollywood" for a few years now -- and while not entirely accurate, the growth of the industry has definitely shown that there are many more options for "entertainment dollars" than there were not so many years ago. Of course, while the movie industry keeps whining about piracy, it might want to note that it's starting to face competition from other sources as well.

Filed Under: grand theft auto, iron man, movies, video games

Lawsuit-Happy Inmate Files For Restraining Order Against 'Grand Theft Auto'

from the and-how-would-that-work? dept

A well known prison inmate who has a long history of filing totally ridiculous lawsuits has struck again. Reader William writes in to let us know that the Jonathan Lee Riches has filed for a restraining order against the game "Grand Theft Auto" and its maker Take Two Interactive. No, it's not clear how one gets a restraining order against a video game, but the filing incoherently claims that Take Two and the game put him in prison and later complains that the content in the game "offends me." If only that were a crime. Anyway, while this is an amusing story from an inmate who files way too many such lawsuits, it does show how our courts often have to waste time on these types of bogus claims.

Filed Under: grand theft auto, jonathan lee riches, pro se lawsuits, restraining order

Judge Decides That Grand Theft Auto's Hot Coffee Mod Didn't Deceive Shareholders

from the easter-eggs-remain-legal dept

Hidden "easter eggs" are quite common. These are little things hidden within software, often for the amusement of the programmers. In video games, it's often fun to try to find these hidden parts. It's really kind of a tradition for some. However, folks who didn't quite understand this freaked out a few years back, when the "Hot Coffee" mod/hidden content was revealed within the game Grand Theft Auto. This was a special modification to the game that would unlock a hidden part of the game allowing players to (gasp!) participate in consensual intercourse. It was such a big deal that various Senators proposed laws to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. And, there was even a class action for all those people "damaged" by this mod. And, because no moral outrage directed at companies is complete without a shareholder class action lawsuit, there was one of those as well -- accusing the company of somehow "misleading shareholders" with Hot Coffee. Luckily a judge has realized how ridiculous this is and has dismissed that particular claim in the shareholder lawsuit. Phew. Now software developers will be able to keep adding easter eggs and hidden content without a special explanation for all shareholders.

Filed Under: grand theft auto, hot coffee, shareholders
Companies: take two

Lawyers Work Hard To Protect Us From Grand Theft Auto's Hot Coffee Mod. Your Cut? $5.

from the grand-theft-lawyer dept

Over two years ago, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas got into a bit of hot water over the "Hot Coffee" mod that allowed players to unlock a hidden mini-game that would then show characters engaging in (gasp!) consensual sex. Considering that the rest of the game was completely awash in acts of violence, which garnered it the appropriate "M" rating, all of the hubbub that arose over the mod seemed overblown, ultimately culminating in a class-action lawsuit against the game's publisher, Take-Two. Consumerist points to the recently released details of the settlement. What do you get? $5, if you don't have the receipt for the game -- for those that are more diligent about filing away their 2 year old video game receipts, $35. The lawyers' take? A cool million. In any case, here's some free advice for the much-anticipated next release in the Grand Theft Auto series, avoid lawsuits and don't hide the sex in the game this time.

Filed Under: class action, grand theft auto, hot coffee
Companies: take-two