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Grand Theft Auto helps preteen save family's lives
"While we've seen countless story regarding children using Grand Theft Auto as their inspiration to do wrong, it's extremely rare that we see news about GTA being cited as a cause for good. It happened on August 27th around 9pm, as the Norris family of five was heading to Diamond, Illinois to visit relatives. Their 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee swerved off the road, hitting a guardrail and flipping four times before coming to a stop, caving in the roof and smashing out the back window. With her mother hanging upside down and her father pinned against the steering wheel, 11-year-old Audrey Plique climbed out of the back window and helped her parents and two younger siblings escape the car. The motivation for her heroic act, according to her mother Karen Norris?" "While we've seen countless story regarding children using Grand Theft Auto as their inspiration to do wrong, it's extr... more
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Woman Carjacks NYPD Police Van
A young woman stole a police van from two red-faced rookies in Harlem last night - then took a joyride that ended when she smashed into a truck and a Mercedes, sources told The Post.
The improbable heist started at 9:40 p.m., when Annette Mateo walked into 30th Precinct station house on West 151st Street to file a complaint."She wasn't happy with the way things were going," said an officer. "She left the precinct pissed."
Mateo stormed out just as the two rookies got out of their van to switch seats - as they're required to do every four hours.
She jumped in and was off, but went only a block and a half before smashing into a 18-wheeler supermarket delivery truck, the source said. She continued on and hit the 2003 Mercedes. "My car was completely crushed," said the owner, Frantz Jumel, a rapper who goes by the name Emperor Chi. "It was totaled."
Mateo, who faces charges of driving under the influence of drugs and grand larceny auto, was in serious condition at Harlem Hospital. A young woman stole a police van from two red-faced rookies in Harlem last night - then took a joyride that ended when she smashed int... more -
GTA worse than porn
A survey for What They Play, a site for concerned adults wanting to know what kind of games their kids are playing, asked 1,600 parents what would concern them most if their 17-year old was going to a sleepover.
GTA pulled 19% of the vote versus just 16% for porn, followed by 'drinking beer' on 14%. Topping the panic list though was smoking pot, with 49% of parents concerned about the evils of drugs! A survey for What They Play, a site for concerned adults wanting to know what kind of games their kids are playing, asked 1,600 parent... more -
Teen arsonists blame their crimes on 'Grand Theft Auto'
In the wake of Saturday's highly publicized cabbie murder in Bangkok, there's more bad news for Grand Theft Auto.
Police in Fulton County, Georgia say that three teens arrested for a series of car arsons claim that they used GTA-inspired Molotov cocktails to set the vehicles ablaze.
I must have skipped that level, is it the one with the points for the rape (that doesn't exist)?
The real kicker here is that police figured out who the arsonists were by going to the local Wal-Mart and sifting through receipts. One had on it the purchase of "Sprite bottles, red rags and lighter fluid," then the cops pulled the tape for the time of the purchase to identify the suspects. Poor guys, the game allegedly taught them how to make their tools of destruction, but not how to get away with the crime.
Pro Tip: Hop in a car and drive until out of the police's radius. In the wake of Saturday's highly publicized cabbie murder in Bangkok, there's more bad news for Grand Theft Auto. ... more -
Grand Theft Auto blamed after taxi driver murdered in Thailand
The controversial Grand Theft Auto is once again the focus of worldwide attention, after being pulled from store shelves in Thailand following the stabbing death of a taxi driver by a student who said he was acting out a scene.
According to the Bangkok Post, 19 year-old Polwat Chinno told police he was addicted to Grand Theft Auto and that robbing and killing looked easy in the game. In GTA, players can kill a taxi driver and take his vehicle in order to escape from police.
Take-Two Interactive recently released GTA IV, selling over 6 million copies of the game in its first week of sales. Developed by Rockstar Games, GTA enables players to engage in beatings, killings, drunk driving, prostitution, and carjacking as they complete missions to move up the ladder of the criminal underworld.
But Polwat said he initially didn't intend to kill the driver, only rob him because he needed money to keep playing GTA in the local arcade. However, 54 year-old Kuan Pohkang tried to fight back with a metal bar that was stored under his seat, and Polwat then stabbed the taxi driver about 10 times.
Polwat attempted to flee in the taxi, but he had never learned how to operate a vehicle and was struggling to drive when police showed up. Police eventually convinced the student to exit the taxi and surrender, whereupon he explained the connection to GTA.
After media reports on the killing began to circulate, New Era Interactive Media, Thailand's distributor of Grand Theft Auto, asked retail stores to remove the game from sale. The company also urged arcades to take the game out of service, although it's not clear how many complied with the request.
Thailand's Culture Ministry responded by saying the murder was a wake-up call for the country to pay more attention to violent video games. According to Reuters, the ministry has pushed for video game ratings and restrictions on who can play the game in arcades.
This isn't the first time Grand Theft Auto has come under fire for its violent gameplay. A Japanese state banned the game in 2005 for being too violent and harmful for youths.
Later in 2005, Take Two and Rockstar became embroiled in a scandal over Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas after individuals discovered how to unlock sexually explicit scenes in the game. The company was forced to reissue the game after it was pulled from store shelves for two months due to the so-called "Hot Coffee" scandal.
The FTC said it would investigate Take-Two over the hidden scenes in GTA: San Andreas (the two sides later settled), while a group of Senators including Hillary Clinton (D - N.Y.) pushed for legislation that would make it illegal to sell violent video games to minors. California promptly banned the sale of such games to individuals younger than 18.
The city of Los Angeles and a group of angry shareholders sued Rockstar Games and Take-Two in early 2006. Violent games including GTA were blamed later in the year for a shooting spree at a German school. Take-Two ended up modifying its Manhunt 2 game last year following controversy about the title's intense violence that earned it an "Adults Only" rating. Rockstar's "Bully" game was banned from Brazil in April.
Critics of the growing pressure against violent games like Grand Theft Auto say there has been no specific connection made between playing such games and an increase in violent behavior. They also say legislation is unnecessary and unconstitutional, with parents being responsible for what games their children play. The controversial Grand Theft Auto is once again the focus of worldwide attention, after being pulled from store shelves in Thailand f... more -
Thailand halts Grand Theft Auto sales after murder
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai video game distributor halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto" on Monday after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the controversial game.
"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media, told Reuters.
"We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service," Sakchai said. An 18-year-old high school student, now in custody pending further investigations and a trial, faces death by lethal injection if found guilty of robbing and killing a 54-year-old taxi driver with a knife at the weekend.
Police said the youth, an obsessive player of "Grand Theft Auto", showed no sign of mental problems during questioning and had confessed to committing the crime because of the game.
"He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak told Reuters. BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai video game distributor halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto" on Monday after a teenager confessed to... more -
Thai Taxi Murder Causes Problems for Violent Video Games
Games with violent or sexually suggestive content continue to be big news in the US, but the struggle over how to deal with them is one that the entire world faces. The situation became dire in Thailand recently, as a Thai distributor stopped sales of the controversial game Grand Theft Auto IV. The reason? A teenager killed a taxi driver, then blamed the game for his actions.
"He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak said, as reported by Reuters. But concerns about such titles aren't limited to Thailand.
Games like Fallout 3 are being refused classification in Australia, and the same happened to Manhunt 2 last year. Thailand is requesting all stores stop sales of GTA IV. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm sick of video games (or any other form of media) being blamed for the sick things people do. People need to have some accountability to their actions. Games with violent or sexually suggestive content continue to be big news in the US, but the struggle over how to deal with them is on... more -
Thailand "bans" Grand Theft Auto IV, after cabbie murder
"Copies of Grand Theft Auto IV have been pulled in Thailand after a teenager confessed to murdering a taxi driver.
The 18-year-old high school student is accused of stabbing the cab driver to death by trying to copy a scene from the game.
The biggest video game publisher in the south-east Asian country, New Era Interactive Media, has told retailers to stop selling GTA IV.
It is due to be replaced by another video game title.
Death penalty
Thai newspapers say the teenager, whose name has been withheld, was arrested while trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the driver still in the back seat.
Police claim the 18-year-old confessed to stealing the taxi and said he killed the 54-year-old driver after he fought back. The teenager could face the death penalty if he is found guilty. "
Facepalm... "Copies of Grand Theft Auto IV have been pulled in Thailand after a teenager confessed to murdering a taxi driver. ... more -
Grand Theft Auto vs Barbie Horse Adventures
Barbie Horse Adventures was never this much fun!
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Naked Gun intro done in GTA IV | GamesRadar
We love silly humour, so it's no surprise that The Naked Gun (and Police Squad, the series it spawned from) is one of our favourite series. And, of course, we love the 'police car drives through sillier and sillier locations' opening sequence - lovingly lampooned by shows like Family Guy or the Red Rock Cider ads.
Which is why we decided to do our own videogame homage to the skit, using Grand Theft Auto IV. So here's our Naked Gun intro sequence, GTA IV style... We love silly humour, so it's no surprise that The Naked Gun (and Police Squad, the series it spawned from) is one of our favouri... more -
Liberty City Police Face Allegations Of Incompetence, Brutality
"In the past week alone, I've been carjacked twice, run over 10 times, and witness to a half-dozen gunfights that ended with automobiles exploding. What are the police doing to stop all this?" "In the past week alone, I've been carjacked twice, run over 10 times, and witness to a half-dozen gunfights that ended with... more
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GTA4 voice actor wants more money
Michael Hollick, the voice of "evil-Borat" Niko Bellic in the controversial Grand Theft Auto IV , wishes Rockstar would've paid him more for fifteen months of voice work. He was paid the standard $100,000 set forth by the Screen Actors Guild, but feels that given the games stellar sales ($500 M), he deserved/deserves a bigger paycheck. Michael Hollick, the voice of "evil-Borat" Niko Bellic in the controversial Grand Theft Auto IV , wishes Rockstar would'... more
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grand theft auto=polio
"Grand Theft Auto IV is the gravest assault upon children in this country since polio." -Jack Thompson
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Grand Theft Auto's Music
The Daily Fix gives you the extensive list of artists that can be heard on the GTA IV Soundtrack and within the game on it's wide variety of radio stations. The Daily Fix gives you the extensive list of artists that can be heard on the GTA IV Soundtrack and within the game on it's wide... more
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Grand Theft Auto 4 Gains Highest Seller Mark
The dual figure of unit sales and revenues makes the launch the biggest ever for video games, and one of the biggest opening weeks in all of entertainment.
Not to mention it's also got multiple sex scenes and violence as if it's a normal daily task.
Excellent! The dual figure of unit sales and revenues makes the launch the biggest ever for video games, and one of the biggest opening weeks in ... more -
Grand Theft Auto IV // Comment Picked for TV
Thanks to wegomakit for his upload on the latest rage in the world of games: Grand Theft Auto IV. He brings up a good point -- does anyone actually play to win or are most people like him and spend hours of enjoyment just running around socking people for no apparent reason...? Let us know what you think! Thanks to wegomakit for his upload on the latest rage in the world of games: Grand Theft Auto IV. He brings up a good point -- does a... more
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Thug life - the new American dream
American popular culture has always had a tendency to romanticize hoodlums, whether Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde or Tony Soprano. But the hip-hop world's celebration of savage violence, educational failure and misogyny by gangsta rap has been one of the worst influences on American youth, especially black youth, in decades. If you want to ruin a nation, a society or an ethnic group, persuade its members that the highest form of achievement lies in criminality.
Folk art has never been so popular -- or lucrative. The worst of gangsta rap has not merely reflected behavior but has also inspired it, much of it lawless and destructive. Its lyrics are paeans to murder and mayhem. It celebrates an outlaw culture that disrespects women, mocks middle-class values and preaches against any cooperation with police in catching criminals.
The baggy britches that are now de rigueur in hip-hop circles grew out of jail rituals. When men are arrested, their belts are confiscated, so their trousers tend to droop. It's from that unfortunate facet of ghetto life that the ubiquitous sagging pants were launched.
Even before the 1980s, when gangsta rap oozed out of downtrodden black neighborhoods, too many black men were marginalized -- unlettered, unemployed, imprisoned. They were already the victims of a fratricidal cycle of violence, predator and prey. They were already disproportionately fathers in absentia, completely divorced from the lives of their children, providing neither material support nor moral guidance.
If black men enthusiastically abandon a passable reputation for the notoriety of a prison record, then black America is in serious trouble. If it is better to be an outlaw than to be a teacher or a chemist or accountant, then young black men will continue to go to prison in record numbers. If it is more acceptable to be violent and reckless than to be a responsible father and husband, then marriage will continue to decline in black communities.
While racism remains a potent force in American life, it doesn't hold the malignant power of gangsta culture. American popular culture has always had a tendency to romanticize hoodlums, whether Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde or Tony Soprano. But t... more -
YouTube - a more friendly, tamer Grand Theft Auto game (Conan O'Brien)
Check Conan's decidedly more tame version of grand Theft Auto. Hilarious!
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Grand Theft Auto Returns
Finally, a game where you can drive drunk and kill hookers.
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