Seven years ago, Grand Theft Auto III was greeted with cries for censorship, and every parental organization in the nation sought to ban the video game in America.
Today, there are still some public voices of concern, but Grand Theft Auto IV seems like it will slip relatively unnoticed — at least initially — into the hands of gamers in two weeks.
“I’m ready for it. I’ve been waiting for years to get my hands on it. Rockstar (Games) always manages to make each Grand Theft Auto better than the last, and each version competes to be one of the best video games ever made,” Bart Huber, an alumnus and avid gamer, said. “It’s the reason I’m not regretting spending almost a full paycheck on video games.”
For those who may not be familiar with the video game series, Grand Theft Auto maintains a consistent motif of mafia- and gang-related retribution that takes place in free-roaming, three-dimensional, universally interactive virtual environments where players can commit crimes — such as stealing a car, shooting down civilians or robbing a store — or behave ethically and arrest criminals, save victims in an ambulance or put out fires.
The video game engine was revolutionary in 2001 when it introduced its ambitious, and now signature, free-roaming style of game play.
But is this innovation pushing things too far with the violent nature of its content?
Ben Misenheimer, a technology education graduate student, said he doesn’t believe so.
“People want to blame video games for the violence in society, but it’s really just the next thing to blame,” Misenheimer said. “They’ve blamed everything from comic books and novels to cartoons and music. Now it’s videogames’ turn to take one for the team.”
According to a study commissioned by the Prime Minister of England, researcher Tanya Byron stated that although there is a correlation between playing violent games and aggressive behavior, it is a relatively small percent.
But video games are not the sole source of violence in the media, according to Austin Myrick, a junior in religious studies.
“If you ban a game for violence, how far do you go down the line?” Myrick said. “Has anybody read the Bible lately? Because there are some pretty violent parts.”
Graham Malcolm, an alumnus, said he disagrees.
“Video game violence, like television violence, propagates the notion for distrust and war,” he said. “It teaches our kids to be OK with people being shot and robbed because, hey, it happens everywhere else. It numbs them to the reality of suffering.”
The debate about violence in video games may never be resolved. People should take responsibility for their own actions, Misenheimer said.
“I don’t understand why we treat each other like robots that can be so easily programmed,” Misenheimer said.
