Kotaku
California senator Leland Yee—an outspoken critic of violent video games and the ESRB and author of a bill that targeted ultra-violent games—has a reminder for parents—don't buy Grand Theft Auto IV for your kids. Yee, doing his best by-proxy parenting, says that Rockstar Games and Take-Two "have a history of deceiving the ratings board and the public on the true content of their games" and that the game "glorifies violence, is extremely realistic and designed for adults only." Duh!
Yee's press release then reminds parents with some questionable wording that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was "found" to have "graphic scenes of oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse" and paints a dire picture of ratings enforcement.
In related news, I issued my own warning to parents, urging them to, you know, look at the four guns on the cover and the girl fellating a lollipop and think for a second if their kids should be playing that. And that the answer was no, moron. Only Senator Yee's press release is after the jump, though.
Senator Yee Urges Parents to Avoid Latest Ultra-Violent Video Game Thursday, April 24, 2008Latest Grand Theft Auto Video Game to be Released Tuesday
SACRAMENTO - Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), the author of California's law attempting to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to minors, today urged parents to avoid purchasing the latest graphically violent video game - Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV - scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 29. GTA IV, the newest in the ultra-violent video game series, is expected to be the year's most popular game despite its rating of M (Mature) for adult audiences.
"It is imperative that parents avoid purchasing this game for their children and always review the video games their children are playing," said Yee, who is also a child psychologist. "Unfortunately, the makers of Grand Theft Auto have a history of deceiving the ratings board and the public on the true content of their games. Parents beware: this game undoubtedly glorifies violence, is extremely realistic and designed for adults only."
In June 2005, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and GTA's creator Rockstar, were involved in a multi-million dollar scandal called "Hot Coffee," in which Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a game originally rated M by the ESRB, was found to have hidden animations allowing players to watch graphic scenes of oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse. The scandal resulted in the game being pulled from most store shelves, a $2.75 million class-action settlement, and the stocks of the Rockstar's parent company (Take Two Interactive) losing nearly half their value.
The ESRB rates a game based solely on a short video clip and information supplied by the game's maker and does not actually play or review the full content of the game. While M-rated games are designed for adults, there is no prohibition to selling such games to children. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission reports that 42 percent of unaccompanied children 13 to 16 years of age can successfully purchase M-rated games.
In addition, a recent report by the National Institute on Media & the Family found complacency among retailers, parents and the gaming industry regarding video game rating awareness, enforcement and usage. Among the report's highlights was a retailer grade of C-, with national retailers receiving a D and rental stores collecting a failing (F) grade. The game industry as a whole received a C and the ESRB received a C+.
Yee's 2005 law to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to minors in California is currently being litigated in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A bill authored by Yee in 2004, which has gone into effect, requires video game retailers to post signs informing consumers of the video game rating system.
Parents can learn more about GTA IV by visiting various online parental resources including www.whattheyplay.com, www.commonsensemedia.com, and www.parentstv.org.
Comments
What a joke "deceiving" the ratings board. California gets more and more ridiculous by the day.
My tank was a quarter full and it still took me 42 dollars to fill it up today.
Blah, Blah, Blah...Doesn't the ESRB do this all the time. You know, they do print this crap all over the back of it.
It was a hack.
A HACK!
Why can't people understand.
And please. Video gaming =/= for kids. It's for everyone, so when an M game is out, let's stop acting like it's a ploy to get kids into violence.
It's just a fun escape for, you know, adults.
It peeves me to know kids will be playing this game anyway.
But mooom, I want to play Grand Theft Autooo! But mooom, all my friends have iiiit! God I hate you!!!
Let it begin! lmao...
If it's realistic, it has to be kept away from the kids.
California Senator, eh? Do we have an email address for this gentleman?
@karasu is my homeboy: It was not a hack. A *hidden* sequence if you want, but it was still there. You can't hack a PS2 game.
I guess Personal responsibility is a thing of the past since now we have complete strangers telling people how to live and raise their children. I agree with the ratings on games but what I do not agree with is when parents blame a video game because their kid is a nutjob.
@karasu is my homeboy:
No, Senator Yee is a hack. =P
duh its for older people. kids will never finish the game at all.
@slomo788: Wasn't the PC version founded through hacking and modding, and the consoles through like Gameshark or something?
Wikipedia:
"Although the "Hot Coffee" minigame was completely disabled and its existence was only highlighted after the mod's release for the PC version in June 9, 2005,[1] the assets for the minigame were also discovered in both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game, and people found ways to enable the minigame via console video game hacking tools."
Not much to say to this that McWhertor hasn't already pointed out. Parent's shouldn't buy this game for their children.
As for having "a history of deceiving the ratings board and the public on the true content of their games" - well that's just mean!
*facepalm*
whyyy...
not this again
Join hands now everybody...Let's say it all together now...
No Shit Sherlock!!
Yes! This is exactly what we need! The umpteeenth politician to warn parents about video games! Wait, what is this? In the future there will be a crime committed by a teenaged boy! Oh, no, he is blaming it on Grand Theft Auto IV! It turns out that his mother bought it for him and knew that the game was very violent, but yet she insists on pressing charges against Rockstar games, claiming that they made her son crazy! Leland Yee is at the front of this insane accusation, but he in no way is blaming it on the mother for not using common sense! Oh no!
P.S. Did anyone notice that he listed all of these websites to learn more about Grand Theft Auto IV, but never listed the actual Grand Theft Auto website?
He has a point though. Far too many parents don't pay any attention to their children's gaming habits. They don't bother to check game ratings. They don't bother to use the parental controls to prohibt mature rated games. They don't use the parental controls to block their children from having unsupervised voice chat with adult strangers over the internet.
As much as we may hate to see the negative publicity, if it will make some of these parents aware of the filth and even possible danger they are exposing their kids to; ultimately it's a good thing.
If anything buy it for your grandparents.
I totally said "Duh" out loud and everything right after I read the post title, that made it all the more awesome when it was actually in the post also, lol.
-WPack911
I wonder what the big M on the cover means..
forget the inappropriate pictures on the cover, the M rating, the issues brought up with every other gta game, the fact the name of the game itself is a felony should probably set off a few warning lights in the parent's head...
@scotty: I think if it features realistic violence and mature themes, it should be kept away from kids.
GT5 is realistic and I would have a problem with children playing it.
Hm...I see myself becoming a parent in about 10 years. Give it another twelve and my kid will be nagging me for these games.
I guess it's comforting to know that by then, I'll be told by politicians exactly how to raise my children?
Inform the parents about what is in games. Never tell me how to raise my future children douche bags. Your hypocritical profession will never be my guideline for moral advice.
@Senator Leland Yee:
Dear Senator,
We are aware it is an election year and probably a very important year for you. I'm touched by your desire to shelter those who shloud be sheltered from the evils that are brought on by pure stupidity. Unforntuanetly, the retard parents who do by the game for their children (1) Probably don't vote. (2) Don't know who the hell you are. (3) Won't ever hear about your 'warning' (4) Don't give a rat's ass what you say.
Your concern is noted, our publicity and propaganda teams will assissit you in making your concern seem valid and not politically motivated.
Senator, now that this issue has been dealt with. Please find a way to strenghten the U.S. dollar, lower gas prices, make college more affordable, find a GOOD solution for getting out of Iraq in a decent time, and find a cure for cancer.
Thank You,
Probably most kotaku.com readers
What part of mature don't these people get?
Why is it that people keep looking beyond the facts? Do they even KNOW the facts?
All these people listen to is hear-say. This prat probably never even looked at a screenshot and he's saying the ESRB is wrong for looking at a compilation video of a 40+ hour game?
I'm not a big fan of the rating systems worldwide. And i believe they should actually PLAY the games. But their ratings aren't very far off.
I have the same problems with movie ratings though. There's a bunch of people that get a list of all the fucks and all the sex and they base a rating on that. So what happens next is that i'm explaining to a Mother that Michael Clayton is too complicated for her 8 year old even though the rating is 6+. In other words they guy in the shop has to tell his customers that the ratings on the products he is selling are false. Now what kind of message does that give off?
All in all. If you're in politics and you don't know anything about something, don't give people your opinion of it.
You can't rly "hack" in a sense as you don't have proper tools to do it on a PS2. Though game shark or that one peripheral that let you transfer saved games to the PC may have something to do with it. I think they had to download it, save it on a memory card using the PC > 8mb Card peripheral, then load it onto the PS2 and voila! So sorta hack but not really, and whoever was first to hack it had kept their mouth shut that debacle would have never had happened!
@DanteODiabo: He's a State Senator, not a Federal one.
Thank goodness.
@DanteODiabo: amen
We should embrace the warning at least. Kids should not play this game
This is the most ridiculous non-story. A politician says parents shouldn't buy GTA IV for their kids. Well, so? That's the same thing everyone here says!
We want parents to be responsible for what their children have access to, but we don't want them receiving help in knowing what to avoid? How ridiculously self-defeating is that?
I apologize if I interrupted the 'dumb politician iz out of touch!' fun.
I woulda read your parents' statements.
@robinandtami: Even so, it still falls on the shoulders of the parents, not us or the developers. That's what pisses me off the most. The media, government, and parents all want to blame video games for crimes, but they never stop to consider what is going on in the person's life. They should worry about more important issues like saving the planet from global warming and getting our "great" country out of debt.
Here's an idea to that whole thing with the "Kids can buy the games" nonsense. If they reinforced the laws on that then people wouldn't do it.
As you said McWhertor, it's pretty obvious from the cover, even if you haven't heard of GTA. At least this might keep it out of maybe two kid's hands. I do find so much pleasure in hearing kids at stores try fruitlessly to convince their parents to buy them GTA or Manhunt or Jaws (of all things), yet I'm freaked out when the parents ask about the content and they suddenly cave and buy it for them anyway, like I was trying to sell it further. "Oh, they'll just play it at a friends house." Yeah, only if you're a crappy parent. Maybe I should actually be wondering why they're asking ME at all when I clearly don't work there. I'm just looking for a game lady.
Duh? Oh wait I forgot. We live in an age where parents are idiotic bigots and have no control of their loudmouth devil offsprings D:<
Sorry folks, I just had that - "Stupid crybaby bastard all on the floor brawling for a chocolate bar while the parent does nothing" episode.
@Evil Tortie's Mom: Yeah i know lucky for us that stupidity has not gone as far as washington.... oh wait.
Most of these politicians don't even know the history of the country, let alone video games.
Regarding whether or not violent games will influence kids, it's gonna be an endless debate. So I'm not gonna jump into that topic at all. But I will never let my kids play these type of games. I myself will play though -after sony send back my ps3 that is.
If I'm not mistaken, their is an ESRB rating on video games right? I mean, you'll have to be out of it to miss the "M" on the cover and back of game cases... and also miss the "17+" note right above said letter... What parents need to do is actually be parents for once and actually raise their own children, not let the children boss them around. If children start to yell at their parents to buy them GTA IV, then parents need to correctly (and I mean correctly- not this "time-out" bullshit) discipline their kids.
What next? "California Senator Warns Parents: Don't allow your children to drink alcohol!"
WTF? that hot coffee mod was a hack, rockstar did not intend to release the game like that. that questionable content was locked for the main release, and video game hackers found a way to unlock it. you couldnt just pick the game up and see that content, you had to use a patch, mod, or codebreaker codes to see that shit.
why am I even trying to explain this, metaly skewed people like jack Thompson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hillary Clinton, and other senators and politions I assume are getting paid big bucks to bad mouth video games and ban them...
you know something ban violent video games with all their guns, violence, and rape... but lets not ban movies with the same fucking content!
Oh and thanks for the much needed educational speech Senator... instead of focusing on trying to prevent the sale of violent video games, invest that time and money into forcing the parents to take common sense classes.
@Blake Ruff:
I absolutely agree it is the responsibility of parents, but sadly, I think there are STILL alot of parents out there that just assume video games are for kids so they just "must" be kid friendly. Hopefully the bad publicity will at least educate these parents that there are alot of adult games made for adult gamers.
It's not even the games that bother me, because I think well adjusted children understand that it's a game. What really bothers me is all of the parents that let their kids use voice chat. IMO, it's no different from buying their child a ticket to see the most foul comedian you can think of, and dropping them off at the door. Then maybe, just for giggles, dropping them off at a self help meeting for pedophiles to make new friends. IMO, it's never responsible parenting to let you children talk to adult strangers over the internet.
Everyone has already said it, but i'll say it again, DUH..... children shouldn't play this game, its Mature rated. If your a parent and you buy your kids this game, your a stupid parent or irresponsible one.
Oh and I'd like to add, that there are those that buy alchohol, tobacco, drugs for teenagers who are minors still in high school.. They are called "spotters". What makes you think there won't be a spotter to buy these types of games?
Children find ways no matter what, to get what they want, we were all there before when we were kids.. (unless you were a jock or goodie goodie)! When I was in high school some idiots whould buy us cigarettes for free and leave them on the corner curb, or a 40oz and say it's on them. Some wouldn't because they had warrants ha. Seriously though, that stuff is bad but how is it any worse than a game or a movie or history class when you first watch the "Holocaust." They will eventually obtain the information and goods they desire, just facts of the wants and needs of human beings.
A kid can go into any blockbuster and rent any game no matter what the rating, what's to stop them? The staff doesn't know about ALL the games... thats why renters got an "F".
And so what about hentai? I think every mom and pop store rents them out, kids can get them anytime no? They need better guidelines is my point.
Two stupid things about this (that I can think of at first glance while waiting for the Zack & Wiki credits to finish).
1: The Hot Coffee bullshit was hardly graphic. Unless he means it in the sense that it was sex between some graphics in a game. Everything back then was still kinda pointy... nowhere near the realistic graphics some new releases have lately.
2: Deceiving the ratings board and public about the content? IT'S CALLED GRAND THEFT AUTO! It's not Barney's Day At The Z