Surprise, surprise. Of nine "games that went too far" named on a network news website, which is the only one gamers have actually, you know, played? Hint: It rhymes with "Schmand Schmeft Schmauto IV."
Here's the list, truly representative of the worst of the worst that everyone is playing, compiled by ABC News in a look at the controversy following "Rendition: Guantanamo." Gitmo is joined by Six Days in Fallujah; Super Columbine Massacre and JFK Reloaded; Miss Bimbo and Faith Fighter; RapeLay; Manhunt 2; and everyone's favorite, Grand Theft Auto IV.
For those scoring at home, that is: two projects with no publisher; two pieces of freeware, the second withdrawn; two online games, the second one taken down; a game only available in Japan; and a delayed disaster of a game played only on the PSP (edit: and PS2). All that leaves Grand Theft Auto IV as the only game available in the mainstream or remotely even accepted by it.
No original Manhunt. No Postal. No Soldier of Fortune. In other words, no real game that really was played or really pushed or broke the limits of taste. Just those concepts that only needed an outrageous premise to get mainstream legitimacy. And Grand Theft Auto.
And just how did GTA IV go too far? Well, the passive inclusion of drunk driving that pissed off MADD, for starters. And there's some circular logic about the Chicago bus ads' removal that justifies it as a game going too far, never mind the bus ads were taken down because a local TV affiliate hounded some weak-spined bureaucrats.
"Despite the firestorm [sic], the game went on to record-breaking sales. Guinness World Records announced in May 2008 that the game's launch was the entertainment industry's best-ever for one day ($310 million in sales) and one week ($500 million). Given such success, some experts think the company doesn't mind the negative attention."
No kidding. And clueless BS like this only gives them another free ad.
'Rendition: Guantanamo' Latest Video Game Controversy [ABC News]