What is all the fuss about? Yes -- some games are violent -- but so are books, movies, TV shows and so can be every other piece of art. Games are art. They have stories. Unlike what FOX News claims, games can be much more than killing simulators (or alien sideboobs). They have real stories: numerous games I've played have actually better stories than some of the movies I've seen. Call of Duty 4 could easily be a Clancy novel or a movie. It has one of the best single player campaign plots I've ever seen.
There's a lot of movies with gore. A lot of it. Are they criticized by morons? No. But the second you make a game with a severed head, you're getting sued. Freedom of speech applies everywhere. Video games are as good as - or even better ways of storytelling. They are a (relatively) new way to tell stories. Highly photorealistic graphics allow even more believable environments. For example, I'd much rather play through Metal Gear Solid - which is on many "best videogame stories ever" lists than read a book, or watch a movie.
Get it? By adding interactivity, the lifespan of a story can be increased. It's more fun and engaging. But don't take me the wrong way - there are games that don't have a real plot, and are exactly what causes controversy. But freedom of speech exists. So do age ratings. It's not the maker's fault somebody underage got hold of the game. Yes -- you can hold them liable for making it -- but you might as well sue a cinema for showing a violent film. Or the film's makers. That won't go anywhere - but for some reason, it very often seems to work with video games (at least the "controversy" part). Why is this?
The main reason I wrote this article was due to the nearing release of Grand Theft Auto: IV (GTA) for short. By now, you should know what it is, so I doubt I need to explain. From what I can see from the trailers, IV could very well be a movie. Or a book. I've enjoyed the stories of the previous GTA games: they aren't bad (with the exception of San Andreas: what a horribly cliched & stereotypical character set).
Please, think twice before boycotting video games. They're just like all other media: if you hate GTA, you also hate everything violent on TV/film.
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