GTA 4 (Grand Theft Auto IV) Blamed For UK Riots

Dailymail is carrying a story which suggests that Grand Theft Auto IV might have had a role to play in motivating people to take part in the ongoing UK Riots.
In case you’re wondering what that is – it’s the popular videogame developed by Rockstar which takes place in the fictional Liberty City and has a story steeped in crime, violence and all kinds of other vices. But, that’s not confined only to Grand Theft Auto IV, various movies, television serials, plays and other entertainment forms have also covered the same topic and we fail to understand why they’ve chosen to blame only GTA IV. Here’s the full story -

“A policeman said last night that children involved in the rioting and stealing were inspired by violent video game Grand Theft Auto.

The hugely popular computer game, which should not be played or bought by anyone under 18, is popular among teenagers, with many having the game given to them by their parents.

In Tottenham, the scene of the first riots on Saturday night, a police officer said: ‘These are bad people who did this. Kids are out of control.

‘When I was young it was all Pacman and board games. Now they’re playing Grand Theft Auto and want to live it for themselves.’

The game, which is made by  Edinburgh-based firm Rockstar North, has been criticised for depicting carjackings, drive-by shootings and prostitution. It has also been accused of encouraging juvenile crime in Britain.

Players are expected to commit crimes and build up their power in a fictional city, through selling drugs and killing rival gangsters.

There have been fears that some gamers may try to recreate scenes from the games for real.”

This doesn’t make much sense, trying to re-create fictional situation doesn’t only hold true to this, if you put this logic into action, people might also want to be a wizard and cast spells on people, people might be inspired by serial killer movies and go on to become one themselves, people might take to several other fictional scenarios and end up destroying the world. But these are very naive accusations and it isn’t because of a videogame that someone chooses to take part in a riot, the reasons are far more serious and noone becomes a gangster or rioter overnight.