The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has become the latest group to call out Grand Theft Auto IV over the game's edgy content.
As reported by The Telegraph, the NSPCC charges that the game trivializes pedophilia via an in-game spoof of an underage site.
While playing GTA IV, players can enter Internet cafes and access parody websites. One of these, www.littlelacysurprisepageant.com triggers a message from the Liberty City Police Department and automatically elevates theplayer's "wanted level" to five stars. The high wanted level triggers a massive police search for the player's character (see video). In real life the URL forwards to Rockstar Game's official GTA IV site.
The NSPCC's Zoe Hilton told The Telegraph:
It is disturbing that it is meant to be funny and that it is glamorising something that is actually really shocking and upsetting. I just think it is in very poor taste and they should withdraw it.
GP: While we commend the many good works of the NSPCC, this seems like a non-issue. The spoof website is part of GTA IV's parody of the online environment, which also includes such faux elements search engines, scams and dating services. Moreover, there's no underage content to be accessed and the high-level police alert triggered by visiting the site makes it an annoyance more than anything else.
Comments
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
If it raises your wanted level, it seems as though it would be child pornagraphy, not mear Pedophila, (this is also odd, I don't think that murder in GTA raises your wanted level that much, yet LTIC under the PROTECT act, possession is 7 years, isn't murder something like 15 years or 25 to life depending on the degree? and before you ask how I knew that, you learn all sorts of stuff when you combine boredom with internet acess.)
People who think Pedophila equals child molestation JustBugMe, because they DidNotDoTheReserch.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
That comment was madeofwin.
Anyway, we all know that any news story about video games is going to be a case of CowboyBebopAtHisComputer.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
There are 3 crimes lower than all others in the prison subculture: beating up women, child molestation, and snitching. If you're their because of any of those 3 you better hope for solitary confinement otherwise you're in for seven years of getting pwnt on a daily basis.
Conversely, murder won't make you stand out.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
Don't kid yourself, the penalty for kiddie porn/diddling is life, whether your in an actual jail or not.
Politicians just don't have the balls to codify it that way.
Paedogeddon!
Ahh Its Brass Eye Special all over again :)
Re: Paedogeddon!
ha ha, just what I was thinking.
I would love to know exactly what aspect of paedophilia is being glamourised here, tbh. All aboard the GTA bandwagon!
Re: Paedogeddon!
The Daily Mail featured pictures of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who were 13 and 11 at the time respectively, in their bikinis next to a headline describing Brass Eye as "Unspeakably Sick".
Defenders of the show argued that the media reaction to the show reinforced its satire of the media's hysteria and hypocrisy on the subject of paedophilia.
While I wasn't surprised, I still LOLed at the hypocrisy.
Re: Paedogeddon!
I hope not - the press buried Brass Eye to the extent that even today if you mention it some idiot will pipe up and start mouthing about how it trivialised paedophilia, rather that what it really was - an excellent parody of the *press response* to paedophilia.
This GTA4 site is clearly a parody of the police response (even dare look at that website and your ass is grass!). The press unfortunately don't seem to understand the concept.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
Child Pornography is an important issue in todays internet, and that extends to the 'jailbait' culture that is suprisingly deep. Being that GTA is spoofing our internet, how can you not expect something like this? Personally I think it's funny that accessing that 'content' in the game (in which you see none) sends the police after you.
I don't know what these people are saying.. By having a 'child porn' website in the game that shows NOTHING and has TONS OF POLICE COME AFTER YOU, it's saying we should all look at child porn? That makes no sense.
Stop wasting our time when there's so many better things you could go after, NSPCC
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
I think thier basic argument is that since games are 'low art' and 'fun' they shouldn't include anything that mirrors a real problem.. which is a bit odd since the entire game is built around crime and other real issues.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
How does it glamourize something by making the Police land on you like a ton of bricks?
This was written in the UK iirc, I suspect what is being satirised here is not the act of pedophilia, it is the witch-hunt that took place a few years ago that claimed the careers of people like Mathew Kelly, who was arrested and identified to the Papers before any charges had been made. At the end of the day it turned out he was completely innocent, but by then, the news had already destroyed him.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
it is the witch-hunt that took place a few years ago
Correct, I say it is the in-game satire is what is actually bugging them over there, and those ticked off are doing the usual FUD like saying R* glamorizes this...
Thus I am not so surprised that all the ruckus about this so far is just coming from the UK.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
The Sun made it out like it was a "cheat" to "boost" your wanted rating resulting in "exciting car chases and shootouts." /sigh
-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
This doesn't surprise me with the Sun, I've never ever known them to get a story right in their entire existence.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
Because you can escape the police...
Though know about this will make starting police chases easier.
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
I do love the level of parody in the game, although I have no desire to play it.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
Re: Latest GTA IV Flap: In-game Spoof of Pedophile Site
Actually seems quite humorous to me.
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Papa Midnight