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Man Stabbed In Line to Buy 'Grand Theft Auto IV'
In the latest case of life imitating art, violence erupted last night among eager video gamers waiting to buy 'Grand Theft Auto IV,' a title that encourages players to engage in virtual criminal acts to complete the game. First, a 23-year-old man waiting in line in for the game outside a video game store in London, England was stabbed repeatedly by a passer-by. Then, in a separate incident outside of a different store (also in the United Kingdom), an 18-year-old was attacked by two assailants, who took off with the freshly-purchased copy of 'Grand Theft Auto IV' and left the poor teen with a broken nose and mouth.
The UK is no stranger to game-related violence, but it's usually of the soccer-hooligan variety. Now it seems as though the UK is joining the US as a breeding ground for crazy gaming consumers who somehow can't wait for the real thing (the game) to start the violence, so they're resorting to the actual real thing (i.e. real, live violence). It's either that, or these British gamer thugs just don't want to pay the 40 pounds (about $80) that 'GTA IV' costs in the UK (it's only $60 here in the US).
Either way, it makes us wonder, are video gamers becoming the new soccer hooligans? In the UK, at least, it seems as though they are. [Source: TimesOnline]
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Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsmatyApr 29th 2008 3:12PM
"In the UK, at least, it seems as though they are."
Wow, now that's a sweeping generalisation thats going to get a lot of UK gamers worked up (me included). This sort of crime is common in the UK, the fact the guy got stabbed is almost certainly not because of the game but because some idiots have serious problems. Go to _almost_ any major city or town in the UK and you'll find it almost commonplace.
The only real problem I see here is it gives the anti-violent-games movement more support and momentum. Maybe those idiots should've thought about that. Very soon there wont be any violent video games around.
sandyApr 29th 2008 7:04PM
This is disgusting. The game is worthless just pure violence.
All stores should NOT sell to kids under 17 period. It is rated M
but most stores don't bother to enforce not selling to underage kids.
My grandson wanted the first game years ago; and thank goodness,
my son would not allow it. He is 14 now and still not playing that
violent game.
CrafterofWarJun 1st 2009 1:24PM
LOL i can't believe i'm the only one to find the irony of this story hilarious!! (and take the time to post about it)...ahhh...thank you Switched
DracaveliApr 29th 2008 8:52PM
It's just popcorn gaming...there's no real strategy behind these GTA games. It's main market is to suburb youth in a sort of release to make them feel "tough, gangster, etc"...
Starcraft 2, CNC 3 and the upcoming Red Alert 3 are real strategy games that most "youths" wouldn't want because it makes their brains work (not to mention modding said games as well)
by the way, a majority of players for those 3 RTS games (real time strategy) are Korean/Asian...so it's no surprise thier youth outpace westerners in the classroom and tech front.
what tv are you watching, where did your PC parts come from...catch my drift
hiApr 29th 2008 9:00PM
everyone wants this game just to feel like the person doing these things and some of the do. Remember the Virginia Tech incident!!!
OldGamerApr 30th 2008 4:11AM
The media just love stories like this. They can't wait for a tragedy like this to happen so they can make sensationalistic judgments about a video game. These crimes, bad as they were, would have barely made local news if they didn't pertain, however remotely, to an "evil" video game!
The games are for entertainment, nothing more. They don't breed criminals or sociopaths. Now, let's back off the games and place blame where blame is due.
LisaApr 30th 2008 9:05AM
They should make this game with object to only be able to kill lawyers. NOw that would be a game worth playing