Man Stabbed In Line to Buy 'Grand Theft Auto IV'
by Tom Samiljan, posted Apr 29th 2008 at 2:05PM
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]
