'A new level in digital carnage'
Wednesday November 17 2004
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas has an 18-plus rating, but it is expected to be in demand among younger teens, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.
Since its launch at the end of October, it is credited as being the fastest-selling video game of all time. In the UK, one million copies were sold in the first nine days of its release; in Ireland, it is the chart-topper for the Golden Discs chain.
The Playstation game is the latest in the highly-popular Grand Theft Auto series, some earlier versions of which were approved by the international industry regulator for 13-year-olds.
However, Eleanor Petrie, president of the National Parents Council Post Primary (NPC-PP), has expressed concern that parents might not be aware of the content of the latest game, considered more graphic than an earlier version called Vice City.
"In fairness, the 18 rating is written all over it, but I would worry that parents might just feel that this is only a bit of violence."
Players had options to become pimps and scored points for picking up prostitutes. Sex was depicted by a rocking car, she said.
Ms Petrie said parents who were in touch with the NPC-PP and there was a concern that children as young as 13 would be looking for it .
"This will desensitise those who play it. I know kids have always played cops and robbers, but in this, the bad guys win all the time."
The Irish Film Censors Office, which has viewed it, has accepted the 18-plus rating awarded by the Pan European Games Information (PEGI) rating system, which came with a warning that it depicted violence.
However, the Enterprise Software Rating Board (ESRB), a self-regulatory body for the interactive entertainment software industry, which gave it a 17-plus rating, went further with its guidelines. The ESRB content descriptors warn of blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, strong sexual content and consumption f illegal drugs.
The game recreates 1990s US West Coast-style gang wars and follows the exploits of an ex-con who returns to the slums to avenge his mother's death with the help of his old gang. The game has an all-star cast of voice actors including Samuel L Jackson but it pushes the genre to new extremes.
As well as the usual violent rampages, including drive-by shootings, the game offers players an opportunity to become a pimp. By hijacking a certain type of vehicle players can control their own batch of prostitutes.
The ESRB recommends that parents learn about games before buying. Parents are advised to use the ratings in conjunction with their own tastes and standards and their individual knowledge about what's best for their kids.
- Katherine Donnelly
