NY Politicians Raise Huge Stink Over GTA IV
Congratulations, Take Two, even though your new leadership arrived at the helm less than 48 hours ago, it seems that you're still one controversial publisher. Thanks to the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer, released on the net earlier this week, the beleaguered company is now drawing fire from New York politicians because of the game's setting.
All right, so what exactly is everyone so pissed about? Well, apparently, it's because the game is going to besmirch New York's good name by portraying it as a city where violent crime totally pays. Now, based on what I saw in the trailer, I'm not quite so sure that GTA IV is going to follow the dark and violent path of its predecessors; what with the line about things possibly being different for the narrator this time around.
But no! The game is obviously up to no good! It's going to corrupt the Youth of Today! And not only that, but it's going to take place in New York! Never mind the fact every other GTA game hasn't had a real city, this title has landmarks that are identical to some real-life places in The Big Apple, so we know it's New York!
...but, wait: I recall the likeness of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Hollywood Hills sign appearing in GTA: San Andreas. But what I don't recall is every California city satirized by that game making a stink about things. In fact, I remember seeing it as the top-selling title in all my nearby game stores... still, that's beside the point. Let's let the silly politicians placate the bug that crawled up their butts and died sideways:
"Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland," said City Councilman Peter Vallone, chairman of the Council's Public Safety Committee.
Riiiiiiiiight, because New York has always been a bastion of safety and security and has never had the mob running around on its streets.
But, wait! There's more! Apparently, there were some extra gameplay modes in the previous GTA games that we weren't aware of:
In previous incarnations, players advanced through the game by killing cops, selling pornography to children and killing prostitutes.
Whoa, really? That sounds... kind of dumb, actually. I don't recall being forced to do any of those activities in order to advance through GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, or Liberty City Stories. The sad thing is that that little detail wasn't coming from some rogue politician, it was actually from the author of the New York Daily News article covering the various bigwigs' reactions. My bet is the article's author called Michael Bloomberg's office and gave the exact same description of the game to elicit this response from one of his spokesmen:
"The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers."
The sheer audacity of the whole situation is just mind-boggling, especially because it comes from a legitimate newspaper that's known for legitimate journalism. To be perfectly blunt, this entire reaction stinks of unresearched bias and hypocrisy, especially since I can pull up at least four different crime shows on my TiVo unit that take place in New York; I'm pretty sure no one complains about how they make the city look like it's a crime-ridden cesspool filled with rapists, murderers, and thieves... especially since I just watched the Law & Order episode featuring Rudy Giulianni as a special guest star.
You know, guys, I'm pretty sure that if all these violent movies in television shows can take place in your fair city without convincing people that it's a wretched hive of scum and villainy, a video game that occurs in a satyrical version of your home town won't do it either.
Pols rage as vid game takes shot at city [New York Daily News]
[via GamePolitics]
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany, Video Games on 31 March 2007
· Comments (8)
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Oh man. I would love to see Halo set in Disneyland. That ought to be a bonus.
They probably just felt the need to keep up with Las Vegas
wait? the safest city?
men you people really spread a crappy image of new york in tv and movies...
still, what i dont understand is why everyone makes such a big deal about videogames, almost no one gives a shit about what image of a city or country in a video game (with some really insulting exeptions),
but tv its diferent it creates the said bad image faster and it stays with you longer, you know videogames are pure fantasy.. you never know how much its inspiration and how much is based in a truth in movies or series
I don't understand why the NYC Politicans are up in arms about this? Btw, isn't Hillary Clinton a politican in NYC?, if so, that would explain everything.
somenody pleeeeease tell me where the big red button that makes america sink is...
pretty pretty pretty please...
Now be nice. I live in NYC and yes..it is much safer than it was 10 years ago BUT this is completely stupid stuff. This is American and guess what?? They can put whatever city they want in their game and snub their noses at the politicians. If I were Take Two I would hold a press conference and say our reply to the City of New York is TOO BAD! I'm not 100% convinced it's in NYC though..sure all the obvious stuff is there but I also saw a few signs that said Liberty City in the trailer...so perhaps they'll sidestep the issue and say its in Liberty City NOT NYC...wink wink! HAHA!
No, Hillary's a senator which means she covers the entire state, and I'm pretty sure she lives in Westchester or one of those marginally upstate counties.
The mayor of Las Vegas had a fit about Rainbow Six: Vegas being in Las Vegas. His complaints were along similar lines, but the real kicker: when a film takes place in a real city, you have to pay to film there. Nobody paid Las Vegas, and nobody will be paying NYC for IV. (and I agree, they may still be calling it Liberty City)
The only thing you earn in GTA for killing police is a higher wanted rating. Which, ironically, is actually 'just like real life'