Thailand has halted sales of Grand Theft Auto IV after a teenager robbed and stabbed a taxi driver. The killer claims he was recreating a scene from the game and, naturally, the Thai government must now stop the plastic disc from being sold, as it clearly is the sole reason that this murder happened.
"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," stated Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media. "We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service."
The kid claimed that he wanted to see if it was as easy to steal a taxi in real life as it was in the videogame, and that he didn't intend to kill the driver. Police are saying that the killer exhibited no signs of mental illness prior to the crime. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner," claimed government minister Ladda Thangsupachai, stating that the issue of violent videogames needs to be dealt with.
As usual, a moron teenager does something utterly stupid, and the people in charge point fingers at everyone around them. Meanwhile, the kid gets to feel less responsible for his actions while outside sources get shouldered with the blame. It may not be as easy to kill and rob in real life as it is in a game, but it's sure as Hell easy to blame said game and feel like a victim instead of a murderer.The only reason killers blame videogames is because they know it's a defense that people are all too willing to swallow up -- THAT is the societal issue that needs to be dealt with, as allowing murderers to feel blameless is far more dangerous than the videogames they play.
[Thanks, Pew]
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
7:33 AM on 08.04.2008
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Also, I call shenanigans on the GTA IV excuse. Everybody knows in the game the Taxi Cab drivers have little to know money..now the hookers that's a different story.
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“Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a videogame shop owner”
[/i]
It seems people who work in videogame stores are given godlike levels of reverence in Thailand – all you GameStop/GAME employees take note!
Some kids are just fucked in the head.
Weird.
Little to know?