The Writing and Photography Blog of Kevin J Sabo

OPINION PIECE

I love gaming.  My console of choice has been the Playstation, even though I have had an xbox in the past as well. Something about the Playstation has always drawn me to it though.

There are a  number of different games for all the consoles out there. For the most part, all the game studios are developing their products for the different consoles, although each system does have it’s own exclusives.  The Uncharted series on the Playstation is by far my favourite, although I have delved into several games as well, such as Fallout, Grand Theft Auto, and the NHL series, to name a few.

The Grand Theft Auto games are where I would like to focus my blog today. Those games, long a staple of the gaming community, are some of the best selling games in the industry, across the platforms.  Recently, I have discovered Grand Theft Auto Online, the online part of the game released for GTA V.

The game is a blast. The races are just fun. All of that being said though, GTA Online has one big issue that I feel needs to be addressed. The name of the game should be a huge red flag for parents looking at getting the game for their kids. As would the Mature 17+ rating on it.

That being said, I find it very hard to explain the number of 10-14 year old kids squeaking in my ear when I’m playing online. I’m sorry, but a game that focuses on stealing vehicles, visiting strip clubs, running drugs and guns, and robbing banks, has absolutely zero place in a child’s video game library.

I am not against the game, I actually quite enjoy it, even though there are some scenes in the campaign part of the game that are quite disturbing, Trevor torturing the poor bastard in the middle of the game being one. Having to use pliers and remove some victims teeth to get him to give you information is a bit much. I am not a bleeding heart, and I know that it is just a game, I just find it absolutely impossible to understand how our youth, who are in their development, can benefit from playing this game.

In summary, the game is one of the best selling pieces that has been developed. It currently sits at third all time in sales, only behind Tetris, and a Nintendo game that escapes me at the moment. The smooth gameplay, decent graphics, and beautifully crafted world make GTA an amazing play. Rockstar Games, the publisher, has created many amazing games. They just need to seriously develop a method to cut down under age players, seeing as their parents are obviously unable or unwilling to keep this game out of the hands of their kids.

Kevin