By Will Sturgeon, 20 December 2002 12:15
NEWS A conservative US institute is demanding that computer games manufacturers clean up their act and return a modicum of decency to an industry which is popular with impressionable children. A growing trend towards violent games - including some where players can be rewarded for acts of violence against women, such as those games in the Grand Theft Auto series - has alarmed the National Institute on Media and the Family, which believes the time to act has come. In a statement, the institute's founder, David Walsh, said: "Video game violence is now an epidemic, and violence against women has become a black mark on the entire industry. US senator Joe Lieberman added his weight to the campaign, telling Reuters: "This relatively small but highly popular minority is not just pushing the envelope - they are shooting, torturing and napalming it beyond all recognition, and beyond all decency." The computer games industry has worked hard in recent years to introduce an age rating certification similar to those used on film, which classifies game as being either suitable for all, suitable for over-15s or suitable only for adults. As such much of the responsibility must ultimately rest with those parents and shop staff who are ignoring such age limits.
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1. anonymous
We can not blame all the violence in the world on Grand Theft Auto. The shops and parents are responsible for young gamers. I agree with that games such as GTA are not allowed in childrens hands. But if any type of law stopped GTA series from creating more games, then we would have a riot on our hands. Over half the amount of people liveing in the USA know about the Gta series and most of them are fond of it and wish it not to stop.