Apr 29, 2008 7:02 pm US/Eastern
NYC Pols, Officials Outraged With Violent GTA IV
Claim Game Falsely Portrays 'Safest City In America'
Mayor Bloomberg Announces Opposition To Game's Existence
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Picture of 'Grand Theft Auto IV' video games taken on April 28, 2008 in Paris, on the eve of its world release.
Olivier Laban-Mattei/AFP/Getty Images
A violent video game was just released and it already has politicians furious.
"Grand Theft Auto IV" could be the most lucrative launch in entertainment history, but as CBS 2 explores, many local officials think it comes at the expense of New York City's integrity.
The sandbox-style action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North is set in a seedy fictional environment called Liberty City, which eerily resembles the Big Apple; with such well-known landmarks as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Coney Island's Cyclone.
To some aficionados, it sets a new standard for what's possible in videogames. With billboards and posters around town touting its arrival, consumer lines wrapped around city blocks when the videogame went on sale at midnight.
Not everyone welcomed the game's arrival with open arms. Critics complain that it's all about hijacking cars, assaulting pedestrians and picking up strange women. Mayor Bloomberg has expressed his distaste for the videogame that "too closely resembles" the city in which he governs. His spokesman said he opposes any game where you earn points for killing police officers. Bloomberg is not alone.
"This game plays to old stereotypes about New York City. Today we're the safest big city in America, with the best police force. This game, if it was actually based in reality would have two levels: steal a car, go to jail," said City Councilman Peter Vallone, chairman of the Council's Public Safety Committee. Vallone also added with the use of a sarcastic analogy, "setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland."
For most politicians and city officials in opposition to the game's depiction and glamorization of violence, the biggest concern is the game's lack of authenticity and its far-reaching disconnect with the city's reality.
Grand Theft Auto has a mature rating and no one under 17 is allowed to buy it and most think that's a good idea. But will the rating alone prevent the game from landing in the hands of the youth?
"I think they're doing the right thing. I think kids shouldn't buy it. Kids under 18 can't buy it and they shouldn't play it," said Jim Chavanne, a videogame player.
"It might glamorize sex and violence but no more than any other popular media," said Tom Kane.
As many as six million copies could sell in its first week of release, generating more than $400 million.
Previous versions of the game have been set in Las Vegas, Miami and L.A.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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