Just for the record, I don't think exposing young kids (10ish and younger) to really graphic games is a good idea. Kids in general are stupid and I think it is common sense that bombarding them with violent images isn't particularly good for them.
Past that age though, once they get to 12-13+, if they want to play the game, most of them will. If their parents forbid it, they'll go to a friend that has it. Or they'll get an older sibling/person to buy/rent it for them. Or they'll pirate it off the internet.
Parents forbidding it outright is just going to increase their desire to play it. If the kid really insists, rent it and let them play it and sit with them and just make sure they know it isn't real - and that running over random pedestrians with their own stolen vehicles and blowing up police helicopters with a bazooka is in actuality a very naughty thing to do.
If anything should be done legally about these games, the limit should be to treat hyperviolent games in the same way you treat violent movies. Have some legal limits, but don't particularly enforce them strictly past asking for ID when the kids look too young.
Governmental over-regulation of media is just a cop-out for lazy parents who can't give up having TV/Video Games act as their primary babysitter. If you don't want your young kids exposed to games like that -
Don't buy them! (OMG). If you really want to go the extra mile, don't own a TV or Game Console. Or lock them up/disconnect them when you aren't around. Or don't get cable or buy one of those control chips. It's not hard - unless you're addicted and dependent on those yourself.
Why anyone gets some kind of sick pleasure out of playing a game where your goal is virtually raping, brutally murdering, etc-not fantasy violence either-shit that looks like it was taken from a "Faces of Death" video-and calling it suitable gaming entertainment is still a fucking mystery to me.
1) Ever played a fist person shooter (ie counterstrike) and enjoyed it? That answers your question. It's the same basic principle. Probably a big appeal for these sorts of violent games is to serve as a harmless outlet for aggressive feelings. I'd actually be willing to bet that GTA can be psychologically healthy for some older children (15-16ish) in some respects taking that into consideration.
Also... have you ever played or watched a lot of GTA being played? The violence isn't
that realistic. The AI is markedly more realistic than usual (pedestrian reactions, ect), but the death and violence itself isn't particularly that gruesome compared to other violent games: it's basically just blood spurts and bodies that fall down and don't move. Kids with an understanding of reality vs fantasy should be able to tell the difference easily to the degree that it doesn't pose much psychological harm.
