Rebellion CEO: UK Should Celebrate GTA IV

I thought Rockstar was Scottish.

last i checked scotland was in the uk/was british

as scotland is part of the uk ( united kingdom ) england scotland wales northan island i think his statment is right

Firstly, Rockstar North is in bloody Leeds.

SEcondly, Scotland is in the UK you utter and complete tool.

Hoots ya'll never take our free range!

jock@jockstar.com.sco.uk

I actually find Mr. Kingsley's comments disturbing in a subtle way.

While I agree that parents blatantly disregarding the ratings system is disturbing, its a more complex issue than he makes it appear, though I cannot fault him for presenting it the way he has considering the hostile elements arrayed against his industry.

If a responsible adult feels that his minor child is emotionally and developmentally capable of playing a game rated for adults that is both their choice AND a serious responsibility, encompassing not only their child, but their childs friends and their parents. It would be a moral requirement to either restrict its use or/and make them (parents) aware...social complications from such a revalations nonwithstanding.

The arbitrary lines drawn by the ratings systems are just that, arbitrary, and are not mandatory.

If however the parents in question are merely bowing to their childrens demands with no regard for their child's capability to "handle" it, then yes, they are completely irresponsible.

There are 12-year olds and 12-year olds...and there are 18-rated games and 18-rated games. There are parents who find sexual content disturbing but find violence acceptable, and there are parents who think restrictions on sexual content quaint, but find violence abhorrent. These are perfectly acceptable opinions and approaches to child-rearing and development. The only unacceptable choice IMNSHO is ignorance and apathy.

Arbitrary they may be, but in the UK, BBFC ratings are not only mandatory on some content, including some games, but are fully backed by law. There's a strict penalty for supplying age-inappropriate content if the content has been rated by the BBFC;


The standard scale puts a level five fine anywhere up to £5,000.

One of the guys I work with (who plays games) has just bought GTA for his 14year old son. And he said that all of his sons friends where getting it and he would be a bit of a tool if he hadn't got it for his son.

I asked him if he would buy his son Goodfellas, he said he wouldn't and asked if GTA was as bad as that?

I think there is a perceived difference between ratings for Films and Games, even with parents who play games and a pressure to get things for your kid that all his mates have to... which leads to under age kids getting hold of these games.

As per usual, you thought wrong.

Actually Rockstar north is based in Edinburgh which is where GTA is created, they also have an office in Dundee I think. They put a huge banner outside their offices in Edinburgh yesterday to celebrate the launch

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The original GTA games were created in Dundee by games company DMA which is now rockstar.

I think the OP knows Scotland is in the UK but was jsut being a dick.

That law doesn't apply to parents allowing their child to play it does it?

I wasn't saying they were arbitrary in the sense that retailers could ignore them, nor should they, I've been quite clear on that subject, I was saying that they were arbitrary in that parents are free to make their own choices in the matter and are not bound by it when making responsible, considered decisions about their own children.

Hell, I'm a bloody Yank and know the difference betwixt English and British...I would object to including Northern Ireland in with Britain in anything other than a de facto sense though, as someone with German and Irish (and Welsh) ancestry I would think that its long past time for the Emerald Isle to be as one...the German reunification being accomplished and religion being a bloody stupid reason for division, and continued British presence there no more justified than its presence in Iraq, perhaps less.

These days this law isnt enforced at all by retailers or parents. Most children are ferral in the UK now and roam around the streets at night in mobs weilding knives and bats - they can identify better with GTA than their parents or normal society.

FYI - SuperSaiyan4 - you must be a (insert swear word here) American, Scotland is part of the UK. In the UK, we arent so zenaphobic to even consider such a comment worth posting, even if it was correct.

Actually, no I don't think he is. But [insert swear word here] you for playing.

I am.

I don't think anyone is saying that the UK is afraid of any form of Buddhism, nor has it any relevance on the subject.

i feel it is the parents that have changed what i mean by this is i look back at my childhood and the chiledhood of frainds that i have and we would not get things that were adult
and i can prove this because go into your local games store over the week end as i now there are going tobe many kids that are going to be after gta thay will go in with there parents and pick up gta and the perants will pay for it but if it is a games store ltd the cash person will explane what tipe of game it is and that it is not sutable for youngsters and 98% of the parents will say its ok and get it.
i remenber the day killer instinct 2 came out for the snes and i asked my dad if i could have it and the anser was a firm NO this dose not happen any more perants say YES just to keep there child/s happy

*nods

Yeah, they think its govenrment's responsibility to say no to EVERYONE, so they don't have to say no to their child. I mean, thats why they pay tax, innit?

And rather than calling for more vigorous enforcement of existing curfew, vagrancy, littering, and trespassing laws (that might be their child who has to pay a fine) its far easier to blame video games, or write new laws that attempt to sidestep the problem.

In my area they were having a problem with littering and teenagers congregating and smoking near the courthouse. The actual problems were the city failing to empty the existing trash bins (the littering was the bins overflowing), instead of emptying the bins more often and enforcing littering laws and other laws relevant to the situation (once the bins were useable, its not as though the kids weren't trying, the litter was all by the overflowing bins), they declared the courthouse lawn off-limits after dark (including a few benches set just off the sidewalk). Then one night I saw a police cruiser roll right past a preggo sitting on the south bench to hassle a bunch of kids at the north bench...I forced her to go back and evict the preggo in the interest of fair play. :)

I had a few words for the aldermen at the next meeting.

certainly children dont take it seriously, why would they, they are children to them it seems unfair they dont understand how they may be corrupted (if that does happen) so these attempts are bound to happen and the fact they are being refused is a good thing,

only last night i was playing gta race online and there were at least 4 under 15`s playing to which a bunch of the (more childish) adults began to point out why they shouldnt be playing by swearing at them and telling them they parents are neglectful and even one went as far as to say that their dad prob beats and touches them up as well!!, now im all for pointing out to the kids online they shouldnt be laying but to resort to childish name calling to under aged kids, i mean come on this will give gamers a bad name even worse to the game getting into kids hands!