Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

The latest media backlash against video games has kicked in after it was confirmed that the infamous GTA: San Andreas sex mini-game is part of the original game rather than a mod.

The games industry is one of the media’s favourite whipping boys due to the ‘a computer game made me do it’ defence and their complete lack of understanding about the industry. However, the fact that the games industry takes an approach to bury its head in the sand is mind boggling. Either an organisation like the ELSPA needs to step up and become a coherent voice for the industry or a couple of the big publishers like EA and Take 2 need to band together to self regulate the industry.

The fact of the matter is that video games do not cause people to go out and kill each other. However, some games contain content that is not suitable for minors. So why do parents insist on buying little Timmy Grand Theft Auto when they won’t let him watch Resevoir Dogs. The games industry needs to take a proactive approach to educate the general public about ratings and suitability, then we won’t end up with witchhunts like the Hot Coffee affair.

The topics of sex and violence in video games have been a pet peeve of mine for some time now. I’ve dug up a couple of articles I wrote on the subjects in my past life as a contributor to a video games website:

• Gaming’s sex issues (Part one)
• Gaming’s sex issues (Part two)
• Social Responsibility in the games industry
• Violence in video games

There’s always going to be so-called controversies about games like Manhunt, but at the end of the day games like GTA: San Andreas are rated for adults so Hilary Clinton and any other granny who sues Rockstar should put on their common sense hat before opening their mouths.