"So does media imitate society, or does society imitate media? Since both are extensions of human nature, the answer can only be both. But as a video game, GTA is just a simulation - a make-believe world where you have no consequences for shooting peoples' heads off or cutting up cops with chainsaws while stoned off your ass.

These troubled teens have learned the hard way that reality doesn't translate well from video games and that they can't get away with everything.

Interestingly, ..."

"The NPD Group has worked with Forbes to release a list of top sellers over the last 15 years (since NPD began tracking point-of-sale data in North America). Interestingly, as further proof of the explosion in game industry growth in this century, the top games were all released after 2001.

Rockstar's "Hot Coffee"-licious GTA: San Andreas sold through 9.4 million units, and there's a chance that this year's GTA IV could break that figure to take the top spot. Activision's Guitar Hero III c..."

"Mr. Houser denies using those words, but says he has often felt the sentiment they imply. "That's an area I've grown up in, definitely," he says."

""Grand Theft Auto would be super interesting for me, and I think I would actually be the right guy to do it, because my movies are all bloody and violent and I don't have a problem with action scenes," said Boll. "But look, they will go, in the end, with a Michael Bay or a Brett Ratner, and it will be a PG-13 movie made for $150 million. I think it would be better to make a $30 million, very hard, brutal movie without compromising, but I'm not optimistic.""

"We all feared that if EA took over Take 2 they would destroy GTA forever just like they have done with takeovers in the past. I think that EA would have completely destroyed GTA by trying to make it ’their’ game and just lose that GTA touch altogether. It wouldn’t be GTA at all. No one can do it as good as Rockstar.

We no longer need to worry because it hasn’t happened and Take 2 has rejected all of EA’s offers.

What’s your view on this? Do you think EA had the potential to destroy the ..."

"Those clever hackers have done it again! Hacker group VladsBoys’ analysis of the pirated copy of GTA IV for the 360 (leaked days before retail release) has reeled in a big one. The cyber-sleuths knew they were on the trail of something big and yes, you guessed it, they found another never-intended-for-retail-consumption chunk of code in a GTA game.
What the hackers found seems to be an abandoned mission that Rockstar at some point intended on including in the game. We have no idea how far in..."

"When did a videogame release become such a big deal?

Well, the U.S. videogame industry is worth a whopping $18.8 billion a year--that's less than McDonald's makes selling burgers and fries but 2.5 times as much as all the music CDs sold last year. It's also enough money to turn even the most conservative of entertainment executives' heads. Scott Steinberg, vice president of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, predicts we're about to see the "GTA Effect"--box office sa..."

"Well, OK, yes. As a series, Grand Theft Auto has always been heaped with accolades from critics and fans - and for the most part, it's deserved them. But take a step back from the open-world approach and rampant criminality for a second, and ask yourself: deep down, is the series really as smart as it's given credit for? Or has the freedom to get into firefights with Florida retirees blinded us to its shortcomings?

With Grand Theft Auto IV set to redefine the series' tone and sense of smar..."

"But we all know that won’t prevent everyone under 17 from getting their hands on the game.
I recently talked to three teenagers who have owned and played “GTA” since well before the age of 17 — with and without their parents’ permission — about their past experiences with “GTA” games.
One 15 year-old told me his parents don’t allow him to play M-rated games without their approval, and “GTA” is strictly off-limits. However, he acquired “San Andreas” though a game-trading website, and they do..."

"• A proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit will provide replacement discs and/or cash to consumers who
purchased a valid copy of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game.
• The Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that copies of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game manufactured before
July 20, 2005 contained elements that could be modified to display scenes of a sexual nature that have come to be
referred to as the “Hot Coffee” content.
• You may receive a replacement of th..."

"Pay special attention to the text in the bold… look familiar? It should: It’s the same damn text, taken from a PlayStation blog post that was made on July 27th by Michael Shorrock, talking about how Sony locked up the rights to a NEW franchise from Rockstar. Outside of mentioning that Rockstar MADE the actual game, there is no mention of the GTA franchise anywhere in that post."

"The recent trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV portrays Liberty City as looking more like New York City, raising concerns among politicians over the inclusion of their city in a notoriously violent game. So, we investigated the cities of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) to find out which streets were the most dangerous to walk down as a gaming bystander."