Developer’s president says GTA is an enemy of misplaced moral panic – just like The King himself
In a revealing interview with The Times, Rockstar North’s president Leslie Benzies (pictured) has compared the GTA series to Elvis Presley – saying that both have been targeted by a section of society which is “unnerved by progress”.
In his first ever newspaper interview, Benzies also claimed that Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 wouldn’t have faced as much criticism as if it were a film or a book – and said that he wouldn’t let his own children play GTA IV.
When asked about the controversy surrounding tomorrow’s release of GTA IV, Benzies said:
“There is a big fear factor here. It’s the coming of the railways; it’s Elvis shaking his hips. It’s cars going over 25 miles per hour and making people explode.
“We’ve had such a beating over the past three years. If I get into a confrontation about it, once I’ve had my beating, I ask if they’ve ever played the game. Invariably they haven’t.”
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He added: “We’re very careful about who we market the game to and what is in the game.”
Benzies also defended Manhunt 2, which was last year at the centre of an epic battle between Rockstar and the British Board For Film Classification – which wanted the title banned.
He said: “We wanted to make a horror game that would scare you in the same way a film would.
“It doesn’t seem to me to be any worse than a film. If it’s a film or a book, you can do what you want. We seem to be in a different category.”
PICTURE: THE TIMES
Comments
I'll wager..
I'll wager that he's never faced any real violence in his life. Then he would realise that perhaps it's not the basis for entertainment. I think we have enough of it around the place without trivialising it into a video game.
No, it's not likely to make adults turn into killing machines, but it's another part of the drip, drip, drip effect that normalises violence within society.
There's no real creativity here. Try making something that doesn't involve people dying or getting hurt.
Elvis was a true original. Can't see anything of that nature here.
Re: I'll wager..
its so easy to hate, it takes guts to be gentle and kind.....
Moz
Re: I'll wager..
"I'll wager that he's never faced any real violence in his life. "
So? I suspect most action movie makers, most crime writers, most involved in the horror film or book genre don't either? Clearly violence IS entertainment, very profitable as people go out and spend lots of money, they spend it to watch men fight, the spend it to watch violent sport, they spend money to watch violent and bloody films and they spend it on video games that involve all of the above.
"Elvis was a true original. Can't see anything of that nature here."
Well lets be honest here, he was a true great and a one off however he wasn't original, he was a white bloke who they found who could perform as well as the black artists who pretty much pioneered rock and roll so he wasn't original was he?
"Try making something that doesn't involve people dying or getting hurt. "
Why should they? Why should all games be mario or other family games, in the same was as why should all games by GTA? A broad range of titles and genres is whats required, GTA4's sales performace, reception and review scores clearly show it's a massive hit with it's target audience, I cannot believe that you'd deny them that, I'm not a BIG Mario or indeed Nintendo as a whole fan but only a moron would deny theres a place for them in the market and in peoples lives if thats what they enjoy.
Personaly I'm looking forward to APB, I'll be the bloke playing at Regan and yelling "shut it".
Re: I'll wager..
"its so easy to hate, it takes guts to be gentle and kind....."
I suspect most people do in real life, game won't railroad them it's escapisum, pure and simple. Don't play it, but while you are at it, don't try to get it banned because you don't like it and are concerned for me and feel the urge to stick your nose into other peoples business.
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