NEW YORK, May 7, 2008
"Grand Theft Auto" Makes Crime Pay
Latest Version Of Controversial Video Game Rakes In $500M In Just One Week
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In this photo released by GameStop, Ian Gabbedon of Brooklyn, New York purchases the first North American copy of GTA IV (Grand Theft Auto IV) at GameStop's midnight launch event at 12:01 a.m. April 29, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
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Special Report GameCore Video game columns, reviews and views
The highly anticipated title from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. has received stellar ratings along with criticism for its violent content. The game follows an Eastern European immigrant-turned gangster on crime missions around a fictional Liberty City.
The title sold about 3.6 million units on April 29, its opening day, bringing in roughly $310 million. This is $10 million more than what Microsoft Corp.'s "Halo 3," another blockbuster game, took in during its first week last fall.
New York-based Take-Two is the subject of a $2 billion hostile buyout from larger rival Electronic Arts Inc., which Take-Two has repeatedly rebuffed as too low.
Take-Two's shares were recently trading at $26.39, above EA's tender offer of $25.74 per share, which expires May 16. Unless EA is willing to offer more, it seems "increasingly possible" the acquisition attempt could unravel, Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey said in a note to investors.
Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter disagrees, however, saying the game's sales were well within his expectations.
"I don't think it changes the value of the company," he said. "I think we are going to end up with a Microsoft-Yahoo situation," with Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick believing the company is worth more and EA chief John Riccitiello disagreeing.
Three months after it first made an offer, Microsoft dropped its $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo Inc. over the weekend after the companies couldn't agree on a price.
Pachter said he expects the game to sell 12 million copies by the end of 2008. GTA's previous versions have sold more than 70 million copies worldwide.
Already, the game seems to be living up to its juicy past, which includes controversy over hidden sex scenes, sharp criticism from Hillary Rodham Clinton and a 2006 lawsuit that blames the game for three New Mexico murders committed by a 14-year-old.
For one, Take-Two sued the Chicago Transit Authority on Monday for removing ads for the game because of its "Mature" rating, which means it is not suitable for people under 17. And the game also caught the ire of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which seeks an adults-only rating because it lets players drive after imbibing virtual liquor.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 39 CommentsIf anything it can teach the kids how to date and how to score points with your girlfriend (granted in gta4 u can have several girlfriends at once) but hey if you wanna get lucky with them you gotta take them out on a few dats and show up in sweet cars to increase your chance of getting laid after the date. And if you show up waring the same clothes a few dates in a row she notices and dosent like it.
just because you can do this its not like its worth your playing time except to take her on a date and then start shooting up bowling alley and having her freak out and head home. PS this works well if you find your phone ringing all the time annoying and wanna remedy it a little.....
You may hear what one can do in the game if they choose to. ( sometime after failing a quest or whatever you get the urge to go on a rampage and see how high you can get ur WANTED lvl with the police...aka stars. Just to see how long u can last with 5 stars. It gets pretty intense. ) Yes things like that can be fun at times but for the most part its gets old fast.
The thing that makes any game more playable for longer is kicking other peoples butts in the multiplayer section. but chucking 15 people in a small section of the city to duke it out is just plain fun. he who finds the rocket launcher first and a roof has alotta fun. Granted their has to be a spot to get the hapatachi (however you spell it). I haven''t played enough to know where to get that at.
Kalama, WA
Incident Date: Friday, Jan 4, 2008
On January 24, 2008, Kalama Police arrested Ryan Tyler Fraser, 18, of Kalama, Washington, on suspicion of 1st Degree Animal Cruelty which is a felony.
posted by newster1
I CAN SEE NEWSTER1 WRITING THE NEXT WEB MD ARTICLE FOR CBS.
grand theft auto video game may be linked to dog abuse!!!!!
You gotta love cbs health section for all the studies with such and such ""MAY BE"" linked.
Thats right, but child "abuse" laws now forbid spanking- the parent or teacher can go to jail and be sued and the kids KNOW it.
Maybe the answer is you need to have a LICENSE to be a parent and take tests like you do for a driver''s license. You have to license your DOG, I say license parents!
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Obviously the idiot here is you excoachken. These corporations were able to convince us to purchase games with their advertisements (thus making them smart). And then there''s you who''s calling us idiots but cannot convience us that video games are bad and that we should stop buying them. :c)
So who''s smart?
obviously the people who can change or influence people (hint: NOT You).
That something bigger being:
*The individual is fv(ked up in the head (suffers from some sort of disorder)
*Substance abuse/mood altering drugs
*Abusive/violent parent(s)
*The individual is Bullied/Fv(ked with at school.
Most of the problems listed above can be prevented or coped with... the reason these problems persist is due to STUPID PARENTS who aren''t involved in their child''s life, haven''t taught thier kids any values, haven''t spanked thier kids, haven''t recognized that their child has problem and is a danger to society.
Violent games [possibly] add fuel to the fire to such disturbed individuels. Regardless, these individuals would still commit their violent crimes with or without video game influence (so stop with your senseless video game bashing).
One reason for having little or no time for their kid(s) is parents are too busy... posting their retarded and baseless opinions on how bad violent games are, instead of taking responsibility and disciplining thier child. Stop the finger pointing, blame your own fv(king selves.
Violent games rock. It''s all about who''s behind the keyboard/game-controller. Gaming has been a major part of my life for about 12 years now. In the real world, I''m not a violent person at all.
What worries me more is with the economy in a virtual tailspin, that people are paying 60-90 bucks for a game.
Dog thrown from overpass, kicked repeatedly
Kalama, WA
Incident Date: Friday, Jan 4, 2008
On January 24, 2008, Kalama Police arrested Ryan Tyler Fraser, 18, of Kalama, Washington, on suspicion of 1st Degree Animal Cruelty which is a felony.
It is alleged that on January 4, the suspect took the family''s recently adopted 11-month-old chocolate Labrador to a train/pedestrian overpass near Elm Street and Interstate 5 and purposely threw the dog from the 37-foot-high overpass onto the asphalt roadway below on Hendrickson Drive.
The suspect, believing the dog may still alive, as it was lying on the pavement twitching, descended from the overpass and kicked the dog repeatedly in the ribs and chest area which contributed to the dog suffering life-threatening injuries that included a double ruptured bladder, soft tissue damage, pulmonary contusions and a broken femur.
The dog has since survived after emergency surgery. It was fortunate the owners had animal insurance to help cover the $6,000 in veterinary expenses.
During an interview of the suspect, the suspect claimed he could not remember what had occurred but never denied his involvement. At the time of arrest, the suspect was carrying a small amount of marijuana.
He was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on the felony charges.
Uniontown, PA (US)
Incident Date: Thursday, Jan 10, 2008
Charges are pending against a Uniontown man the Humane Society said abused his puppy so badly, veterinarians assumed the dog had been hit by a car.
Five-month-old Callie has trouble standing, and she can''t walk, because her right rear leg was snapped.
"It''s traumatic," said veterinarian Don Tummons.
According to the Humane Society, all of Callie''s injuries were caused her owner. They said they were told the owner grabbed Callie by the scruff of the neck, carried her outside, slammed her onto the concrete porch and then kicked her, breaking her leg.
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NORMAL people dont break into a community center in their own apartment building to destroy it, or hog tie and duct tape defenseless puppies and bake them to death for kicks, entertainment or fun, nor do they go get others to show them their "work."
Note where it says THIS:
"Not only did they not have an explanation, apparently they went out and bragged about this to other young people in the community, brought them back and showed them their work,"
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Puppy bound, set on fire, baked to death in oven
Atlanta, GA (US)
Incident Date: Wednesday, Sep 6, 2006
County: Fulton
Two Atlanta brothers are in custody at the Fulton County jail charged with the torture death of a five-month old puppy and trashing a local apartment complex.
Seventeen-year old Joshua Molder and 18-year old Justin Molder are being held without bond.
The Molder brothers stand accused of covering a puppy with paint, hog tying it, trying to set it on fire and when that didn''t work, baking the puppy to death in an oven.
%u201CThey just totally demolished the community center,%u201D said Marshal.
She said she%u2019ll never forget finding the puppy the boys stand accused of torturing and killing.
%u201CHe was still in the oven; he was tied,%u201D said Marshal.
%u201CAll four feet were tied together, his mouth was duct taped and he was dipped in beige paint,%u201D she added.
"Not only did they not have an explanation, apparently they went out and bragged about this to other young people in the community, brought them back and showed them their work," said District Attorney Paul Howard
Parents? what parents? you mean the ones who dump junior off at all day day-care while they work to let some employee of the center raise their kids?
You mean the parents who are out on bail or probation for drug or other offenses? will they have time to teach junior about the game in between court appearances and shooting more drugs?
Remember; these are the SAME parents who dont seem to know how to teach their kids about S3X and how not to get pregnant! The SAME parents who expect the schools to be their personal baby-sitter, feed, dress and care for their kids.
"and newster ..I am in school to be a Systems Engineer...and i
Posted by cmb3587"
It might not make YOU do it, but there''s a LOT of unstable kids out there as well as plenty high or stoned who are NOT like you. Remember- Jeffrey Dahmer was a child too, how do YOU think he got the idea to do what he did? What about the old man Albert Fish who kidnapped kids and ate them? What about the two teens who stole a puppy and thought it would be a good idea to shove the puppy into a hot gas oven?
How about the teens who thought they should put a stray dog in a coin-op laundromat dryer and turn it on?
There''s deranged kids out there who grow up to be deranged adults and THOSE are the ones you dont want exposed to games like this one, so when you figure out a way to tell which kids will become Dahmer types you let us know
Posted by Sverre5"
Rights are one thing, but do we really NEED video games like this? what kind of a twisted mind comes up with a game like this in the first place and then thinks it''s something that should be produced at all?
"But after two years of having TV, the women of the country were trying very hard to be thin and beautiful as television portrays they should be. Television and media in general has set stereotypical roles that we are required to fit, according to our gender.
Perhaps media really does have an impact, contrary to what I was saying.
Posted by Sverre5"
Think of it this way, TV is a powerful machine, it flits images into your eyes and brain rapidly assaulting them with all kinds of stuff, you take impressionable kids and teens, park them in front of this box all day, and video games at night where they are assaulted with gore, violence, death hour by hour long term, I don''t see a way that couldnt have a negative effect.
Spending more time with TV and video games than instruction in SCHOOL is another way to look at it. The school day, maybe 6 hours of actual instruction at best- teaches a babbling blank slate who cant add 2+2 to become a Boeing engineer in a relatively few years, MEANWHILE alongside that 6 hours is at least that much parked on the TV, video games watching Joe gang member in the ''hood'' blow away Mary with a gun after robbing her money, the blood splattering on the wall in slow-mo, meanwhile Joe is hailed a hero by his fellow gang members as they go out to spend the stolen loot, you don''t see that having an effect?
In saying that it is the choice of the people to watch or expose themselves to certain parts of media, I wasn''t necessarily saying I agree with it. I had heard a similar example, in which Television was first introduced to what I believe was a isolated Island nation for the first time. I''m at a loss as to its name though. Previously, the women didn''t particularly care about image to the extreme degree that the Western world does. But after two years of having TV, the women of the country were trying very hard to be thin and beautiful as television portrays they should be. Television and media in general has set stereotypical roles that we are required to fit, according to our gender.
Perhaps media really does have an impact, contrary to what I was saying. I believe the United States has the highest gun distribution per capita (I think 98 to 100 people?) and the second highest is India, which has maybe 4 to 100? I may be off but the statistic was still I still believe in the right to mature people being able view these things, but I also think that our society as a whole needs to seriously re-think its values.
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