I’m sure you’ve seen at least one or two articles about the sex-scene furor in the popular game, Grand Theft Auto. News continues to circulate as the game developers recently fessed up and admitted that the scenes were, in fact, already in the source code of the game, and the “Hot Coffee Mod” merely gave people access. Here are a number of interesting articles regarding the subject:

• NYT Editorial
• There’s Sex In My Violence!
• The Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas Debacle
• Stop Blaming Your Problems On Grand Theft Auto
• Parental Priorities

So is anyone else confused as to what the appeal of such a game is? Or any game where the main goal is to kill as many opponents as possible? Is killing really entertainment?

I don’t really know what to do with this one. On one hand, I put all of the responsibility of whether or not it is “right” to play such a game in the hands of parents…and if adults are playing it, I would hope they would be able to recognize the realities of playing such a game. On the other? Well, I can’t think of a single reason why such a game would be appealing.

But why make the game in the first place? It certainly can’t contribute anything positive to society (I haven’t played it, nor do I intend to, but I can’t say with 100% honesty that it’s completely worthless without doing so) so why bother developing and selling it in the first place. Because people will buy it. Gobs and gobs of people. What the market demands, companies will supply.

So what the heck is going on with our society? Why do we demand, and subsequently devour, such things?

TAGS: Grand Theft Auto |Sex |Violence |Video Games | Business Ethics

This entry was posted on Friday, July 22nd, 2005 at 11:49 am and is filed under Business Ethics, Interesting News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.