Grand Theft Auto 4 Gold, Launches Social Club

[CSN NewsBot]

Gamespot is reporting that Grand Theft Auto 4 has gone gold and is already starting to ship to retailers.

During Take-Two's shareholders' meeting today, the publisher said that GTAIV has gone gold. The game is "in production and in trucks en route to retailers," proclaimed Take-Two CEO Ben Feder.

In addition, the Rockstar Social Club has just launched today and is presently accepting new registrations. This Social Club will tie in with Grand Theft Auto 4 when it is released on April 29th.

[Zom-B]

Heh, I wonder how long before some ninja store employee steals a copy

and sticks some ghetto pirate footage online..?

[MrBosnia]

I wonder how long it will take for Jack Thompson to launch another ignorant attack towards this game.

[Ryosuke T]

I can't wait to see Jack Thompson's face when GTA4 is all over the shelves when he goes to his local Circuit City/Best Buy. Hahahahaha.

[Diamond Dust]

Ryosuke T wrote..

I can't wait to see Jack Thompson's face when GTA4 is all over the shelves when he goes to his local Circuit City/Best Buy. Hahahahaha.

Seriously, I don't care how much this Thompson guy or anyone else bitches. The fact is that the GTA franchise is just a boat load of fun, the games are well made and have so much replay value, if you like games and having fun, chances are you want to play a GTA game. And no one is going to ban something that sells. So let them bitch, it just shows how irrelevant and ignorant they are.

[-:Nighthawk:-]

What's GTA? I don't think I've ever heard of these games before.

[Thortok2000]

I do think GTA games are kinda 'pushing it'. They go above and beyond when it comes to violence and asocial behavior.



They're definitely games that should require 21 or over to play. Any parents that allow their kids to play the game should be fined and serve 2 weeks in jail.



Other than that, play on. Adults can handle the game in a mature fashion, or should be able to. Kids cannot. Even if they don't do any of what's in the game, they'll think about it and talk about it, and that kind of crosses the line for me.

[-:Nighthawk:-]

Sadly, as much as the rating system might (at best) keep a minor from purchasing one of these games, there are so many dysfunctional parents out there that it really doesn't stop kids from playing stuff they shouldn't be exposed to yet.



At my childcare site, I find myself regularly having to redirect conversations onto other topics when some of my elementary-age kids begin talking about GTA and the latest R-rated horror flicks they watched. When you've got irresponsible twits having kids and not wanting to change their lives as a result... well, I can see the effects on their kids' lives each and every day, and it's not pretty.

[Diamond Dust]

Thortok2000 wrote..

They're definitely games that should require 21 or over to play. Any parents that allow their kids to play the game should be fined and serve 2 weeks in jail.

I played GTA when I was under 18 and I haven't committed any crime in my life, so you think my parents should serve time in jail because of that?

Kids can handle plenty and most parents actually raise their kids to know the difference between reality and entertainment. We don't need to involve the government in censoring our entertainment.

[sathanas]

Same here Diamond. I'm not a crim either and I played it when I was... 11 I think. You just need to know the difference between game and reality.



Unfortunately the problem - in Britain (not sure about other places) - is that games consoles amongst the working class become babysitters while the parents are at the pub. That is when the line between games and reality can become blurred when a young impressionable child has nobody there to tell them that the things that take place in games are often not socially acceptable things to do. Killing, mugging, even swearing. They need someone there to tell them off if they mimic the language, or it just becomes the norm for them.

[Thortok2000]

I'm not going to use you as an example.



What I see is hate, anger, racism, profanity, lack of compassion, insistence on 'might makes right', antagonistic behavior, and people that walk the line of being 'jerks' without being criminals. I see people that cause fights instead of arguments, that cause arguments instead of accepting they're wrong, and that gloat and insult when they happen to be right.



I see society filled with negative energy and emotions.



I don't see how "Yeah it's okay to beat up a prostitute because it's just a video game" is really acceptable. But to send that message to kids is worse.



In France, they don't have an age limit on alcohol. Because of this, more people drink responsibly in France. Toleration and limits are worked out at a young age and they grow to be responsible drinkers.



How do you responsibly beat up a prostitute, threaten a juror, or steal a car? This is not something that can be "taught" to a kid how to do "right" in a monitored, learning environment. It's hard to imagine, even in the best of parenting environments, how this game could be any tool on becoming a brighter and better person.



A properly raised child would be repulsed by the very idea of playing the game. It sickens me. To say that it's okay because it's "just a game"...



This leads to kids on the playground calling each other cunts and motherfuckers. But it's okay because they're "just kidding"...but those words can seriously emotionally damage kids, even when said in jest.



The whole situation sickens me. And, unlike France, the majority of households don't even attempt to teach moderation and responsibility.



Sure, kids don't become criminals. That's what's so bad about it. Criminals, we catch and lock away. What actually happens is so much worse. It's degeneration of society, beginning with youth.



Adults can handle these games, and I see no reason to stop them from being made. Just don't allow kids to play them. How to actually enforce that is a completely different subject, of course.

[mca7]

The problem is that those kids with good parents probably already know to treat it as a video game, but are not allowed to play it while the kids with neglectful parents are more likely to play it and do not know the difference between video game and reality, or something similar to that. It's a vicious circle.