Grandtheft Auto for 11 year old DS?

[Beachhairdontcare]

DH says the reviews suggest that it is age appropriate for much younger. I read mixed reviews.
Anybody have any experience or views on this? I imagine it's an 18 for a reason....

[VivienneWestwoodsKnickers]

The point of the game is to hijack cars, shoot people, run people over in the stolen cars, buy guns, hide stolen money. Bloody, prostitution, guns, theft, robbery, violence.

I know people let their kids play it, but IMO it's an 18 for very good reason.

[thewavesofthesea]

My husband has it. It is not suitable for anyone under 18. There is lots of violence and sex in it. I would never let my boys (age 5 and 7) see/play it, until they are at least 16.

[MephistophelesApprentice]

The latest one has a graphic torture scene that made me, a hardened gamer who is 100% anti-censorship, take a step back and go 'whoa'.

Wait til he's sixteen at least so he can absorb the important political subtext being presented.

[Hesdeadjim]

You can shoot prostitutes in the head.

That's all you need to know.

[FutureMammyB]

I have it. Definitely not appropriate for an 11 year old.

[Wishiwasmoiradingle2017]

Some graphic scenes of oral sex with prostitutes!!

[Beachhairdontcare]

I had a feeling that would probably be the case.

Thank you, I will show DH your comments!

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

I'm of the opinion that ratings are just guidelines and parents need to decide for themselves. However GTA is very much an no go for anyone under at least 16 i think. It's extremely violent. There are lots of people who say they won't even have it in their house never mind let their children play it.

[lizzyj4]

Agree with PP. I've never been all that strict about sticking to age restrictions, but GTA is definitely not suitable for anyone under 16 imo. As others have said, a lot of sex and violence, and sometimes both of those things together.

[SofiaAmes]

My rule of thumb is no games where humans are being shot/killed by anything. I am fine with have agreed to games where aliens or robots get killed.

[SofiaAmes]

And, by the way, that rule applies to adults as well as children.

[BeaderBird]

God no!

[Pancakeflipper]

I won't let my son have it (11yrs old)
His friend has it as his mother thinks you just nick cars and drive fast, he doesn't bash the prostitutes over the head with a dildo whilst his mum is in the room

[random79]

Why the obsession with GTA when he could get the new Zelda which is far more age appropriate and awesome.

GTA is amazing but utterly inappropriate for young kids, especially in single player.

[A1Sharon]

My son is 10yo and I am amazed that a few boys in his class seem to play this. They have older brothers (14+ yo) who have it, so I guess once its in the house...
But these same kids have fb accounts, are on Instagram etc and generally unmonitored it would seem in regard to gaming etc.
DS has twigged that their behaviour in general has deteriorated, rude to teachers/swearing/bullying behaviour etc, and thankfully for now is happy enough with Mario and Minecraft and the like.
For me, they will never have that type of game in the house, ever.
There are plenty of other games that loads of his friends have, Call of Duty and something else I can't recall, and as far as I'm concerned the parents can convince themselves from now until Christmas that they are fine, but they have the rating for a reason! And all the evidence suggests they are not good for kids.

[ThePiglet59]

What on earth is your OH thinking about?
He must know that this game is totally inappropriate for younger children.
How odd.

[Smurfpoo]

I had this discussion with my completely un computer playing DH about our nephew.
My response "you have sex with a prostitute and kill her to get your money back"

That soon made him understand where i was coming from

[Ollycat]

Within the first few minutes you see rape and torture so I would say not appropriate!!

I spoke to someone in our local game about it and he said it's one of the few 18's which really aren't appropriate for younger children.

[Ollycat]

My 14 year old ds is not allowed GTA nor are the majority of his friends. He does have COD and Watch Dogs.

[PeachesAndCream1]

In nz , if you knowingly give your child the ability to play an R rated game (in this case R18), and the lovely people in the government departments (ie child welfare or police) find out about it, you CAN be fined - up to $25000 or sent to jail.

I would consider the ramifications of this before allowing them to play the game.

Same goes for movies

[Emergencyigloo]

It has an 18 cert for a reason. It's still full of kids anyway, you hear them constantly when playing the online version. There's also constant swearing if your volume is turned up.

There's topless women dotted around certain venues such as the pole dancing club and the playboy mansion, sometimes a beach.

The prostitutes are available to get into your vehicle at night time, and all you see is a head bobbing up and down from outside the car window and some silly noises. It's animated graphics so hardly realistic.

It's violent. You can shoot people in the face at point blank range for instance.
There's also games where you can shoot robots or animals in the same fashion.

Minecraft is violent too as it mostly revolves around killing sprees and destruction, and a Roblox is another matter entirely. Even with all the parental lockdowns there's the chat bubble feature and little rooms your kids can go off into with other players.

As another poster said, it has some apt political themes, and great humour in the features.
But there's plenty of other car racing games suitable for kids than GTA. Including 'open world' style racing similar to GTA, but without the adult content.

Your husband hasn't played it if he thinks it's suitable for an 11 year old.
More than anything, it's annoying hearing kids in the background, shouting usually, being engaged in conversation with adult men.

[Nicotina]

Your DH is talking out of his arse. It is totally unsuitable for under 18s . The further under 18, the less suitable.

[Nicotina]

My dh has it. He is perfectly able to process the violence and not be a cock, to get the jokes and admire the skill involved in creating it. Even he finds some of it too much.

[GavelRavel]

i am a longtime gamer and my 12y old plays a few up to 16 games (after I have vetted). GTA is the one game that we will never have in this house. Seriously, the one game. When he asks me when he will be able to play it, I say Fresher's Week

It's totally unsuitable for children and early teens I'm my opinion and experience. really, there are many, many other games which he could/should play before this one. people say it's harmless but it contains terrible messages about violence towards women, if nothing else.