14 yo DS wants to play Grand Theft Auto- I've said no

[MrsJThornton]

He tells me all of his mates have it (I know a lot of them do so it's not a fib) I said I wasn't keen but I'd have a read up about it. Common Sense Media rates it as an 18+ and this seems justified based on the content it states it has. Just wondering if I'm in the minority saying no? He has instagram but it's linked to my account and uses Snapchat/TikTok etc. so I'm probably being hypocritical as I know he has access to more grown up stuff on those apps anyway, but he's very open about talking to me about anything he's seen which he thinks is inappropriate or doesn't understand.

It's a brilliant game but not for kids. That said, I used to play GTA when I was 13-14 and I turned out fine.

I think if he’s quite a mature 14 I would probably let him. It’s really fun to play with friends and although it’s violent he’s getting to the age where he’s probably going to be watching films where that sort of content starts cropping up anyway.

The game was controversial from the first incarnation of the series. Grand Theft Auto was condemned in Britain, Germany, and France due to its "extreme violence", and Brazil banned it outright. Publicist Max Clifford planted sensational stories in tabloids in order to help sell the first game.

The controversies flared up again with Grand Theft Auto III, since the 3D graphics made the violence more realistic, and players could pay for the services of prostitutes to restore their health, and if they wished, kill them to get some of their money back.

There is also criticism from the focus on illegal activities in comparison with traditional "heroic" roles that other games offer. The main character can commit a wide variety of crimes and violent acts while dealing with only temporary consequences, including the killing of policemen and military personnel.

Vice City
The sixth game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, also came under criticism. One mission in particular, in which the player must instigate a gang war between Haitian and Cuban gangs, has been controversial. Haitian and Cuban anti-defamation groups criticised the game.

Jean-Robert Lafortune of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition is quoted as saying that "The game shouldn't be designed to destroy human life, it shouldn't be designed to destroy an ethnic group," for this and similar scenarios, including lines in the game's script such as "kill the Haitian dickheads" said by character "Diaz" during an altercation between the player and a Haitian gang. After the threat of a lawsuit by the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Rockstar removed the word "Haitians" from this phrase in the game's subtitles.

San Andreas was criticised initially due to its "gangster" elements, which include drugs, prostitution, and murder. It later received additional criticism after the discovery of an interactive sex minigame, nicknamed Hot Coffee; initially cut from the game, it remained in the game code, and was discovered in both the console and Windows versions of the game.

After the release of San Andreas, modders managed to find the unused code in the game and released unofficial patches for the Windows and Xbox (with a modchip) versions as well as a PlayStation 2 version through the use of an Action Replay code enabling the player to engage in these sexual mini-games (dubbed "Hot Coffee" in reference to a euphemism for sex used in the game). These mini-games were left partially intact in the game's code.

I could copy and paste more.....

You are right. I never let my kids play 18 cert video games or watch 18 cert films. They did it at sleepovers etc. So v infrequently. They are now 18 and 17 and don't bother with vid games.
Stick to your guns.

You could copy and paste more but that’s not really a substitute for having played the game(s) and having an opinion based on personal experience

I'm sure he's exposed to much worse in the real world.

I would let him play it if he were mine, I played it from the age of 13, I turned out fine. No criminal convictions or desires to murder prostitutes.

Maybe have an adult conversation with him and gauge it based on his maturity.

Actually, this is the content of the latest game.

A segment in the latest instalment caused controversy for scenes containing player-initiated torture. The mission "By the Book" features graphic depictions of kneecapping, electrocution, dental extraction and waterboarding, and the player is required to perform an act of torture in order to progress in the game.

UK-based charity Freedom from Torture publicly condemned the use of torture scenes in Grand Theft Auto V. The organisation, who works to rehabilitate survivors of torture, joined other human rights charities who were outraged at a torture scene in the game in which the players have to pull teeth and electrocute an unarmed man in order to extract information. The charity's CEO Keith Best stated: “Rockstar North has crossed a line by effectively forcing people to take on the role of a torturer and perform a series of unspeakable acts if they want to achieve success in the game."[95]

The game has also been accused of sexism. The Los Angeles Times considered the game's satirical portrayals of women uncreative, and added that violent and sexist themes hurt the game experience. Edge noted that while "every female in the game exists solely to be sneered, leered or laughed at", it treated its all-male lead characters in a similar vein through their stereotyped tendencies towards violence.

Please don't let him play this.

I don't understand the mentality ' they will see worse in the real world'
The real world isn't a game. Awful shit happens to real people. I am not clear why treating such stuff as a 'game' is 'OK'.. at any age really.

Er...I think that is the point. The real world isn't a game. They will see worse in the real world. GTA is a game. It is pixels and fiction.

In case you need it pointing out, actors don't actually die for real in horror films either.

Genuine question, what do you think will happen to him if he does play the game?

Yes, I can confirm that I don't know any teens that deal with the following in real life:

A segment in the latest instalment caused controversy for scenes containing player-initiated torture. The mission "By the Book" features graphic depictions of kneecapping, electrocution, dental extraction and waterboarding, and the player is required to perform an act of torture in order to progress in the game.

What a gormless mindset along with 'it didn't do me any harm'. I grew up not wearing a seat belt, I didn't die in an accident but thankfully we've evolved as a society and we KNOW different and better now. Age ratings are there for a reason.

Thanks all, I'm going to stick with "No" I appreciate everyone has different ideas about this sort of thing but really appreciate people taking the time to respond. I'm going to go with my gut feeling and I've told him the answer and he understands so all good. Thanks again

But you can't die (in real life) from a computer game. You can from not wearing a seatbelt in real life.

My sons are not allowed GTA and never will be under my roof. There are so many great games out there, there is absolutely no need to play one where they, in the first person, use prostitutes and then murder them. I am not concerned that they would do this in real life, but that still doesn't mean I want them emulating it in fantasy.

You may not wish to buy it for him and that is fine, but do not think he will not have seen it or played it. Our Year 6s were asked if they had played GTA... about 25% had their own copy the rest had used their siblings devices or played on their peers devices or at friend's houses. When we discussed this with parents, most of them thought their children had never seen it... and were shocked to see the stats that our adviser shared with them. Although, very interesting how many complained that their children were very aggressive when being asked to leave online games

Rather than just stopping him having a copy, check where he is going for sleepovers, that they do not have a copy. I am afraid that like Pandora's box, this one is already in the wind and travelling.

Using prostitutes and murdering them in the first person does not form part of the plot, it is a part of the open world element. So if your sons chose to do that and you have such a problem with it, you'd have to look towards your own parenting and the ways you raised them as to why they made that decision.

Or, just accept it's a game like most normal people.

I don't get the argument "they will see worse in the real world". I can happily say that I have gone 45 years without seeing any gratuitous violence, murdering of prostitutes or gun warfare. These are not things that you routinely see.

Oh i remember GTA, great game. My kids are too young but I remember my brother must have been about 14 playing it with me and is a totally normal, nice, successful person today. But I do get why you're steering clear.

Jesus Christ that's grim.

I have no intention of playing it or allowing DD to either and I'm not sure doing so and "experiencing " the game would make what previous poster described, not that bad.

Seriously, if you get your kicks actively playing at that I think your a little fucked in the head

I would let him play Grand Theft Auto. The original game, released 25 years ago.

If you've never played it you have no room to make statements like that.

The latest instalment is the second biggest selling video game of all time. That's an awful lot of people you're flinging accusations about.

For balance, here's some of the other activities you can do in the game, purely off the top of my head, there will be loads more:

Yoga lessons
Tennis lessons
Flying lessons
Parachute jumps
Triathlons
Visiting fairgrounds
Being a taxi driver
Being a policeman
Being an ambulance driver
Cleaning up water pollution

ODFOD, it's nothing to do with my parenting. It's a violent, grim game that I don't want in my house. I don't want my teenage boys presented with the "option" to murder a prostitute. They can play one of the multitude of other games that don't have this vile element.

I didn't say it was If you read my post properly, I said if you have a problem with it and if your sons did it then it would have been 100% their decision. They are moot points because they rely on if you bought the game. So no, I wasn't criticising your parenting actually.

I enjoy playing on computer games and have played both GTA IV and GTA V (must admit that I haven’t finished GTA V - it’s a massive game and I got busy doing other things).

I think of computer games as a new art form. Some are utterly beautiful and are some children’s only exposure to orchestral music (the games have their own soundtrack playing throughout).

I would hesitate before letting a 14 year old play on the GTA games - they often become very dark without a lot of warning. However, obviously only you can know how mature your child is.