Grand Theft Auto IV cited as murder excuse

By Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 05 August 2008 12:38

Entertainment

Thailand is looking to  halt sales of Grand Theft Auto IV after it was reportedly linked to the robbing and killing of a taxi driver in Bangkok.

It in an incident (isolated as it may be) that will once again ignite discussion about effect of interactive entertainment on the human psyche, Thailand authorities have requested the withdrawal of GTA IV from retail shelves.

The Reuters report tells the story of an 18 year old school student – now in custody – accused of robbing and killing a 54 year old taxi driver with a knife on the weekend.

The young man has confessed to the crime and according to the chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak; "He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game,"

The game in question, the oft maligned Grand Theft Auto IV, which according to police was an obsession of the accused.

As a result, senior officials of the sinisterly titled Thailand Culture Ministery have said; the murder was a wake-up call for authorities to tackle the issue of violent video games, and urged parents to pay closer attention to what their children played.

"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, told Reuters. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."
Sales and Marketing Director of New Era Interactive Media, Sakchai Chotikachinda has indicated that GTA IV may be pulled from retail shelves in the country.

"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games,” Sakchai said. "We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service.”

The Grand Theft Auto series, despite being a world-wide sales phenomenon, has always been in the headlines due to its adult concepts and requirement to ‘break the law’ in order to win.

Advocates of a R18+ classification for interactive entertainment in countries such as Australia will find their cause set-back in a major, yet sensationally disproportionate way with this news.