Grand Theft Auto IV Windows, PS3, X360 game

You can't get Pc, end of story.

Good luck in the life of crime you're destined to follow. I can't believe you're playing GTA at 12.

I'm looking forward to Red Dead Redemption but I can't stand GTA. Why am I even commenting here? LOL. Okay, sorry to all you GTA fans. Just not a game I like. Too much gangbanger, criminal stuff. I like to shoot the gangbangers in video games not be 'em.

i am playing since i was 5 , from gta to gta4

ahem
I play GTA since I was 7
i didn't give a crap about the ratings
today i'm a young hardcore shooter fan.

LoL sounds like you are taking games too serious not that kid above. Its just a game man. its not like you really committing the crime you know ;)

I'm an avid gamer. Been one since I was like 4 or 5. I've played lots of games with lots of violence and blood and stuff. I don't buy into the violent games cause violence in children B.S.

I do, however, think that crime in video games can be harmful to YOUNG children. A 12 year old is a YOUNG child. Hell, if he was 14 or 15 I wouldn't have given a damn at all. But come on... a 12 year old playing GTA 4? Screwing hookers? Shooting pedestrians?

Yeah it's a video game. It's not real. I know that. You know that. Young children sometimes have difficulty separating what's real from what isn't. When I play Half Life 2 or Red Dead Redemption or anything else where you kill people... I don't consider it to be "killing" anyone. I understand how the games work. I know it's just a game. I know that there are no people but me present; just pixels on a screen. Children don't think of it that way. They (like some parents and politicians ironically) think of it as the actual "killing" of a person. Stupid, yes. Still true.

That's the reason why I'm uncomfortable with the idea of 12 year olds playing freakin' GTA IV. Maybe you got a different opinion. That's fine. I respect your opinion. I'm open to other opinions.

I'm sure this comment will get buried because my opinion is different from the majority of my fellow gamer's opinions, but I don't care... lol. That is what I believe and nothing that anyone says or does will ever change my mind.

@MattmanDude

What leads you to draw the conclusion that a child cannot separate these particular events (the killing of a person with the killing of a fictional representation of a person)? I've been playing violent games since about the age of four and I have certainly never connected the two, personally. There has always been a pretty clear and obvious distinction.

My first Grand Theft Auto game was around the same time I first started school, and yet I've never found myself carrying out any violent crime in my life. I'm going into my third year of Biomedical Science - not really the path of corruption that violent game experiences of youth should have taken me down. I should also add I'm not the only one - many of my friends from childhood have had the same general upbringing, but are now studying computer programming, sound production, business management, and so on. I only know a couple of (old) friends that have gone down a bad route, and they never even played games (they thought it too nerdish, if I recall rightly).

While I certainly don't doubt that there are cases of children being unable to interpret the difference, it seems clear to me that a good upbringing with decent parental guidance regarding the issues of the games will lead to one being perfectly capable of separating the experiences in a healthy manner. Hell, I didn't even have the parental guidance, and I managed. If a child becomes violent because of games, it isn't the fault of game exposure; it's the fault of bad or non-existent parental input with regards to said exposure (as with any other types of exposure throughout childhood).

Also, I must question your decision to state that nothing anyone says or does would ever change your mind? It seems a rather unfair dismissal of any potential future revelations you may encounter. It is always of benefit to maintain an open mind.

yes but some kids are dumbasses and think if they can do it in the game, they can do it in real life... i dont know anyone like that, but some people for whatever reason are like that.