# BREAKING NEWS!!!! Makers of GTA to be sued **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 15, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807 "2003-09-15T21:03:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/21 "2003-09-15T22:48:59Z")
Thank Christ these kids didn’t play a hentai game, and go around raping people with their tentacles! ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/22 "2003-09-15T22:58:35Z")
Yeah. Hey! I shoulda sued the guys who made BurgerTime after I got salmonella poisoning making myself that sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/23 "2003-09-15T23:07:20Z")
I popped some “magic” pills and tried to eat some ghosts, and ended up falling off the Golden Gate Bridge landing on an Ocean Liner heading to Indonesia, so Pac-Man’s gonna have to pay! ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/24 "2003-09-15T23:14:44Z")
Video games don’t cause violence, and I’ll kill anyone who says different. I don’t take credit for this line. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/25 "2003-09-15T23:31:33Z")
You know, once upon a time I would have thought that there was no way such a lawsuit could succeed. That the claim was so pathetically outlandish that it would get laughed out of court. Then came that recent comic book lawsuit where some lawyer managed to convince a jury that one adult selling an adult comic book to another adult was a crime, because comic book were by definition intended for children. That’s when I realized that juries are fucking stupid. And now we have this: > [@](#): > > _from the article…_ > **Mr Thompson said the different laws and system in Tennessee may give him the chance to make his case to a jury rather than just to a judge which could help.** I state here for the record that I do not trust a jury to come to a sensible conclusion on this issue. And on another, related note: what the hell is wrong with these Buckner kids if a god-damned video game is supposedly enough to tip them over into the world of armed homicide? Do these kids really want to be saying that their moral fibre is that thin? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/26 "2003-09-15T23:46:50Z")
Argh. In the immortal words of Edward D. Wood, “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Last Friday’s edition of Vancouver’s yellowest tabloid newspaper (which, unfortunately, has the best distribution in the city,) dedicated the entire front page to a [lame attempt to blame GTA for recent assaults on police officers](http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=C541A31B-21DF-4891-9148-EDFB88EDFF03). It’s even more ridiculous than the _post hoc_ nonsense noted above, in that they make their inferences based on the mere _release date_ of Vice City, despite no suggestion that the people who actually commited the assaults had ever been exposed to the game. > [@](#): > > Examples of recent assaults: > > - A police sergeant got in a fight with a bank robbery suspect, suffering hand and wrist injuries and being sprayed in the eyes with his own can of pepper spray. The cop was off work for nearly nine weeks while recovering. > - A drunk on Granville Mall kicked one officer in the groin and another in the chest. > - A domestic violence suspect on the mall “went wild,” ending with officers suffering various injuries, including split lips, loose teeth, sprained knees and general contusions and bruises. > Police are doing a number of things to combat the assaults, including writing more violation tickets for minor offences such as open drinking on the mall and public urination, said Jones. That’s right-- Out-of-control drunks and spouse-beaters are becoming more problematic for police. It’s obviously time to ban all video games. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/27 "2003-09-15T23:59:54Z")
Tetrominoes! Tetrominoes everywhere! Aaaagh! _climbs tower, starts pelting passers-by with groups of square blocks_ ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/28 "2003-09-16T02:43:48Z")
> [@](#): > > “Nobody is saying that a video game by itself can turn someone into a mass killer,” [Thompson, the lawyer] said. > > “But the law is that if you make a product that is linked in a chain of events, and but for that link the final tragedy would not have occurred, you are liable. You don’t have to have little angels turned into killers.” Oh goody, he thinks everyone in the chain of events leading up to this shooting is liable. If, without any particular entity, the shooting might not have happened, then that entity is fair game. Who will he sue next?[ul] [li]Sony, for producing the PlayStation 2, without which GTA3 wouldn’t exist[/li][li]Metrowerks and/or the FSF (GNU), without whom the tools to make PS2 games wouldn’t exist[/li][li]Sony again, for producing the original PlayStation, without which the PS2 wouldn’t exist[/li][li]Nintendo, for contracting Sony to produce the ill-fated SNES CD-ROM, which became the PlayStation[/li][li]Sega and NEC, for producing CD-ROM add-ons for the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16, without which Nintendo wouldn’t have considered making their own CD-ROM[/li][li]Atari, for creating the first home video game console, without which the SNES wouldn’t exist[/li][li]The California state government, for granting Atari a business license, allowing them to sell video game consoles[/li][li]The creators of Pong, for creating the video game industry[/li][li]The inventors of the transistor, for creating the electronics industry[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![SuperNova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SuperNova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNova)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/29 "2003-09-16T03:16:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\*[ul] > [li]Sony, for producing the PlayStation 2, without which GTA3 wouldn’t exist[/li][li]Metrowerks and/or the FSF (GNU), without whom the tools to make PS2 games wouldn’t exist[/li][li]Sony again, for producing the original PlayStation, without which the PS2 wouldn’t exist[/li][li]Nintendo, for contracting Sony to produce the ill-fated SNES CD-ROM, which became the PlayStation[/li][li]Sega and NEC, for producing CD-ROM add-ons for the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16, without which Nintendo wouldn’t have considered making their own CD-ROM[/li][li]Atari, for creating the first home video game console, without which the SNES wouldn’t exist[/li][li]The California state government, for granting Atari a business license, allowing them to sell video game consoles[/li][li]The creators of Pong, for creating the video game industry[/li][li]The inventors of the transistor, for creating the electronics industry[/li][/ul] \*\* My God, I bet the conspiracy can be traced all the way back to Ben Franklin! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/30 "2003-09-16T03:21:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Thank Christ these kids didn’t play a hentai game, and go around raping people with their tentacles! \*\* Wankaaargh… ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/31 "2003-09-16T03:27:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Thank Christ these kids didn’t play a hentai game, and go around raping people with their tentacles! \*\* Hey, I’ve played lots of hentai games, I haven’t raped anyone with my tentacles. Of course, there was that time I was in Japan but that schoolgirl was practially begging for it. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/32 "2003-09-16T04:14:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > I think the Lawyers have a point. > > really. > > I mean, just yesterday, I went atop a hill and started to throw barrels at my neighbor, Mario. I would have never ever acted as such had I not played so much ninetendo as a kid. My actions were subliminal, I tell you. I am innocent of the crime! Oh shit. God help us when Rocket Mania gets into the wrong hands! ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/33 "2003-09-16T04:49:55Z")
People should learn how to use video games for good use. Remember Contra for NES? Now let’s grab our spread guns and fireball guns and go kill the aliens and the Vile Red Falcon on a remote island so the universe will be saved and women name their babies after us! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/34 "2003-09-16T05:42:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pencilpusher \* > \*\*uh hum > This is truly going overboard. What loser lets their child sit in front of a machine killing imaginary people all day? What the fuck ever happened to getting off your ass and going outside to play? \*\* It’s when they did decide to go outside and play when all of the trouble started. If they had stayed inside we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Haj ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/35 "2003-09-16T06:11:28Z")
Who needs a gun when you can just a summon an ancient god to kick ass for you?! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/36 "2003-09-16T06:20:44Z")
I say it’s about time someone got sued. Hitler used to play GTA. Everyone remembers Hitler right? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/37 "2003-09-16T07:05:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Orbifold \* > \*\* > That’s when I realized that juries are fucking stupid. And now we have this: > I state here for the record that I do not trust a jury to come to a sensible conclusion on this issue. > > \*\* This is why we should all answer those pesky jury summons’s and go and serve. Anyone with a brain should see this for what it is. A lawyer trying to make a name for himself and a couple of miscreants trying to deflect responsibilty for their heinous act on to someone else. So let’s get people with brains onto juries! ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/38 "2003-09-16T07:14:35Z")
Does this mean I can sue Dan Folgerberg and James Taylor for being a pussy during the 70s? ---
**Author:** ![pencilpusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d6d6ee/32.png) [@pencilpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pencilpusher)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/39 "2003-09-16T11:33:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*It’s when they did decide to go outside and play when all of the trouble started. If they had stayed inside we wouldn’t be having this discussion. > > Haj \*\* I ment INSTEAD of staying inside playing video games of course. Damn people now days blaming other people for THEIR bullshit. When are people going to start owning up to their own idiocy? One of the main reasons behind the courts being overbooked is because of shit like this. How are we supposed to give the little bastards a speedy trial if the courts are full of them suing others for making them commit the crimes their in jail for!!! (then they bitch necause their in jail so long before their tried… :rolleyes: :smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![pencilpusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d6d6ee/32.png) [@pencilpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pencilpusher)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807/40 "2003-09-16T11:36:02Z")
\*because they’re… (spellcheck is my friend, spellcheck is my friend… ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-makers-of-gta-to-be-sued/201807.md?page=3)