On the Eve of GTA's Release Expectations High

The latest installment in the Grand Theft Auto Franchise, GTA IV, is hitting the street and it's expected to fly of the shelves. Eurogamer called it "game of the year" and gave it a 10 out of 10, while the New York Times said it delivered a "new level of depth for an interactive entertainment experience". According to the BBC "The game is expected to break records for the fastest-selling game of all time and many shops are opening their doors at midnight for gamers." My son is already hinting that he'd like to be in line, we'll just have to think about that one... In any case it would appear as though the economy as a whole has little affect on gaming, or perhaps everyone just wants a way to escape reality even if it's only temporarily.

Rockstar Not Releasing A Grand Theft Auto 4 Demo

According to G4 TV's The Feed Blog, there will sadly be no demo version of GTA 4. "If there was [going to be a demo] we would have talked about it. With a game like this the guys at Rockstar North will want to spend every minute making the game look great. Most people know the concept of GTA anyway. I don't know that the demo is worth the time and effort." Guess we'll all have to wait for the real deal!

Gaming giants merge

Vivendi and Activision are joining forces to create what they call "the world's most profitable games business". Vivendi owns Blizzard who produces the immensely popular World of Warcraft online game while Activision is behind the Call of Duty and Guitar Hero franchises. Blizzard will invest $2 billion in the new company, while Activision is putting up $1 billion. The BBC has more details.

Take-two, only don't take this one

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has banned 'Manhunt 2' a video game by publisher Take-Two Interactive Software and their label Rockstar Games, makers of other controversial titles like the 'Grand Theft Auto' series. The ban means that the game will not legally be available in Britain and is the first such ban since 1997 when a similar move was made against 'Carmagedon'. That ban was appealed in court and lifted. The BBFC director, David Cooke is quoted as saying "'Manhunt 2' is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing. There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game." While I've not seen the title, the premise is a little frightening and perhaps pushes the envelope. As a parent I'll not be encouraging my children to seek out this title but that's a personal choice that we all need to wrestler with based on our own situations. Censorship scares me a bit, but I also realize that not all families function well and some parents are more in tune with what their children are up to than others. I think an adult classification is probably more appropriate but that also assumes that we adults are all able to discern what is an appropriate action and what is not, the question is what in a free society is 'too far' and who has the right to label it so. Do games create killers or are these people inclined to kill anyway? This is a hot debate!