Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series has been the latest whipping boy in politician’s bag of trick for political spotlight. Rockstar’s latest GTA, San Andreas, received much attention after PC gamers found an exploit in the code, accessible through a downloadable modification, that revealed sexual scenes previously not rated by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).

Nearly every video game released is reviewed for content by the ESRB for violence, sex, drugs, etc. In the case of GTA: San Andreas, its Mature rating is based on “blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, strong sexual content, and use of drugs.” Obviously this game is not meant for children, or anyone under than age of 17.

Florida attorney, and leading video game advocate, Jack Thompson has spoken out against the sexual content and the violence of the game, going as far to describe it as a “cop-killing murder simulator.” However, Thompson fails to recognize that video games are a legitimate form of entertainment, in which some are meant for children, and some are meant for adults.

Thompson would like you to believe that the ESRB does little to protect children, or help parents make decisions when the purchase games. In fact, after comparison, the rating and content description captions on the backside of GTA: San Andreas is three times the size of that of an R rated movie’s caption.

The point is Thompson continuously fails to make a logical argument, and often contradicts himself. His recent criticism for Midway’s Blitz: The League is it contains such vulgar content the NFL would not grant Midway the license of NFL stadiums, player likeliness and logos. In reality, Thompson either conveniently forgot to mention, or just plain didn’t know that Electronic Arts, of Madden fame, signed an exclusive deal with the NFL for all NFL properties and logos.

Thompson loves to claim he “knows his stuff” and to “trust him” but his knowledge of video games falls flat. His McCarthy-like rampage reached a new height when he introduced his “Modest Proposal for Video Games.”

Thompson’s game involves a father who’s son was “beaten to death with a baseball bat by a 14-year-old gamer.” After his son’s death, the father goes on a killing rampage to avenge his son, which included GameStop employee’s, video game publishers, and any police who happened to get in the way.

What was the point of his modest proposal? He offered to donate $10,000 to charity for any publisher who made his game. As developers began to bring his game to life, he was quick to recant his proposal as satire. Interestingly, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik – co-founders of video game site Penny-arcade.com – donated the $10,000 in Jack Thompson’s name.

Is GTA a violent, vulgar, and sexually explicit game? Yes. Do music CDs contain similar content? Yes, interestingly, games have a more in depth rating system then CDs do. Novels also contain similar content; yet we have no rating or advisory labels for books. There seems to be a double standard that books are seen as a more legitimate form of entertainment then video games.

What is most important is the concept of responsibility. It is not the government’s responsibility to raise a parent’s child. In the case of video games, the ESRB has made great efforts in educating parents on the content of games. GTA is an M rated game because it is meant for adults, not for children. Jack Thompson’s opinions, on the other hand, aren’t meant for anyone.

Contact Andrew Stiffler at [email protected]