Kotaku Bias: GTA IV Behooves No One

One of the characteristics of Kotaku which irks me is that all of their posts are written from the pro-gamer perspective. And not in the "we like playing game" sense but rather in the foaming at the mouth "we must set Jack Thompson on fire" sense. While I've touched on this before and it's not a big deal in the overall scheme of life the release of GTA IV has brought this asinine Kotaku bias to the forefront of my attention once again.

You see, a small TV station in Savannah, Ga. reported on the fact that one can drive drunk in GTA IV. When the jackasses at Kotaku heard about this they got pissy. You can read about the particular manner in which they got pissy if you follow the link I've now posted four times. But my focus in this rant shall be not on the bulk of the post but rather on the closing paragraph of their little ranty-rant:

Why is it valid to assume that all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world, but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message?

Ignoring Owen Good's inexplicable use of the word "valid", which we'll assume is merely a sign of his less than significant grasp of logic, I think this is an excellent example of Kotaku's bias and rampant, unflinching idiocy.

I don't think the problem with GTA IV's drunk driving is that "all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world". First of all, we're not talking about "all bad acts" since we're only talking about drunk driving, asshole. Secondly, drunk driving is not "realistically portrayed" given that, you know, if in GTA IV you drunkenly wreck into a family of four your life is not forever changed as a result of their death and your imprisonment; you merely start the level over, jackass.

This isn't a difficult concept to grasp but since you, Owen Good, obviously missed it I'll explain: It probably does not behoove society for individuals to be exposed to a form of entertainment that belittles the consequences of drunk driving and presents drunk driving as an entertaining challenge at which one may succeed, jackass. And to accommodate your "all" categorization I'll happily go further than claim that GTA IV probably does not behoove society given that it portrays murder, prostitution, theft, violence, and a vast array of other vices in a sanitary, safe, and consequence-free manner.

And to your little "but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message" platitude? Fuck you for using "out of the realm of possibility" you sniveling little brat. Also, I'm pretty sure GTA IV does not deliver a deterrent message given that the selling point of the game is that you can run around Liberty City being an asshole.

You know, Owen Good, you're free to continue your little charlatan jackass facade as you pander to your readers and defend a game from which you collect advertising revenue (a nice little conflict of interest), but don't try to tell me that it's a delightful boon on society that the current gamer zeitgeist is such that people stop playing Wii Tennis and WoW so that they can run around in GTA IV being jackasses. Don't try to defend this shitty excuse for deranged escapism as some cautionary tale containing a deep social message which raises gamers to some higher plane of understanding, nuance, and benevolence towards their common man.

GTA IV allows gamers to wallow in their own crapulence and appeals to their most base desires. GTA IV belittles some of the most problematic burdens on our society and portrays a lifestyle which helps no one as a lark, a delightful little vacation from normalcy. GTA IV is a shitty, shitty game which behooves no one and makes this world a worse place in which to live.

Don't try to gussy it up as having some sort of social merit. That just makes you look like a delusional fucking moron.