Grand Theft Auto IV is rated Mature (for ages 17 and older), with six content descriptors including “intense violence,” “blood,” and “strong language.” What attracts children to Grand Theft Auto games? Kutner and Olson suggest that parents prepare for this by arming themselves with information. However, if you are the parent of a young teen, there’s a good chance that your child will play a game with violent content such as Grand Theft Auto IV-if not at home, then at a friend’s house. Parents have every right to refuse to buy or rent games that offend their values or seem inappropriate for their children. But he seems to know all the characters and what they say, so he must be playing it someplace.” Another noted, “He may bring a Mario game to his buddy’s house and bring back a Grand Theft Auto when I’m not aware of it.” “Parents told us they were concerned about violent games, but frustrated by their limited control and by their lack of information about what’s actually in the games,” says Kutner.Īs one parent lamented in a focus group, “I know that my son does not play Grand Theft Auto in my house.
In fact, 44% of them reported playing at least one game in the series “a lot in the past six months.” (Similarly, a 2005 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that over 3/4 of boys in grades 7 to 12 had ever played a GTA game.) Surprisingly, Grand Theft Auto was the second most popular series among girls, after The Sims. A survey of 1254 children showed that-although most of children’s top-ten games were rated Teen (for ages 13+) or below- Grand Theft Auto was by far the most popular game series among boys.