When I was on my way to work this morning I picked up a copy of the Metro as a usually do, and I was really surprised by the headline. But that’s nothing compared to how (unpleasantly) surprised I was after reading the article.
The release of Grand Theft Auto V last week has sparked a lot of controversy, with newspapers reporting on stories such as a London man being stabbed for his copy of the game and a fan who was robbed by a married couple in Florida. Whenever a major title like this is published the scaremongers bring out their laptops and start writing about how video games are the root of all evil.
It seems like the Metro was partaking in this activity themselves today. As if the story of a fifteen-year-old boy staging a hold-up at a bank wasn’t bad enough, the headline was worded in a way to make reference to a comment by the district judge presiding over the case. Maybe I’m overreacting slightly, but I’m unable to see what need there was to describe the crime as ‘video game style’ or what justification there was for including this in the title.
Was there any need for this headline?
The world’s problems can’t all be attributed to video games – just look at W1ngman, he plays games like Manhunt but loves fluffy kittens – and articles like this just serve to give non-gamers the wrong impression. Just because you might shoot someone with a rocket launcher (or jump cars over improbable ramps for that matter) in GTA 5 doesn’t mean that you’re going to storm the next bank you see in real life. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
