Sessler’s Soapbox: Grand Theft Logic

By James Walker • May 3, 2008

In a special edition of Sessler’s Soapbox, Adam addresses some of the points Jack Thompson made when he called in to NPR during an episode of “Talk of the Nation”. During his brief time on the telephone, Thompson made some claims about GTA IV that, simply put, were wholely overblown.

It’s nice to see that Adam and I share the same opinion about looking at the box art.

As someone who has completed the game (and is in the progress of completing it a second time before I review it), Thompson made claims that “there is so much sex, and there is so much graphic sex”, which includes “lapdances, simulated felatio and cunninglingus, S&M between two women while a man watches, language to prostitutes to people in cars that I can’t use on an FCC-licensed station, and then killing of the prostitutes by shotguns, machine guns and ramming them into rocks with your vehicle to kill them after you’ve had the sex.”

…okay, you’ve described the strip clubs. Seriously, that’s it — everything you’ve pointed out, sans the prostitutes (which is entirely optional and in no way effects your gameplay — I didn’t even notice a health boost this time), occurs in the strip clubs. Much like M.A.D.D., if you’re going to take offense to this game, at least get your facts straight and point to events in the game that, frankly, are not optional.

If I followed that philosophy, I’d have beaten the game already… that bowling is addictive as hell… either way, the issue of parental involvement with keeping their kids away from GTA IV is an issue we’ve covered here, and the general consensus is this: Be responsible for your kids. Jesus…