UK Gov should celebrate GTA - Kingsley

By GamesIndustry International Published 30 April, 2008

Rebellion boss tells off Select Committee.

Jason Kingsley, CEO of Rebellion, told the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee yesterday that GTA IV should be shown more respect and "celebrated" as a British success, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Kingsley's comments came after a series of questions surrounding the issue of games ratings in which GTA IV was singled out as being deliberately advertised to an audience below its age rating.

"This is the world's biggest launch in the games market and the intellectual property is actually British made, he explained. "I think that's fantastic. It should be celebrated."

The government committee is holding an inquiry to discuss harmful content on the internet and in videogames, and among the witnesses attending this hearing was Dr Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, Paul Jackson, the director general of ELSPA and Keith Ramsdale, the vice president of EA games in the UK.

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Comments (17) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tejstar #1 4 years ago

    A sensible man. Probably a game too! ;)

  • neilka #2 4 years ago

    "attending this hearing was Dr Richard Wilson".

    I don't believe it.

  • Killerbee #3 4 years ago

    The government committee is holding an inquiry to discuss harmful content on the internet and in videogames

    Hang on, why didn't someone just point them towards a copy of the Byron Report? Why on Earth do we need another inquiry into this, or do these MPs have too much spare time on their hands?

  • Zomoniac #4 4 years ago

    I've seen no such 'deliberate advertising'. It has cool adverts shown before the watershed. Can the same not be said of most alcoholic products?

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #5 4 years ago

    I only skim-read it, but I believe the Byron report actually called for more of this sort of thing.

    Official consensus is that adult games are still inappropriate for children.

  • peterfll #6 4 years ago

    Putting the ads in between Sponge Bob was a mistake then?

  • Ryze #7 4 years ago

    The biggest ENTERTAINMENT launch ever.

    If this was a violent MOVIE like Pulp Fiction or something by Guy Ritchie, they'd be falling over themselves trying to praise it.

    Fools.

  • Denny #8 4 years ago

    Celebrate This Sick Filth!

  • Hughes. #9 4 years ago

    Games are one of the few things this country still makes, and makes money at. That and the international arms trade.

  • AphoticCosmos #10 4 years ago

    Games are one of the few things this country still makes, and makes money at. That and the international arms trade.

    Games and arms go together like clouds and british weather - without arms we couldn't have gun porn in our shooters ;)

    GTAIV should be celebrated as a British success. It's a shame that it will never be, since there are too many Express and Mail readers.

    It's perfectly alright for anyone to go down and watch Stabby-stabby the Serial Killer XIII: The Re-deadening - some Hollywood Z-movie rubbish, but playing home grown British games? Especially one that has almost certainly broken some entertainment records and completely dwarfed everything from CoD4 to Halo 3? Heaven forbid!

  • Bassassin #11 4 years ago

    "The government committee is holding an inquiry to discuss harmful content on the internet and in videogames

    Hang on, why didn't someone just point them towards a copy of the Byron Report? Why on Earth do we need another inquiry into this, or do these MPs have too much spare time on their hands?"

    Typical government tactic - they'll keep holding "inquiries" until one delivers the result they want.
    Edited by Bassassin at 30/04/08 @ 13:28

  • Captain_Jono #12 4 years ago

    I'm in two minds about this. GTA is legally an 18+ game; but the series has never been an ADULT game. The violence, crime, and other adult issues are coached in an adolescent tone. The humor is purile; with no refinement. It's full of thinly veiled double-entendres, all with about as much wit as a Gordon Brown PMQ. The game is full of adult themes; but they're never looked at in an adult way!

    I think the problem is that, whatever the rating, the actual audience IS primarily under-age. Children and teenagers (That is, under-age ones) make up an enormous portion, if not the majority, of the gaming market. That GTA 4 is doing well, in spite of sale restrictions which should really be crippling it indicates the extent of the problem!

  • Dixons #13 4 years ago

    Captain_Jono

    The reason for GTA's approach is that it's meant to be satire, not deadpan serious in tone. It pokes fun at societal issues using humour, but it still addresses them in a deep and meaningful way, unlike 99.99% of games out there.

    Incidentally, I'd like to see this BRITISH company make a BRITISH game next. Returning to Liberty City was exactly the right thing for IV, with its immigrant, American Dream story, but next game, enough already. There's a world outside America that's worth exploring ya know, and for starters the British psyche and quirks would make a wonderful playground for Rockstar's unique brand of social commentary. DO EET!

  • superdelphinus #14 4 years ago

    yeah let's have some region specific DLT

    Niko goes to Blackpool etc

  • Lin #15 4 years ago

    I am of the opinion that realistic, intelligent games like the ones rockstar make are far less damaging than the endless dumbed down hack and slash games now being made, that encourage me to to commit bloodless, dumbed down genocide of people who are depicted as mindless, faceless fodder (dynasty warriors, I'm looking at you).

  • superdelphinus #16 4 years ago

    is grand theft auto really that deep and intelligent?

  • hybridial #17 4 years ago

    "The reason for GTA's approach is that it's meant to be satire, not deadpan serious in tone. It pokes fun at societal issues using humour, but it still addresses them in a deep and meaningful way, unlike 99.99% of games out there. "

    GTA and the words deep and meaningful go about as well together as Obama and Hilary.

    "I am of the opinion that realistic, intelligent games like the ones rockstar make are far less damaging than the endless dumbed down hack and slash games now being made, that encourage me to to commit bloodless, dumbed down genocide of people who are depicted as mindless, faceless fodder (dynasty warriors, I'm looking at you)."

    You'd be wrong then, games like that have no realism and come across as inherently detached from real life, as a result they have no influence on people. And if you want to claim otherwise... where's your evidence?
    Edited by hybridial at 30/04/08 @ 14:44