First Person Mode GTA V Renews Sex and Violence Questions
We suspected the new visceral, literally in-your-face nature of the violence in Grand Theft Auto V’s first person mode would lead to more complaints and questions about its violent content. The fact that new versions of the game out now on PS4 and Xbox One include graphic first-person sex scenes with prostitutes sealed the deal.
Having sex with prostitutes and then killing them to get your money back has been a thing players have been able to do in GTA for a while now, and a point that’s it’s often criticized for. But a car bouncing around a bit is a cartoonish abstraction compared to this scene, which Esquire discovered. I’m providing it with a warning that it’s extremely NSFW and ends in violence.
Take-Two Interactive CEO, Strauss Zelnick, seemed prepared for a new round of criticism, too. Here’s how he addressed a question about the scene on Bloomberg TV’s show Market Makers today.
“Look, this is a criminal setting. It’s a gritty underworld. It is art. And I — I embrace that art, and it’s beautiful art, but it is gritty. And let’s not make — you know, let’s not make no bones about the environment in which we operate. And we stand shoulder to shoulder with other major motion picture releases and major television shows that explore a similar universe. So yeah, this is a tough universe because it’s a criminal universe. However, there’s hundreds of hours of gameplay. People have been engaged with Grand Theft Auto Online for over a year and there are plenty of things to do, and it’s an incredibly exciting environment. But can it be rough? Absolutely,” Zelnick said.
So what do you think? Is it not different than much darker scenes in movies and television? Or does the inclusion of player agency make it a more problematic issue? Discuss in our forums.