How old should you be for GTA3
 

I purchased GTA3 recently and the store owner was telling me about all the young kids (7-10) who's parents were buying it for them. I'd like to hear your opinion on how old should someone be to purchase GTA3. It has a mature rating. You can pick up and "use" prostitutes in the game. That's the one aspect of the game that makes me raise an eyebrow. Since it deals with sex, should you be 18 to buy it? What do you think? I'd mainly like to hear from non minors, but all opinions are welcome.

There has been sexual themes in many games, but I don't think you have to be 18 in order to play them. It depends on the person themselves. If they are like "Whoa, they're having sex! Oh my God!", then they aren't ready for the game.

I don't know what to say really, because you can't really put a number on maturity.

I'm thinking that if you're younger then, say, 10-12 then you probably shouldn't be playing it, but it all still depends on what kind of environment you're in.

Some children are very sheltered and if they played the game it could disturb them immensely, while others would not even think anything terrible of the game.

I grew up with two older brothers and four older step brothers/sister so I've been watching/playing/hearing/doing things past my age for a long time.

Also, whatever the generation coming after (some of) our Generation X, (Generation Y?) are most likely going to be a very un-sheltered group of individuals that have been immensely desensitized to violence and other "mature" subject matter (prostitution, sex, etc.).

I think that rather than limit the availability or usage of games like GTA3 with "questionable subject matter" it is up to the parents to be with their children to explain that this is not reality, and that in real life the main character of the game would be long dead or serving a life sentence in prison.

I just think that when I'm walking through the city seeing fifth graders sparking up a joint on a park bench or beating the **** out each other that playing a video game is going to do any more harm.

I know my thoughts were pretty scattered and some might've been contradictary, that's just what came off the top of my head.

I think you should be 13 :)
Im 15 and i could not get served for it so i had to get my mum to get it for me :(
I think it should be rated a 15

Yeah well thats my point. It's rated "M" meaning if you're under 17 you shouldn't be playing it. Obviously the ratings mean nothing as everyone can get it. So it's not ok for a 15 yr old to get a hooker, but its ok to pretend?

Good points there Makgsnake. It all depend on the parents. Now what kind of parent supports this. Good ones? Its not just the hookers, there are very mature themes throughout the game. "the Yasuka boss' lesbian overtones" I just feel that if I were a parent (and will be one soon) I would be setting a bad example by letting my kid play this type of game too young.

yeah some kids have parents that dont care waht they do or anything so it doesnt matter to them, but then theres teh parents that shelter the kids from EVERYTHING, then they go over to a friends house and play the **** out of every violent, crazy, well eerything there parents wouldnt let them play. So mainly it depends on the maturity level of the kid, some can handle it some cant. Maybe there should be a GTA3 test, you have to take it to know if your smart enough to shrug the game off as stuff that you SHOULDNT do lol...but ah well, hopefully i made some sense lol

Lets See........
 

Ure Right Sleazy.......U See......I Mean......I'd Tell U To Not Make Ure Child Play This Game.......Till He/She Reaches 17.

But U See Sleazy......If U Bring Ure Child Up Right..... He Wouldn't Wanna Play That Game Anyway.......I Mean.......I Remember. When I Was Young.....I Use To Listen To Songs, And If In Any Song....I Use To Hear A Female Making Moaning Noises. I Just Use To Turn It Off Right Away. Cause I Knew It That It Wasn't Good For Me And I Shouldn't Be Listening To It!.!

And At The Same Thing I Knew That Voilence Is Bad....!.....And Guns And Shooting People And All That Is A Very Bad Thing!.! I Remember I was In GRADE THREE And I Saw T2 A Rated R Movie!.! But I Knew It was All Wrong If I Do It On The Streets!.!

But BowevelJoe Said It Right Too......!.......If U Stop Them, They'll Do It More With THeir Friends..... And If U Allow Them A Little..They Wont Do It As Much Outside Out (The Nasty Things I MEAN)

I Have To Go Now. I'll Discuss This In Porper Manner Later!.! Cause Its A Good Topic To Discuss! :)

I know what you mean. I guess it's one of those topics that there's no right answer. I love the game, so I'm a hyprocrite in saying you shouldn't play it. right? But them I'm 31 and my minds been warped for some time now. Then I think to when I was 15. I would have loved this game! So I guess it depends on the kid and the parent.

yeah, i mean its a good game, its fun and innovative and all that good stuff, im 16, and i mean its an awsome game, but i dont get the urge to go and pop someone with a shot gun, or go steal a taxi and run over some hobos lol. Like i said it depends on the maturity of the child, the ability to tell reality from un-reality lol, and well thats about it lol..

Gotta Do It?
 

ah but that goes back to the maturity of the 15 year old, i agree, 12 and under are definant nono's thats way to little lol, but some kids can handle it at 15 or so and some cant, it depends on the way the kid was brought up is to where he can take it all in or not.

It's true what Makg said about guidance of parents compared to that of friends.
I would much rather be able to let my kids be fairly liberal in what they do, as long as they tell me about it, than have them lying to me and not knowing what they're up to all the time, and what weird stuff they're hearing from their friends.

My parents are kind of like that. They don't need to worry about me as much, because they know that when I go to parties I'll probably be drinking or smoking ____ occasionally. They feel much safer because they know that I'm responsible enough to be able to discern what is good and bad for me, and the amount I do these things in.
They know that I would not do any harmful drugs, or drink myself into alcohol poisoning, or ever do anything like that at or around school.

It's the same thing with games. My parents have seen pretty much all of the games I own being played and can tell that my personality and actions do not change because of them.

It's kind of straying from the point a bit, sorry . . .

Kids know whats real and whats not. I just tried to put myself in a parent mindset. You all have excellent points of view. Thanks for all the feedback. :)

I'll say 14 years old...

I think 15 :peoples:
A bit much Violence for the youth's of today!:laugh:

its a good game but if somebody cant handle it dont play it if you can you can. but if i was a parent i would test the game out first for my child and i would let him play it for a couple of weeks and see if the game has changed his attaitude.

15 is good. But I have to say that my opinion is bogus considering that I'm 16. I would really recommend a higher age but that would make me a hypocrite.

I enjoy the game, but some of my friends go crazy when they see that kind of stuff. (Kicking a dead cop to see how much blood would come out) That's taking it a little far.

Selling the game based on maturity wouldn't work. Think of all the under age kids, like myself, that are playing it with the strict 18 and up rating? If they lessened the requirements everyone would own one.

well they care in indianapolis they put all the bad games behind a curtain so kids under 18 can't go in there (games with M ratings) but kno wgame store has really cared if i buy an M rated title, cause well i am at gamestop so much the people there know me and know that i am capable of basic right wrong, good bad, real fake comprehension, same as blockbuster, i live like 1 minute away from one and i am there so much that me an dthe employees are on a first name basis, and that they'd give me a job but i am under age (14) and yo umust be 18 to work there

Vice City
 

Vice City Holds a 18 certificate
This is much more like it ! :laugh:

It's a game, lighten up.

Besides, once that cute blond little 8 year old girl becomes 18, chances are she'll be a slut. Everyone'll be currupted sooner or later. Watching a car rock back and forth after picking up a prostitute wont make matters worse.

I cannot really reccommend a specific age, because I think that as long as an individal can fully understand the difference between fantasy and reality, then there's no reason why that individual can't play GTA3

An 18 year old can be drafted in the army to die but he cannot buy a beer.

Society is full of hypocrisies.

As for my opinion, I believe that people should probably be at least teenagers (14+) to play it.. It would probably be much younger if society at large were not so controlled by the ridiculously conservative minority.

*repeats "I will not get into a debate about the violence in the media argument.." a few times.. sighs frustratedly*

Kids want it, kids play it. If they are mature enough (thier parents think they are mature enough) then they should be able to play it. It really irks me when I hear about parents buying the game for thier kids then whining because they didn't know it had all the violence and sex in it. It is a rated M game named after a felony offense.. it is not society's or the game's fault because they are twits. Then again when I see a headline like "Child kills sibling reenacting video game violence" I don't see that.. I see "Moron parents raise psycho retarded kid".

Oy.. I'm breaking my mantra. I'll stop now. :D

i am 11 i'm just surprised that they put that kind of stuff in games

well i am pretty sure if all the M rated games would not be sold to underaged kids and had a WARNING on them for the parents

you see... the problem is that there is a warning
the label that says M for MATURE
so basicaly in front of the cover you see the M label
but some parents are just too dumb and forget to SWITCH the box and see WHY is it M on the back
cuz the label on the back says MATURE and explanation
well here is an example
VC on the back of the box says

[MATURE]
BLOOD AND GORE, VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT

so it's not the game that is bad
it's the PARENTS that buy that game for their kids

the way i see it is that if you ARE mature enough... and the only way for you to prove that you are mature enough is GET A JOB
GET PAID
BUY THE GAME
with your own money
cuz if you are mature enough to work then you are mature enough to understand that life is not a game
and you will never take the game so serious

that is all i wanted to so
pretty much the age doesn't matter
JOB = MATURE = OWNING THE GAME

you guys are gonna yell at me i have vice city and my brother plays it and hes only 7!!!! well he never goes and picks up hookers he usally plays missions and drives around nothing really violent.:roll:

loads of kids play it, no one ever listens to the age rating any more! its wrong but that is how it is!

well i figure that it should be age related
like they dont sell you the game till you are some certain age
like smokes
and liquer
it's just something that they CAN do
that is the only way to atleast stop the kids

Im 12...and I was only 11 when I first played GTA3.

Well I was 13 when I walked into the shops to buy GTA3 when it first came out, and they sold it to me, no quams.

Definitly over 18
 

Its definitly a game for over 18 although maybe over 16's can handle it!
Vice city is alot ruder that gta3 with the hookers saying stuff and that! I look after a 7 yr old and there is no way i would ever let her watch me play it let alone play it herself!:frust:

Definitly not for the young!
Thats all!

Piggle ;)
xx x xx

you're DAMN RIGHT
it's just that those games are the new generation of education for the kids
and it's not a good one
like before.... 50 years ago... kids were educated with flowers, books, stories... etc...
well then it was ok... kids grew up and didn't become murderers, thieves, bandits, pimps and so on...
todays education ways will only make the kids become all those bad things in life
they will never achieve (spelling) anything...
only be a gang member... either kill someone or get killed by himself....

i hate the new education ways....
i think kids should NOT be educated on violence and destruction

it wasn't like this years ago
why make it like this now?
so every parent that reads this.... I QUOTE "IF YOU WANT YOUR KIDS TO BE NORMAL, DONT LET THEM PLAY GAMES LIKE GTA AND WATCH MOVIES LIKE GI60S"

that is all i wanted to say
thank you

my little cus plays it, hes 6 :O But I wouldnt say it gives him homocidal urges, although its messing him up, I think that as long as they know its not real (if you think a game is real, seek help) It's ok and Ratings can kinda be avoided, although i do think my cuz is too young for it. I started playing GTA1 when i was about 11... And i turned out ok *cough*

you sure you turned out ok :P
j/k
well it's something that is up to the parents
not the kids
if the kids think like the game then you should seek help honestly

parents, for God's sake please figure this out. i watched my best freind grow up in a sheltered home. his mother pretended that no violence, sex, drug activity, or crime existed. when he turned about thirteen he became more socially oriented. through interactions with freinds he was more exposed to things like those which appear in gta. now im sad to say that while he is a great guy his moral values are a little skewed sometimes. he does not truly see the wrong in stealing and believes that the crap rappers say about sex is the way women should really be treated. im not saying hes warped or anything but the strict censorship with which he was treated caused him to disbelieve and mislead his mom, his teachers, and all authority figures. you must learn that your children, while young for a while have to grow up. they have to be treated with trust and, most importanlty RESPECT. you have to pay them the honor of realizing they are people just like you. and trying to make them different or "better" than everyone else will in the long run only hurt and disillusion them.

neo, I undrestand what you are saying. My parents sheltered me from stuff like you have stated. Fortunately it wasn't to the same extreme, I think maybe that's why I don't talk much. I was also ridiculed through 9th grade by my peers because I didn't know what they knew. For example, I was asked what a hoe was and I thought it only meant a garden tool and I was ridiculed for not knowing about the other meaning.

well sheltering kids from all that is not that good either
they have to know what's going on in this cruel world of murder ane corruption
like..... it's just supposed to be at a certain age
not just tell them and let them find that out at a young age...
like i started swearing when i was 10
ever since i am a bad boy
kick peoples asses and beat the crap out of some of the people
still... i know the line
i know what is good and what is bad
i still do most of the bad parts though

just because i know it's bad and i am bad