Crime caper Grand Theft Auto IV has been yanked off Thailand’s shelves after a teen confessed to murdering a taxi driver, having been inspired by the carjacking title.
It all happened during an attempt to recreate a scene from the game, unfortunately ending with murder.
“He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game,” chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak informed Reuters.
And now New Era Interactive Media, Grand Theft Auto IV’s distributor, is to stop the game being sold.
“We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games,” Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media, told Reuters.
While there’s a lack of concrete evidence in the UK or abroad to discover the extent of videogame related crime it does add further fuel to the anti-violence in games brigade.
“This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse,” Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry’s Cultural Surveillance Centre said. “Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner.”
We’re really not sure what he means by that – is he suggesting shop owners are somehow more entitled to life than taxi drivers?! What do you reckon? Are videogames are capable of inciting murder? Let us know in the comments section below.
