Los Angeles (CA) - Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has issued a statement calling for the newly released Grand Theft Auto IV to be pulled from store shelves and assigned an "Adults Only" rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.
The activist group takes particular offense to the fact that it is possible for players to allow in-game characters to drink and drive.
"Drunk driving is not a game, and it is not a joke. Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable," said MADD in the statement.
By calling for an "AO" rating, MADD is essentially asking for the game to be taken out of the marketplace. Almost every major retailer have policies that prevent them from selling AO games, and Sony will not approve PS3 games with the restrictive rating.
Barring intervention from the ESRB, though, MADD has also called on publisher Rockstar Games to stop distributing the game "out of respect for the millions of victims/survivors of drunk driving."
"We have a great deal of respect for MADD's mission, but we believe the mature audience for 'Grand Theft Auto IV' is more than sophisticated enough to understand the game's content," Rockstar Games told the AP yesterday.
It's hardly a new controversy for Rockstar. Every time a new Grand Theft Auto game comes out there is some group protesting it. The publisher has also faced allegations of being responsible for GTA-inspired shootings. In spite of all that, or perhaps because of it, GTA has become veritable gold for Rockstar.
