GTA: Vice City blamed for New Mexico ’04 killings

Remember that incident on newsman Sam Donaldson’s New Mexico ranch a couple of years back, where a 14-year-old shot his father, stepmother and stepsister? Well, Cody Posey is now 16 years old, sentenced early this year to state custody until he is 21, and is yet again involved in another lawsuit, this time, alongside corporate bigwigs.

Surviving family members of Posey’s victims filed a US$ 600 million lawsuit, naming Posey, Sony Corporation of America, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and its subsidiary Rockstar Games as defendants. According to the suit, the companies are just as liable as Posey himself for the killings because they were in on a “civil conspiracy’, creating entertainment that ‘would spawn such copycat violence’.

The violent entertainment being referred to here is the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, developed by Rockstar Games. The GTA Series depict police killings and other acts of violence. The lawsuit also tags the various editions of the game ‘virtual reality murder simulators’. Said the plaintiffs, the game trained Posey ‘how to point and shoot a gun in a fashion making him an extraordinarily effective killer without teaching him any of the constraints or responsibilities needed to inhibit such a killing capacity’. The lawsuit goes on to claim that if it were not for Posey’s use of these products, he would not have killed.

As if to further strengthen this point, it was also stated in the lawsuit that the plaintiffs’ lawyer Jack Thompson was told by a sheriff’s deputy that the game and a Sony PlayStation 2 were found at the ranch.

On the other hand, Jim Ankner, spokesperson for defendant Take-Two said they believe that the suit is without merit.

And so we see another instance where video games remain to be the only logical answer why a minor would suddenly go on a killing rampage. From the looks of it, it sure seems like the gaming industry has now got its own McDonald’s version when it comes to lawsuits relentlessly attempting to pin the blame on factors and events that do not necessarily have a causal relationship.

Remember that incident on newsman Sam Donaldson’s New Mexico ranch a couple of years back, where a 14-year-old shot his father, stepmother and stepsister? Well, Cody Posey is now 16 years old, sentenced early this year to state custody until he is 21, and is yet again involved in another lawsuit, this time, alongside corporate bigwigs.

Surviving family members of Posey’s victims filed a US$ 600 million lawsuit, naming Posey, Sony Corporation of America, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and its subsidiary Rockstar Games as defendants. According to the suit, the companies are just as liable as Posey himself for the killings because they were in on a “civil conspiracy’, creating entertainment that ‘would spawn such copycat violence’.

The violent entertainment being referred to here is the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, developed by Rockstar Games. The GTA Series depict police killings and other acts of violence. The lawsuit also tags the various editions of the game ‘virtual reality murder simulators’. Said the plaintiffs, the game trained Posey ‘how to point and shoot a gun in a fashion making him an extraordinarily effective killer without teaching him any of the constraints or responsibilities needed to inhibit such a killing capacity’. The lawsuit goes on to claim that if it were not for Posey’s use of these products, he would not have killed.

As if to further strengthen this point, it was also stated in the lawsuit that the plaintiffs’ lawyer Jack Thompson was told by a sheriff’s deputy that the game and a Sony PlayStation 2 were found at the ranch.

On the other hand, Jim Ankner, spokesperson for defendant Take-Two said they believe that the suit is without merit.

And so we see another instance where video games remain to be the only logical answer why a minor would suddenly go on a killing rampage. From the looks of it, it sure seems like the gaming industry has now got its own McDonald’s version when it comes to lawsuits relentlessly attempting to pin the blame on factors and events that do not necessarily have a causal relationship.