Grand Theft Auto 4 queue man stabbed in head
Revenge assault attempted
A hooded male stabbed another man in the head and neck yesterday as they both queued to buy copies of Grand Theft Auto IV from a Croydon Gamestation store.
Onlookers witnessed the Niko-style stabbing, which some bystanders have said they initially thought was a stunt pulled to whip-up yet more excitement for the eagerly anticipated title.
Unfortunately, the stabbing was anything but virtual. Police have yet to confirm the motive for the assault, but it’s thought that the two men were just rude to one another.
The victim managed to survive the ordeal - and stumbled home to grab a knife for a revenge attack. However, he collapsed in the street on his way back to the store.
One witness to the attack told The Times newspaper that the victim had been stabbed repeatedly and that there was blood everywhere.
But that's not the only incident of GTA IV-style real-word violence yesterday. Separately, an 18-year-old suffered a broken jaw after being mugged for his copy of the game, bought from Blockbuster Video just minutes earlier.
Some anti-GTA IV campaigners have already jumped on both incidents as proof that such games are too violent for society. Keith Vaz, a prominent British Labour MP, said that news of both incidents didn't surprise him.
Despite the attacks, the game appears to be flying off the shelves. Play.com claims to be taking around 80 orders for the game each minute, while Woolworths has reportedly sold 200 copies each minute over the last 24 hours.
COMMENTS
Could've been worse........
The stabee might've had a knife on him as well.
Seriously though, I live in France and films that were rated over 18 in Ireland (where I grew up) and Britain are rated at 12 here. Movie violence is rarely rated over 12 here. There's no 15 rating,soft porn gets a 16 rating and hard porn gets an 18 rating. And they don't even have a 21 rating! And you don't see French kids killing and raping each other in the streets every day.
I think the Irish and British censors are living on another planet. And I won't even get into American "values" when it comes to TV censorship. You can burn, bomb, shoot, strangle, torture, maim, rape and kill, only during the destructive act of choice you can't show more flesh than you'd see in church on Sunday (except for HBO of course!).
Mine's the one with "don't tell me what I can and can't watch" written on it.
Similar to what happened to me . . .
The delivery van driver dropping off my copy of GTA IV special edition stabbed me in the head too, and ran off with it, the bastard!!
The knife went right thru the skull, I have a slight headache but I'm alright now.
.
Moral of the story - If you're buying a copy of a game from a hellhole of a games shop in a hellhole of a town like Croydon, expect such behaviour - its not news to me.
I would have been surprised if NO such stabbing occurred at least once somewhere like that.
Having said that, Manchester seems to be a bit too peaceful at the moment!!!
Latest scapegoat
The media basically needs the public to have a bogeyman and games fit the bill. They are the preserve of the geek, the nerd, the quiet teenager locked in his room hour after hour, they are a great unknown to the chattering classes and middle Englanders all reading the Daily Mail and fearing that chavs or immigrants will invade their cosy little villages and devalue their property. Games industry, unlike music and movies isn't used to the attention yet, they haven't quite got the hang of basically saying bugger off, yes well stick some more labels saying anyone under 48 isn't allowed to buy it, whatever you want, just sod off.
Sorry but alcohol and/or driving ( without or without a mobile!) causes more deaths an injuries than any other aspects of modern life, don't see many angry mothers picketing TESCO demanding all the alcohol be poured down the drain. Don't see the government banning drink or cars, now why is that? Oh yes, 'cos it makes shed-loads in taxes, unlike games which only reel in the usual 17.5%.
@Daniel B
>"Wait. Aren't you talking about a rave?"
*headdesk*
Of course they are, you bleeding' idiot. That is the entire point of the joke.
Putting a "Joke alert" on your post when you're just spoiling the original joke by clumsily restating and explaining it doesn't make you immune from having missed the joke yourself, which you clearly did. EPIC FAIL.
What i want to know is...
What video game does bush/blair/howard play that make them think invading a country and killing hundreds of thousands of people is cool.
If im ever in court for a killing I will claim that Bush is my inspiration!
