The Daily Mirror today carries the headline "I'll do a Grand Theft Auto Massacre" on its front page.
Ryan Donovan was jailed for 25 years yesterday after shooting crew members on board the submarine as it was docked in Southampton.
Donovan had wanted a transfer to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ship Cardigan Bay but the move was denied because he had disobeyed an order to clean the submarine prior.
Donovan later told crewmate Petty Officer Andrew Love that he was planning a "Grand Theft Auto-style massacre".
"The defendant just giggled and said he was thinking how to start a massacre," Prosecutor Nigel Lickley QC told Winchester Crown Court.
"He started talking about Grand Theft Auto where you start a massacre and rack up points by killing."
The story is also covered by Metro on its front page, which carries the headline "Sailor's 'GTA gun spree' on nuke sub".
The Sun, on the other hand, refrains from making the video game link in its online headline, simply saying "Sub gunman flipped over cleaning duty", with Grand Theft Auto not featuring in the story until paragraph three.
This latest link between GTA and real-life violence is far from an isolated example in the mainstream press.
For the most part, however, newspapers have quoted the reference from official court hearings rather than jumping on leaps of logic made by the public, for example, as seen during the London riots.
Accompanying The Daily Mirror story, however, is a boxout that focuses on the link and claims "Cyber kids dabble with death".
This aside calls Grand Theft Auto "one of the most addictively popular and controversial computer games ever made" and points to accusations the game has received of "inciting vulnerable youngsters to commit horrific crimes."
Sigh.
Comments
55 comments so far...
roland82 on 20 Sep '11 said:
I read this story on the Mirror's website earlier. I would say the Navy picked the wrong person in the first place. No matter what anybody says it wasnt GTA that taught him how to fire a SA80 assault rifle.
Sad story all round.
Imdanshort1 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Last time i played GTA i thought it would be a good idea to hit people round the head with a baseball bat and steal money from dead corpses but i remembered that im not an insane d*ck putting a bad reputation to video games!
CrispyLog on 20 Sep '11 said:
To be honest, beeing stuck in a submarine for months on end would drive me mad, I bet GTA was the only thing keeping him sane! I bet it all went wrong when they went up Paris in the submarine and went in Seine .......
The_Jaster on 20 Sep '11 said:
The guy is clearly a loon.....when have you ever scored points in GTA?
sjb1989cfc on 20 Sep '11 said:
I got GTA:london when i was 7 years old and i have been playing the series for the past 15 years and i have not killed anybody nor has the 100 million players who have played the GTA series.
RichPerry on 20 Sep '11 said:
Sigh indeed.
Gamer4LIFE2011 on 20 Sep '11 said:
I have played all the GTA's & i can't remember a level on a nuclear submarine? So he is hardly coping the game LoL
IbanezLewis on 20 Sep '11 said:
I was gonna say the same thing! What score multiplier?! Reeks of videogame scapegoats again...
shaolinsword on 20 Sep '11 said:
so watching films makes you smoke and playing games makes you kill people? I love the media and their scare tactics
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
I bet you'd love being trapped in a confined space with lots of men away from home.
Imdanshort1 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Although i do have sex with hookers a lot now days after playing the GTA series. Im a victim
Killermancarro on 20 Sep '11 said:
I love the cheap blow at the bottom of the page. Fair play to the Fail, they will persist but simply because they know they have nothing else on gaming. Maybe one day the tabloids will get their wish and such games will be blamed. When a loon goes on a killing spree and his xbox is taken off him I hope it does the trick, but something tells me it's not the best medicine!
Try to laugh at it people and not get too wound up, these rags are only good for tits and sport and they know it.
Killermancarro on 20 Sep '11 said:
surrounded by seamen...
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
All up in his anus.
Do you kill them to get your money back too?
goku_ssj_uk on 20 Sep '11 said:
Why does GTA get all the flack for everything that happens, you never see COD getting blamed for this crap.
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
Well that might change.
Imdanshort1 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Come on man i'm not a monster i just cripple them and wait for an ambulance then kill the paramedics and steal their car! GOD!
wrightandrewjame on 20 Sep '11 said:
Yeah I loved that assumption today. I also loved how they want to make every film with smoking in it an 18! I'm a non-smoker and I've never felt the urge to smoke due to on screen smokers. In fact I do the opposite and just quote Police Squad! when I'm offered a cigarette:
"Cigarette?"
"Yes, it is."
Anyway for those who haven't seen that other ludicrous article on the BBC about smoking and films here it is:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14971560
martinawatson on 20 Sep '11 said:
Im actually getting a bit annoyed at CVG being (dare i say it ) perhaps a little biased in this debate.
I think the signs were there for quite a while if people looked instead of just poo pooing this sad event.
Previously he had attempted (on two occasions) to roll his shipmates up into a giant ball and this coincided (i cant say a direct link) with him at the time , playing a lot of Katamari Damacry, fact is stranger than fiction don't you think.
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
I know that I am constantly attempting to roll Ambulances in real life at least.
svd_grasshopper on 20 Sep '11 said:
you're as bad CVG - giving this s**te the time of day and feeding off it...
just waiting for the 'WRONG' article
KMakawa on 20 Sep '11 said:
Sweet, sweet memorys of GTA 3. 10 years gone.
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
@SVD
At least you were able to find a way to feel superior to everybody.
flash501 on 20 Sep '11 said:
"He started talking about Grand Theft Auto where you start a massacre and rack up points by killing."
The ignorance in these stories is always something to behold!
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
To be fair there were massacre events in GTA III at least.
svd_grasshopper on 20 Sep '11 said:
WTF you talking about, arse.
this article is a bottom feeder. a report, on a knocked-up sensationalist report, for... sensationalism.
oh look!! gamers getting vilified in the media again.
they even had a retarded campaign logo. Witless and Ridiculous Opinions Of Non-Gamers. gimmie a break, it's no better than the bulls**t headlines.
http://www.mcvuk.com/cimages/2ca9f54a32c04356aea4fe9010615a10.jpg
where is it CVG? i'm sure someone's hard at work as we speak. someone's gotta stand up to this slander.
sakaspuds on 20 Sep '11 said:
"inciting vulnerable youngsters to commit horrific crimes." the game is an 18, for adults only, you cant blame the game for corrupting youth when it clearly states on the box that its not suitable for children
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
That wasn't very nice was it.
What I was talking about was you.
flash501 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Indeed, but racking up points for massacres?
MrPirtniw on 20 Sep '11 said:
Wait... so you guys are trying to say you HAVEN'T been on real life killing sprees? I don't think there's been a day I haven't crushed someones face thanks to playing Mario and learning his jump technique.
What a bunch of wierdos.
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
You can't expect them to actually play the games, they might develop an opinion that doesn't sell as many papers.
only_777 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Everyone may brush this off as the Mirror going mental again but video games have a lot to answer for.
Only the other day a boy in my home town went crazy. He ate his own weight of sainsburys fresh mushrooms and then went on a turtle-killing rampage in a local aquatic pet store.
The boy disappeared into a sewer pipe and the police are yet to catch him.
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
Tragic that the child could only afford a s**tty Mario game.
only_777 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Child poverty affects people in different ways!
dicky1993 on 20 Sep '11 said:
surrounded by seamen...
sperm whales and seamen
lostimage on 20 Sep '11 said:
what is it with tabloid and news programmes saying that you rack up points by doing a,b or c. Last time i checked a AAA game was not concerned or even had points but was driven by a captivating story line, which i admit some people might read into more than others as in this case but it just annoys me with this whole "doing something/killing someone for points" b*****ks.
TheLastDodo on 20 Sep '11 said:
I love that the point thats upsetting people the most is the newspaer falsely claiming that you are rewarded points in GTA. Instead of calling out the newspaper for typical OTT video game sensationalism, instead of supporting Rockstar for showing ambition and how GTA III pushed gaming into mainstream, all you are talking about is how the game doesn't actually reward you with "points", talk about pedantic.
You are rewarded with currency for going on massacres, whether it's a story mission, taking a car and driving through crowds of people or picking up a hooker, screwing her then beating her to death with a baseball bat.
I LOVED GTA III and I performed all of the above actions in the game, sometimes because I could and sometimes because I had to, I'm sure that 99.9% of people that have played a GTA have never done anything like the man in this story because we can differentiate what's real and what's not.
While the 99.9% are fine, theres always that .1% that will drag gaming through the mud and that is all "the media" needs to attack one of our favourite pastimes, I understand being defensive but don't trot out "you don't get points in GTA" like you've raised a valid point because the medias valid point will be that GTA rewards you for perfoming violent actions from starting fights to killing hookers to going on drive-by shootings to all out killing sprees and this point is undeniable.
Bottom line: GTA is a mature gaming series, if you enjoy it for the mindless violence aspect thats fine but if you enjoy it for the story, the characters, the maturity in storytelling, the ambition and hate seeing it as a scapegoat then defend it maturely. Going all "herp derp" might cut it online but it doesn't where it matters most.
Ais4Audi on 20 Sep '11 said:
Second this...
Lady Gagagged on 20 Sep '11 said:
Someone should organise a global day of no video gaming and see how much crime is committed compared to an ordinary day.
nathar on 20 Sep '11 said:
GTA is very much the poster boy of media blame. God help us all when someone at a tabloid newspaper plays Saints Row 3.
robbiej55 on 20 Sep '11 said:
There are more criminals who don't blame GTA for their actions than do... More GTA players do not commit crimes than do... through my daily mail logic this must mean that playing GTA reduces people's tendancy to commit crimes.
Thank God for GTA, the world would be a dark place without it!
wasted-again on 20 Sep '11 said:
That's why I allways pick my own...
TheDragonDoji on 20 Sep '11 said:
It is much easier to blame one specific title than to turn the focus around and really look at the social influences that would push a young man to do such a thing.
No we can't do that, it might be a little uncomfortable for everyone...much easier to blame a violent game. We're lucky there isn't any sex involved otherwise it would be responsible for teenage pregnancy, single mothers, AIDs and, inexplicably, the financial deficit.
P.S For the love of Jehovah!!
rbt2 on 20 Sep '11 said:
sperm whales and seamen
And cockles and winkles.
Anyways, Mirror Schmirror!
Who reads that old s**te anyway?
spaceman_DOUG on 20 Sep '11 said:
Much better to de-educate yourself with the Mail innit.
gmcb007 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Oh for fuc..
I read about this yesterday and somebody mentioned that he played games and I just knew that some f**kwit would use it for a perfect fabricated fearmonger story. Ahh well, it's only a Tabloid, they mostly rely on The s**te Factor stories anyways. Not like he could have had underlining mental problems probably caused by living in a cramped tin can for 6 months straight.
So basically, f**k em..
rbt2 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Indeed it is, Douglas.
Billybob21 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Oh no you didn't!
Dajmin on 20 Sep '11 said:
I didn't even know he was an Alfa Romeo driver...
Yes, I did. Let's not play into their hands, eh?
alan666 on 20 Sep '11 said:
being in the military is what got him hooked on violence.
The Bossman on 20 Sep '11 said:
Keep it up tabloids, maybe you'll eventually go too far and hack game companys phone systems and get shut down.
Emoticons Only on 20 Sep '11 said:
only_777 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Oh yes he did!
kriscotw9 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Ive been addicted to eating magic mushrooms for 20 years now
I blame Mario
Luckychuro777 on 21 Sep '11 said:
there we go another 1 person the papers and media can use as a credible source and defining example of us 200 million+ gamers out there so whos up for a saints row massacre?