New York City Officials
After the release of the first trailer for the game, New York City officials were appalled with the choice of their city as the inspiration for the setting of Grand Theft Auto IV, and said that a game like GTA does not represent the city's crime levels accurately. A spokesperson for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers." Although no points are awarded throughout the game, the player is required to kill or injure police officers on certain occasions to advance in the game's main story. As a response, Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the International Game Developers Association, accused New York City officials of double standards, for criticising video games but not other forms of entertainment, such as books, films and television shows, which use New York City as the setting.
Read more about this topic: Controversies Surrounding Grand Theft Auto IV
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