Big Apple mayor bitter over new Rockstar game

Published on Wednesday 4 April 2007 11:52

EDINBURGH computer game developer Rockstar North has been criticised by New York politicians over a perceived dig at the Big Apple.

The trailer for the latest version of its controversial Grand Theft Auto game shows New York landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Cyclone roller coaster at Coney Island.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement: "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers."

And city councillor Peter Vallone, chairman of the city's public safety committee, said: "Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo [a rival "shoot-em-up" game] in Disneyland."

The concerns over the game came as New York hosted Tartan Week, celebrating America's links with Scotland.

And they followed reports in the UK Ezekiel Maxwell, 18, a paranoid schizophrenic high on cannabis, stabbed a woman to death after hearing voices from Grand Theft Auto in his head.

Ezekiel stabbed Carmelita Tulloch, 52, as she walked to work in Kensington, South London, last September.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Croydon Crown Court this week.

Rockstar, which has consistently rejected the idea that games can cause people to commit crime, today made no comment on the latest claims.