When I was younger i use to say that playing GTA or games similar to that was same as actually going out and doing it but seriously its a game. First lets just say if this is sold to kids we have a problem cause then i would understand that hey kids still are easy to change mentality. But for older people who are sane well then its a game one that I say is indeed a tad over the top but nonetheless its a game better then going out and doing the villainous act. My opinion maybe being on amazon or ebay isnt good because we all know kids do dumb shit like stealing credit cards now in days. But being sold on the actual site should be allowed cause then its a tad harder to find the game itself

Why would Amazon pull a rape game from their shelves but still offer other rape based media such as Irrevesible with Monica Bellucci (with free super saver shipping I might add.) This movie contains one of the longest, most graphic and most disturbing rape scenes every captured in a non fetish film. The only reason anyone outside of France knows this film is because of the rape scene. I will not link to it here but Goggle Monica Bellucci and see for yourself. What about the classic novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. The tale of a mans demise due to his sexual lust for a young girl? A novel where one of if not the main element revolves around statuary rape.

The only answer that makes sense to me is that people have a knee jerk reaction to video games with questionable content. They feel that because your are "participating" in the action on screen then you must have a larger chance of replicating these actions in real life. Its okay to read about rape or watch rape in movies because those are non participatory and more "normal" types of media that have no or minimal impact on the viewer or reader.

Unfortunately there is no conclusive evidence either way to indicate that video games have any larger of an impact then moves or books on a persons decision making process. So if you remove the "video games are more damaging to people" argument what reason does amazon have to remove the game from thier virtual shevles? They have every right to remove it but do they have a valid reason?

What would be interesting is a formal study, maybe done in a prison. I've heard the claim that when GTA came out, crimes like carjacking actually went down, and there's the old argument that games help people sublimate their darker urges. For instance, by playing "Burnout," a person would be less likely to want to drive fast and hit other cars, because the fantasy gets played out.

The study I'm imagining would involve convicted rapists playing the game, and then they would take a survey. Maybe there could even be brain scans done and chemical tests performed to see how the game affects the wiring of those playing. The big question, of course, is "Does playing a game about rape make a person more or less likely to commit the crime in reality?"

On the other hand, I can see how people would get offended or disgusted by the idea of playing out such a traumatic and vicious crime. Somehow, it seems less cruel to simulate shooting, stabbing, and otherwise mutilating fictional characters than it does to rape them. I've got my B.A. in Forensic Psychology, and spent a lot of time studying rape and its aftermath. I also know a few women who have been raped or been the victims of sexual assault, and I can see the permanent damage it does to their sense of trust and identity.

While most forms of violence are seen as a release or as uncontrolled impulse, rape has a particularly personal and intimate impact. It is not so much an attack on the body as it is on the soul. Basically, it is a fantasy that not everyone has, and I would be very, very cautious about people who want to play it out. But, on the other, other hand, there is the "fake rape fantasy," a type of S&M, where both people know it is a fantasy and there is a "safe word" that will end it. The question with this game is if it is a playing out of the consensual fantasy or the real urge to break someone's will, trust, and sense of personality.

I understand the argument that, since people aren't offended by the killing and whatnot in games like GTA, that we shouldn't be upset about a game about rape. But, I do think there is an important difference between the crime of murder and the crime of rape. I would contend that while murder is almost universally agreed to be unacceptable, the same is not true of rape. While most people do seem to agree that rape is bad, there is a sizable amount of people for whom the issue is not clear. One simply needs to compare the murder rate somewhere to the frequency of rape. Rape is orders of magnitude more common.

As such, I don't see rape as just another type of violence. It's a type of violence that happens with a fair degree of regularity.

The only answer that makes sense to me is that people have a knee jerk reaction to video games with questionable content. They feel that because your are "participating" in the action on screen then you must have a larger chance of replicating these actions in real life. Its okay to read about rape or watch rape in movies because those are non participatory and more "normal" types of media that have no or minimal impact on the viewer or reader.