GRAND THEFT AUTO creators sued for $265 million

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press

In a Knoxville, Tennessee courtroom, a federal judge is deciding whether the families of two individuals shot by a pair of teens have the right to place blame upon the makers of the smash-hit video game GRAND THEFT AUTO. The families of Aaron Hamel, 45, and Kimberly Bede, 19, are suing the creators of the game, Rockstar Games, as well as the game's distributor (Take Two Interactive Software), the outlet store Wal-Mart and marketer Sony Computer Entertainment America, the owner of the PlayStation 2 game console.

Hamel died amd Bade was injured when the cars they were riding in were shot at by two teenage stepbrothers, William Buckner and Joshua Buckner. The boys told authorities last June that they took rifles from inside a locked room in the home and then went out to shoot at tractor-trailers, as they did in Rockstar's GRAND THEFT AUTO III.

The case is now attracting media attention and renewed the discussion over the affect violent video games may or may not have with young players. Considered by many to be an extremely violent video game, GRAND THEFT AUTO III lets players role-play as a dangerous thug in a major city, commiting violent crimes like carjacking, shooting innocent people and murdering rival criminals. It's also become one of the most successful franchises ever for the PlayStation 2, spawning a sequel GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY, and recently, ports to the Xbox.

The victims' families are seeking $246 million from the game's creators and the named companies in the lawsuit. Rockstar and Take Two are asking the judge to dismiss the case by saying that the game is protected by the First Amendment. No decision has been announced by the judge yet.



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