As the release of Grand Theft Auto 4 draws ever nearer, the waters are already starting to boil. This, without Rockstar’s title even around to help it bubble over. The latest blowup is in Boston where the mayor wants to ban violent video game sales to minors.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino is apparently hopeful that banning sales of violent games to minors will cause a drop in street violence in the city. Larry Mayes, Menino’s chief of human services, said of the issue, “Children aged 17 and under should not be sold this stuff, so they are not getting into the hands of 9- and 10-year-olds. Is it going to be an uphill battle? Sure. But it’s absolutely a battle that the mayor feels he should take on.” (more…)

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While banning game has been in the news a lot lately, this is a bit of counter news to all of that. Apparently, Australia is considering revising its game classification system. What does this mean for Aussie gamers? Grand Theft Auto 4 may come easier than expected.

At present, the highest rating in Australia is M15+. The proposal would add an R18 rating. One person backing the change is New Zealand’s chief censor Bill Hastings. He said it was “high time” that Australia followed New Zealand and added such a rating. “In the past, for some reason, Australia has not acknowledged that adults play video games - they just hear the word game and think of kids,” Hastings added. (more…)

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