One interesting fact about me as a gamer: though I consider open-world action games among my favored game genres, I have never played a Grand Theft Auto game to completion. While this is a distinction that I plan to erase with my new purchase of the series’ fourth iteration, I also know that I have other games in the platform-based, puzzle, role-playing, and retro varieties to keep me busy.

Of course, while it may be easy for me to abstain from Grand Theft Auto 4 sessions in my personal gaming life, in the case of politicians and government officials, the opposite has proven true, as the game remains in these individuals’ crosshairs as the root cause for society’s ills, not only in the United States, but abroad as well.

The root of the controversy can be attributed to an incident in Thailand where a taxi driver was murdered by Polwat Chino, a 19-year-old Thai teenager. Blame for the murder was attributed to the popular video game and the teenager reportedly admitted his addiction to the title in question. Additional information about the event can be found in an article aptly titled “Grand Theft Auto blamed for Thai taxi driver murder.”

Since this story has broken, the aftershocks that have occurred have been akin to a child throwing a boulder into a lake and witnessing the resulting ripples that have been created. That child would undoubtedly remark on said ripples’ size and strength. In the same manner, the fallout from this story has caused both national and international stages to erupt with calls to have the game removed from shelves and future violent content to be censored.

Following this story’s release, Grand Theft Auto 4 has had to defend its name in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, listen to calls for its metaphorical head from Spanish taxi drivers, and witness its name be placed on a blacklist along with other games that are deemed ‘violent and detrimental to society.’ As if these distinctions were not enough, Grand Theft Auto 4 can also claim ‘credit’ for teaching children to create Molotov cocktails.

While I originally intended to cordon a list of articles and state my opinions on each of them, this Grand Theft Auto worldwide assault has prompted me to question the motives of a society that deems it easier to blame their problems on video games rather than the real issues centered on the killer’s motives and rationale.

First of all, I have to remind individuals who are not familiar with the gaming sphere that other video game experiences are available for consumption besides the Grand Theft Auto games. Crossword puzzles, typing programs, mathematical training tools, and grammar improvement exercises are some examples of educational alternatives that are available if parents want to expose their children to the wonders of video games without them experiencing the ‘M-rated’ facets that comprise a Grand Theft Auto game. In this regard, Nintendo deserves a great deal of credit, as they have been successful in modifying the definition of what constitutes a video game. Through their release of games such as Crosswords DS, the Brain Training games, My Word Coach, and New York Times Crosswords, Nintendo has managed to allow gamers to expand their repertoire beyond shooting space aliens and committing acts of vandalism in fictional cities. Sony and Microsoft, though they are guilty of possessing the aforementioned GTA4 on their consoles, have games like Scene It! and Echochrome to appeal to gamers who desire more than what is offered.

However, if other game experiences exist besides Grand Theft Auto, what makes it earn so much attention from news sources, both inside and out?