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From Virtual Drugs to Real Ecstasy, GTA IV Game Comes with Extra Surprise
April 09, 2009
This time, Rockstar Games really is innocent. The controversial game developer behind hits like Manhunt, Bully and Grand Theft Auto IV was slammed by parent groups and mainstream media for the use of drugs in the game. But that’s nothing compared to the story of a man in England who bought a copy of the game that came packed with real ecstasy pills.
The added surprise came from a Gloucestereshire, England GameStation store, which sold the used copy of GTA IV without checking the contents of the box. Inside the owners manual was a bag with some ecstasy pills. Richard Thornill bought the game and discovered the drugs, immediately contacting the police and the store that sold him the used games. He was irate because it could have been his 12 year-old son or 16 year-old daughter who made the discovery — although, technically, both of those kids are too young to be playing the Mature-rated game.
Rockstar Games, which has sold over 20 million copies of GTA IV and established a new world record for the biggest launch in entertainment history, is completely innocent in this particular case. They’re responsible for the in-game drug dealing, hookers and other assorted crime. But the blame for this incident lies clearly with the GameStation store. You’d think the story would check the contents of a game when buying it back at an extremely low price only to jack it up to the next consumer. But that wasn’t the case with this game.
There was no word on who sold the game to Gamestation in the first place. It’s likely they want their ecstasy back. And perhaps the cops might want to question them, as well.
