Saints Row 2 Launches, NYPD Complains

The much-ballyhooed Saints Row 2 shipped today, and the New York City Police Department is not amused.

The new action game from Volition and THQ "boasts enough violence, guns and gratuitous sex to make Grand Theft Auto seem as tame as Pac-Man," according to a report by the New York Daily News, qualities that have drawn both largely positive reviews from gaming sites and the ire of the NYPD. "These horrible and violent videogames desensitize young people to violence while encouraging depravity, immorality, while glorifying criminal behavior," said NYPD union head Patrick Lynch.

The GTA-inspired sandbox game lets players take on the role of a gangbanger in the fictional city of Stilwater, dishing out violence and death while taking part in a wide variety of criminal enterprises and, of course, tooling around in the city in vehicles ranging from cars and motorcyles to planes, helicopters and jet-skis. But THQ said the game is "tongue-in-cheek," and the article notes that along with the grossly-exaggerated gang activities, players can also fake injuries to commit insurance fraud, spray sewage on buildings to bring down property values or just strip and run around naked.

None of which impresses soon-to-be-former lawyer Jack Thompson, who called the game a "Grand Theft Auto ripoff" and said, "As is true with pornography, as is true with violence, the subsequent products tend to push the envelope even more."

Saints Row 2 launched in North America today for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and will hit Europe and Australia later in the week. A PC version of the game is also in the pipe and scheduled for release on November 10.

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Can we stop giving Thompson any more press now? He's been disbarred, even the anti-gamers know he's a fruitcake, and he's managed to make himself irrelevant in the modern world. Let's just ignore the idiot, he isn't going to say anything important that will affect us, ever.

So Jack Thompson has now become a video game critic? *sigh*

And in other news I never thought I'd see the day that the NYPD gets their panties in a bunch over a videogame...although I'm sure they've done this before.

Come on, guys. Jack has been disbarred so we don't have to worry about his idiotic legal actions any more, but did you honestly think somebody so self absorbed that he would put a picture of Batman over his own on his license would just shut up and go away?

He's going to get his word in, as much as we hate that fact.

Pac-man tame? You take drugs and try to self aware beings. How the hell is that tame?

Sorry, I fell asleep as soon as I saw the words "Jack Thompson"

I'm sorry, but aren't young people already being desensitized to violence and encouraged to depravity and immorality by about 80% of all the action movies ever made?

I really hate the arguments that games like this desensitize children when these games are not being made for children.

Pac-Man and Grand Theft Auto. The only two games, apparently, that were ever made before Saints Row 2.

-_o Do I really have to say anything?

In other news, rock and roll leads kids to depravity. More at 11.

Why do we even care? Whenever a gang game comes out, some asshole leach is gonna complain. Just ignore them.

Studies have been done proving this to be completely false. Done reading/commenting on this.

TommyGun465:
Why do we even care? Whenever a gang game comes out, some asshole leach is gonna complain. Just ignore them.

Sorry, but it's a rule of Journalism. If someone complains, you have to report it.

After playing this game I had such a huge urge to set myself and an ATV on fire and drive through the streets destroying everything.

I'll never forgive myself. I got a lot of "respect" though.

Also, this publicity is a rip-off of GTA's publicity! God SR2 just copied everything huh?

I'm surprised the NYPD is seeing issues with Saints Row, especially since (as far as I know) they never said a word about GTA4, which was in a ripoff of the same damn city with the same damn cops and the same damn cars as the real NYPD, so I don't see why only Saints Row 2 would catch their eye. But even with that, I would have thought (or hoped) they would be more liberal...er...understanding. (I would have done the slash thing through the world liberal but I don't know how...)

Whatever though. As long as they don't violently pursue it and make complete douchebags out of themselves like a certain other recently disbarred lawyer mentioned in the same article. Maybe if people start commiting violent crimes in NYC and blaming SR2 the NYPD will have a reason to complain.

I would think the police would be annoyed specifically at the missions involving you impersonating a police officer then beating and killing people whilst being filmed (when genuine officers show up, they join in!)

None of which impresses soon-to-be-former lawyer Jack Thompson, who called the game a "Grand Theft Auto ripoff" and said, "As is true with pornography, as is true with violence, the subsequent products tend to push the envelope even more."

I didn't know Jack worked for IGN! *rimshot*

i think the ESRB needs to educate the populous about ratings... geez, kids aren't supposed to play Saint's Row 2...

Danzorz:
Does Saints row 2 have offline co-op?

Yeah, network play.