Dear Editor, I am writing to you in response to an article I read in your newspaper, entitled ‘If the Devil had to invent a game it would be this’. I felt so compelled to reply because you are absolutely correct. Peter Hitchins points out that children who play the game will be immature and unable to cope with the ever expansive crime ridden universe of Grand Theft Auto – ‘When the buy it for their sons they can expect ballistic rage, stamping and sulking’. Moreover, I believe there needs to be a campaign to prevent parents being pressured by their children to buy the game, which in turn exposes them to crime, immorality, drugs, guns and obscene language. As a parent, I full-heartedly agree that any child under the age of 18 should not be exposed to adult material; the viewing of this could corrupt their innocent minds. However, as much as I agree with the earlier statement, I disagree when Peter Hitchins claims that we British are ‘child-hating’. How can we be child haters when we provide children with a free education and recreational parks to play in? Peter Hitchins also points out that many murderers have been influenced by video games. This is exactly correct! Evidence has in fact been presented proving certain atrocities committed by murderers have actually been linked to playing violent video games for hours on end. Adam Lanza, the monster responsible for the enraged slaughter of innocent school children, was reportedly obsessed with shooter games similar to Call of Duty. Moreover, these games present a dark side which most people do not realise. For example, estranged criminals can re-enact crimes on explicit games - such as the infamous Grand Theft Auto. As a result, this poses a risk as cults could be potentially formed which follow in the footsteps of criminals. Politicians and celebrities have reportedly slammed violent video games in light of the Sandy Hook massacre. One politician in particular, Senator Joe Lieberman, states that the extraordinary realism now portrayed in violent video games and movies causes vulnerable young men to be more violent. Other important figures such as Governor John Hickenlooper and Donald Trump point out that the mentally ill become engrossed by cinematic material and monsters are being created through ‘Video game violence glorification’. Violent video games have also caused people to become misogynists, also referred to as ‘woman-haters’. This comes as no surprise as an increasing amount of games such as Grand Theft Auto present women as inferior creatures; mainly portraying them as stupid, barley clothed prostitutes doing anything to fund a drug addiction – not to mention the STD’s they accordingly possess. Players have even been brainwashed to such an extent they defend the game against any criticism. One of many examples was when Carolyn Petit, a game reviewer on GameSpot, called GTA V ‘politically muddled and profoundly misogynistic’. 20,000 replied to her review with the majority posting hostile comments. The most printable comment went along the lines of: