There are several certainties in this world. We will always have air to breath, Nintendo will always rule the NPD charts, and Grand Theft Auto will always, always, be blamed for violence. Ok, so the first two aren’t guaranteed, but the third one is assured. The best part is, we don’t even need Jack Thompson (who has been eerily quiet recently).

For example, look at this story in the Dailymail site about a 13 year old who set some cars on fire.

“A teenager who torched three cars in Lyon, France, told police he was wanted to imitate scenes from the Grand Theft Auto video game.

The 13-year-old schoolboy used petrol to set light to three vehicles after playing on the violent GTA 4: Liberty City game on his home PC.

The game awards points creating as much as crime and destruction as possible in a city.”

To get the obvious point out of the way first: Why was a 13 year old playing an M-rated game in the first place? Secondly, how did he get the PC version, which hasn’t even been completed, let alone shipped. Finally, the game does not award any points for causing destruction and crime. The only thing the game has ever awarded me was having my weapons confiscated, and that was only for shooting out someone’s tire.

The only console out there not to have any GTA titles on it is the Wii – PS2, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 have all met with various entries in the franchise. It appears that it will remain that way, as Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser downplayed chances of the action franchise finding its way to the Wii. Houser noted that it “didn’t feel natural” compared to the opportunity of making a DS game – GTA Chinatown Wars.

"It really was that the DS felt like it had a lot of interesting challenges that would be totally different from what we’d done in the past," he said. “The stylus and the chance to use minigames in that way was really interesting and exciting to us, and we thought we could integrate seamlessly between those two modes."

Meanwhile, publisher Take-Two hasn’t completely shut the door on a possible Wii version of the franchise, noting that the DS entry is an “important step” and that they intend to “continue to grow that relationship with Nintendo.”

Nintendo’s platforms have so far been devoid of any GTA titles, but Take Two plans on changing that. The publisher will not only release GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS next year, but is also contemplating a GTA title for the Wii.

While company CEO Ben Feder wouldn’t comment specifically on the potential game, he stressed that Take-Two plans on building its relationship with Nintendo.

“We’ve spent an enormous amount of time and effort working with Nintendo. We’re very proud of the partnership,” he said. “GTA: Chinatown Wars is an important step… and we intend to continue to grow that relationship.”

Maybe a GTA title is in the works for the Wii, or maybe it will be a port of GTA 4. Who knows?

Riding on the GTA hate train, a press release by parent gaming resource What They Play notes that parents are more scared of their children playing Grand Theft Auto than drinking alcohol or watching pornography.

This was the result of a poll of over 1600 parents who were asked what they would be most concerned about their children doing while at a sleepover. While marijuana topped the poll, playing GTA came in at a close second, with porn and alcohol rounding out the list.

“Although these findings seem surprising at first, they hint at fears parents have about video games,” said Grand Theft Childhood co-author Cheryl K. Olson. “To some parents, video games are full of unknowable dangers… Of course, parents don’t want their children drinking alcohol, but that’s a more familiar risk.”

The Grand Theft Auto series has been a scapegoat for politicians and other groups for its so-called “objectionable” content. A recent murder of a Thai cab driver is also being linked back to the game.

A scene group known as iCON has already released a PAL version of Grand Theft Auto IV onto various torrent sites, despite the game’s arrival onto store shelves being only a few days away. It is confirmed to be real, and works on European Xbox 360 systems. An NTSC version has been uploaded, as well, but it is unclear if it’s the real deal. The group advises players not to log on to Xbox Live with the game until the retail release date has passed.

It’s unlikely that this will have a major impact on Take-Two Interactive’s sales of the flagship title, as many gamers have already pre-ordered the game, and many are planning to purchase it. Everyone is hyped for the game’s release and many are patiently waiting for the official release.

Read (Yahoo! News)

The Chicago Transit Authority has decided to pull down all Grand Theft Auto IV advertisements. A local Fox News affiliate reported on the subject, leading to a response by the president of the CTA, Ron Huberman that agreed to take down the ads. The question was triggered by the recent major school shootings occurring in the Windy City. Illinois is notorious for being especially critical of violent video games.

But then again, isn’t it the parent’s responsibility to make sure what your child is allowed and not allowed to do in the world? There are plenty of violent movies that are running ads in the CTA, and I’m sure a lot of them contain more adult themes than Rockstar’s creation. Movies can be sneaked into, and can usually be watched without parents even knowing. But video games are played at home most of the time, and it’s unlikely that a kid will be able to purchase a full-priced retail game without a help of an adult.