Contrary to unpopular, ignorant belief, violence in video games does not cause people to turn into serial killers anymore than watching football makes you good at the sport. Yet, even though not even a single shred of evidence exists (outside of incidental, unconfirmed evidence), to back up such a claim, the medium constantly comes under fire for being responsible for such things.
Sometimes it's not so hard to see why. Murder, theft, drug abuse and even sordid acts such as rape are literally features that exist in video games, and while some are justifiably condemned for how they handle such crimes, there are also those that have their reputations unfairly tarnished from false accusations and misinformation. It's very much a case of a half-told truth being spun into something malicious against the entire industry: like condemning the whole of humanity for the acts of one person.
Controversy isn't always as serious as that though. Sometimes games cause a stir for just being awful, having unsatisfactory endings or just simply not living up the hype in a massive and embarrassing way. They are the games classes as controversial more from the gamers' point of view (rather than from any politicised moral "majority").
Which ones are which though? Read on to find out what the most controversial games ever made are, and why...
30. Grand Theft Auto Series
922239
And so the end has come.
Advertisement
The Grand Theft Auto series, legendary for its huge, immersive worlds, satirical commentary on American culture and, of course, its violence, is undoubtedly the most controversial series of video games ever created.
Violent it may be, but it is far from being the series' main selling point.