Saints Row 2 violence controversy arises

Saints Row 2 for Xbox 360Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) has barely been out for a day and the first controversy has already started to arise. The New York Police Department union boss Patrick Lynch had this to say when interviewed about Saints Row 2. To quote: “These horrible and violent videogames desensitize young people to violence while encouraging depravity, immorality while glorifying criminal behavior.”

Anti-gaming crusader Jack Thompson, who was recently disbarred, noted that: “Saints Row 2 is a Grand Theft Auto ripoff. As is true with pornography, as is true with violence, the subsequent products tend to push the envelope even more.”

When the game’s developer THQ was asked for a response, a spokesperson reiterated an obvious point about the game that these complaints always seem to miss. It was made clear that: “Saints Row 2 is not a gang simulation game. It’s a tongue-in-cheek game.

Looking at the below Saints Row 2 launch trailer, you can see why gamers feel the sandbox game is way too ridiculous for the sake of fun to be considered realistic. Unless your idea of realistic is seeing ninjas driving around on bikes, but I’m not one to judge. 😉

I mean, it’s like Uncle Gary says: “Just because you CAN do it, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea!”

Read the full interview at NYDN, via 1UP