When Grand Theft Auto ends up appearing in real-life news as opposed to articles related to the video games industry, it's a good bet that you're in for a bit of absurdity.
It's often nonsensical attempts to ban or censor the game, with cases so frequent that the franchise has become synonymous with controversy. Sometimes, it's just a bit of silliness like this latest event in Lancashire, UK.
GTA as a franchise, and GTA 5 itself, are both extremely popular — with good reason too. And fun as they may be, people should keep their playtime within reasonable constraints, something that requires a wee bit more self-control than the average 11 year old child likely possesses.
In Blackpool, one particular child was playing GTA so much (what was an 11 year old doing playing it in the first place?) that his parents turned to extreme measures.
https://twitter.com/LancsRoadPolice/status/1234152970159370242
Those extreme measures didn't include taking away the child's console, or limiting access to it. No, the parents decided the best course of action was to put the minor behind the wheel of an actual vehicle. Lancashire Road Police Tweeted an image of the Red Vauxhall Astra which was being driven by the 11 year old.
The accompanying adult apparently provided the explanation that the child was playing too much of an unspecified GTA game on their PlayStation console. How they came to the conclusion that the best deterrent is letting the kid practice driving in a car park is beyond us — though props for staying off the road I guess?
Naturally, the police weren't too thrilled about the situation either, resulting in the adult being being reported for traffic offenses. What's more, they'll likely have to come up with another effective means of limiting the child's gaming time. As we mentioned, why an 11 year old is playing a game rated Mature is a whole other question.
Usually when GTA is cited in police reports, it's because the cops bust criminal operations that look like they'd be right at home in-game. Not this time though.
