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May 1, 2008

humor

GTA 4 totally disses Apple

Posted May. 1, ’08, 12:25 PM PT by David Dahlquist
Category | Apple » Humor

ifruit.jpgUnless you’ve been living in a cave for the last month, you’re at least aware of the existence of Rockstar Games’ new Grand Theft Auto 4, which by all accounts, is ridiculously awesome. One of the many things this game is praised for is its unparalleled depth of gameplay. Your character can listen to the radio, watch tv, or even browse the internet.

As it turns out, if you browse the internet enough on GTA, you might come across an Apple ad parody. The not so subtle mockery of Apple consists of a computer ad for “Fruit”, that implores you to “THINK Simple. THINK Minimalism. THINK Overpriced.” Ouch.

There’s also an ad for a banana shaped “iFruit Phone” with “No buttons. No Reception. No storage capacity. All ego.”

Looks like the folks at Rockstar aren’t too impressed by the iPhone either. Oh well, you can’t win em all.

[Via tuaw]


20 Comments

Tom said:

Apparently you didn't hear the bill gates and steve jobs radio show in GTA: San Andreas then.

May 1, 2008 12:48 PM
Anonymous said:

Maybe someone will find a 'Hot Banana' somewhere in the game

May 1, 2008 1:02 PM
Nathan said:

Here might be a comparable ad for GTA IV -

THINK violence
THINK sex
THINK drugs

THINK like you have no moral code!

May 1, 2008 1:03 PM
Erik said:

This isn't the first time Rockstar have taken pot-shots at Apple.

In an earlier GTA game, there is a radio commercial for a 'fruit' computer that would roughly be equivalent to an Apple II.

My take on this, is that they lampoon cultural icons from the time period in question.

Pretty much all the media content within the GTA games is satirical of its subject matter.

May 1, 2008 1:39 PM
Scott said:

Nathan said:
---------------------------
Here might be a comparable ad for GTA IV -

THINK violence
THINK sex
THINK drugs

THINK like you have no moral code!
---------------------------

Sounds like somebody missed the humor.

May 1, 2008 2:09 PM
Bruce said:

Overpriced? I want to hear them cheer when they pay the monthly subscription fee that's sure to come for Windows 7. I also wonder if they'll set up the next release to collect tolls in the game as you drive, directly from your credit card?

May 1, 2008 3:35 PM
Anonymous said:

Considering the kind of game the content is in, and the kind of moronic people who would play such a game in the first place... well, 'nuff said.

May 1, 2008 7:44 PM
Gerald said:

I haven't seen this particular ad -- only my 2nd day playing GTA IV. But seriously, what _doesn't_ Rockstar rip in this game? :-)

May 1, 2008 11:38 PM
Rich said:

In GTA games Fruit-Heads are Mac users, and To$$ers are PC users (Technical Operating System). Not sure how widely used the term "tosser" is in the US, but I think I'd rather be called a Fruit-Head...

As Erik pointed out, the GTA series is famous for ripping into all cultural icons, and I doubt very much that it means they don't like Mac computers or the iPhone in real life.

May 2, 2008 12:20 AM
HiveMind said:

Maybe because someone payed 50milion dollars for GTAIV exclusives?
Anyway i quote Nathan:

THINK violence
THINK sex
THINK drugs

THINK like you have no moral code!

May 2, 2008 12:41 AM
Psychbass said:

I'm a clinical psychologist, so I know a bit about the effects of violent video games on children. I wouldn't let anyone under the age of 17 play any of the GTA games as depictions of violence do have a tangible effect on people's perceptions and beliefs about violence, thus making it easier to choose to be violent in the future.

That said, GTA is not meant to be played by anyone under 17, hence it's M rating. Parents should be aware of this.

I have played GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, and now GTA IV and I have loved them all. Rather than take the overly simplistic jingoism of "think like you have no moral code", I believe that such games, when played by an adult, are an interesting barometer of morality.

When playing these games, you can choose the kind of person that you want to be. Will you drive wrecklessly through the streets and endager innocent (digital) lives? If you do, there are consequences and they send the police after you, arresting you or shooting you. You can choose whether you will take an easy road out and hurt or kill someone or use your head and talk it out and come to an agreement (I've only seen this in GTAIV, but it's more prevalent in games like Mass Effect, Oblivion, and Deus Ex).

For adults, and for adults only, the GTA games are a brilliant send up of popular culture; one that is obsessed with violence, sex, religion, and dualism. These games hold a window up to various aspects of this culture (particularly the rampant consumerism of the 80's, the problems with selfishness and lack of direction for the "gangsta" community, and the
experience of immigrants/war veterans). They are full of tongue-in-cheek, over the top humor (and yes, cartoon violence)that is both fun and thought provoking (provided that the player is both capable and interested in having their thoughts provoked).

I am much more concerned about the rise in "torture porn" movies, like Hostel, or the Saw sequels than I am about GTAIV, when played by adults. Those movies have no redeeming psychological or cultural values and are made just to make the viewer squeemish and to to callus the viewer.

If more people had a sense of humor and the ability to make judgements for themselves, the world would be a better place, IMHBEO.

Enjoy,
Psychbass

May 2, 2008 8:26 AM
moraloral said:

people who can't see the line dividing real life and fantasy (in this case gta iv) are the ones im concerned with. they are the ones who have a problem with morality imo. if you feel a game is gonna make a person immoral then i believe you have issues. granted people without morals will play this game to and enjoy it...but that doesn't make everybody who plays this game a soulless shell of a human...because like i said...some people CAN tell the difference between killing a person in real life and killing a fictional character in a GAME.

May 2, 2008 8:53 AM
Anonymous said:

"Considering the kind of game the content is in, and the kind of moronic people who would play such a game in the first place... well, 'nuff said."

Leave it to a mac user to be so closed minded...well, 'nuff said. L2Humor

May 2, 2008 5:36 PM
Dave said:

I like this kind of parody. It's far more intelligent than "Apple Sucks". I especially like the idea of the iPhone banana! It reminds me of the old Dynamite Magazine cover with Hawkeye & Radar of M*A*S*H* (if any of you are old enough to remember that from the 70s...it was the classic "I can't hear you, I have a banana in my ear" joke).

May 3, 2008 6:56 AM
Violenta said:

I would like to response at Psychbass .. I tell you my story .. In age of 10 i play games like dune 2, doom 1,2 blood , of course duke nukem ..all of them :D.. carmagedon..aa i like to smash pedestrians.. later .. gta , postal, turok, half-life and all games i can find.. Now i'm 23 .. and i tell you i never kill any person, never harm somebody to see how he is suffering or things like that.. and i tell you i have many friends with similar childhood.. and so,, so we all must be exceptions..or what because we never murder any people .. never harm somebody for fun or stuff like that.. And i feel something similar with people reading Shakespeare books .. hamlet, romeo and julia.. Can you tell me please how it this possible .. that we never burn any friends to see how he is suffering like pedestrians in carmagedon ?? what is wrong with me??? what?? or that you say is only dumb creepy sh*t and true reason are parents and they care about his child...his incopetence to care about children ... because I must be killer ... accord to what do you say.. you researches say..it .. govorment say it.. old people say it..and i'm not.. thank a lot for you solution

May 3, 2008 8:37 AM
Psychbass said:

Violenta,

I'm assuming that English is not your first language, which is why you missed my point entirely. Which is that Grand Theft Auto is just fine, for the people and target age for which it was made.

I was defending both it and videogames, but doing so rationally, without resorting to the age-old fallacy of "well, it worked for me, so it must be right."

I've played and I like most of the games that you mentioned.

So in summary, videogames are a fun, healthy, and can be a good way of thinking as well as just spacing out and having fun. But we need to be cautious with them, just like movies. I said nothing about anything "creepy" about games in my post at all, so please read the whole thing.

And if English is your first language, please put the controller down and go to class, ok?

-Psychbass

May 3, 2008 8:55 PM
Anonymous-2 said:

Psychbass,

Now it's really obvious that Violenta is of Oriental descent, so why cheapen your position by attacking him (her?) personally?

It's not that I disagree with your attempt to further the educational/intellectual standing of the younger folks, there's just a time and place for that. Secondly, try having some respect for the fact that he speaks multiple languages.

You may or may not be fluent in multiple languages, but if not, try it. You might understand the difficulty of learning that new language.

AE.

May 6, 2008 9:29 PM
Psychbass said:

To Anonymous 2 and Violenta,

This is a good point and I stand corrected on it. I was not at all attacking violenta for not speaking English. I was attempting to point out that the differences in languages was likely where he/she and I got our messages crossed, so that it was a miscommunication rather than a true difference of opinion. I realize that I should have made that more clear.

I do speak Spanish (poorly) and there is no way that I could understand a blog in Spanish with 100% accuracy, so I respect Violenta's ability to speak/read multiple languages with any degree of fluency.

As to my comment at the end, I wasn't sure if Violenta was a non-native speaker or a native speaker who was extremely lazy in writing. I'd be more than willing to overlook the mistakes in a non-native speaker (as I would be 100 times worse if I tried to write the same thing in Spanish), but if it was an English student... ouch. Regardless, it was uncalled for and it came across more accusingly than I intended it, so my apologies to Violenta on that one.

Hopefully we can all agree that discussion on the topic of responsible consumption of violent entertainment is beneficial to everyone. :-)

Psychbass

May 7, 2008 9:39 AM
Anonymous 2 said:

Psychbass,

Well said, I couldn't have said it better...

AE.

May 9, 2008 9:10 AM
Anonymous 2 said:

Psychbass,

Well said, I couldn't have said it better...

AE.

May 9, 2008 11:13 PM

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