It has been hard to avoid the hype surrounding “Grand Theft Auto 3,” or GTA3, since its release in October.

GTA3 is the third installment in the “Grand Theft Auto” series, developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. The game is an open, mission-based game where the character joins various gangs and eventually takes revenge on others.

The game, violent and full of mature themes, has received a lot of negative feedback. It also has been very well received in the gaming community because of the solid technical design of the game.

Australia’s rating board, the Office of Film & Literature Classification, has decided the GTA3 themes and situations were too intense and as such, have refused it classification. According to the board’s guidelines, this means it cannot be sold, exhibited, displayed, demonstrated or advertised.

While there is little chance of this happening in the United States, I feel bad for those gamers Downunder who will not get to enjoy the game. I cannot help but feel instances like this are partly the consumers’ and the retailers’ fault.

Why do I point my finger at the consumers and retailers instead of the ratings board that restricts the game? To further understand, look at the movie industry.

The movie industry has in place the Motion Picture Association of America. Movie studios submit movies and the association rates them. While it’s voluntary, many theaters will not carry unrated movies, nor will some video rental chains. It may not be a perfect system, but it is all we have for now and works to some degree.

If a 12-year-old is let into an R-rated movie, the parents are bound to be upset. The finger is rarely pointed at the movie studio, but the theater instead. It was the theater that let the child through the door and, therefore, is at fault for corrupting his or her young mind. They take the heat for it and many theaters have strict policies about underage viewers.

Flash back to the video game industry. This time, the same 12-year-old kid goes into a software store and picks up GTA3. He proceeds to show his parents how he can take a tank and mow down innocent pedestrians. This of course does not sit well with them and they point their finger again – right at the video game manufacturers.

It is here I believe the retailers are failing. Many have failed to continually enforce the ratings system set by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. In a recent report from the Federal Trade Commission, 78 percent of minors were able to buy mature rated games that are recommended for 17 or older to purchase.

But it is the consumers’ fault as well. Video games are still viewed as a child’s toy by many. Fact is, more adults are playing video games than ever before. Naturally, with a more mature audience, the games’ content will follow. This has to be recognized so that mature games are not looked down on. Just as people expect R-rated movie tickets to be bought by adults, they need to think of M-rated games as being bought by adults as well.

Another issue is parents failing to look into the content contained in a game. I remember one parent interviewed by the Des Moines Register who was upset her 15-year-old son got “Conker’s Bad Fur Day,” a very mature game for Nintendo 64. She had assumed that with a squirrel on the box it was harmless and went ahead and bought it for him.

Parents need to research M-games. Retailers can help by ensuring employees are not just trying to push the game.

The current ratings system is very weak and needs heavy revision. For example, “Metal Gear Solid 2” certainly has its violence, but is nowhere near as dark and disturbing as “Silent Hill 2” or as violent as GTA3. All three got the same rating. While one may be too intense for anyone but adults, the other may be acceptable for someone who is 13 or older.

But the rating board system is the only thing we have, and we must rely on it for now. In the future, once consumers are interested in the exact content. With retailers enforcing the ratings, a new system can be a reality.

While the Australian ratings boards had its reasons for banning GTA3, I personally feel that with a stronger ratings system, more informed consumers and retailers who enforce the system, we would have to worry about issues like these less often.

Chris Weishaar is a sophomore in construction engineering from Bronson.