'grand Theft Auto V' Earns $800 Million - Dangerous for kids???

>>> WELL, AMERICA'S TALKING TONIGHT ABOUT GRAND THEFT AUTO 5 BECAUSE THEY COMPLETELY BLEW AWAY THE COMPETITION MAKING $800 MILLION ON ITS FIRST DAY OF RELEASE. THAT'S WAY MORE THAN CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS 2 AND AMERICA IS TALKING ABOUT THE GAME TONIGHT. IT'S VIOLENT, GRITTY, AND SOME PEOPLE CALL IT DANGEROUS. SO WHY ARE THESE GAMERS LINING UP TO GET IT? JOINING US FROM DALLAS IS WENDY JAMES AND JOE BERNSTEIN, WHO, BY THE WAY, IS HERE AFTER A 38-HOUR BENDER. I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD OFFER YOU A SANDWICH BUT WE'LL GET TO YOU IN A SECOND. WENDY, I WANT TO START WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU ACTUALLY SAY THAT THIS GAME CAN BE DANGEROUS. WHAT DO YOU THINK IN THIS GAME IS SO DANGEROUS? >> IT'S NOT THE GAME THAT'S DANGEROUS AND YOU'LL BE TALKING THE PERSON, IT'S HOW MANY HOURS AND STATISTICALLY I'LL QUOTE DR. FERGUSON. HE'S A PSYCHOLOGIST AND HE SAID STATISTICALLY THE YOUTH THAT ARE VIOLENT AND SHOOTERS PLAY VIDEO GAMES AND YOUNG PEOPLE PLAY VIDEO GAMES. AND SO DO YOU. >> THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN MARIO -- >> WENDY, PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE. I'VE NEVER PLAYED THESE GAMES SO TELL US WHAT'S IN IT THAT MAKES IT SO EXPENSIVE? >> LET ME JUMP IN. I PLAYED THE GAME FOR 38 HOURS STRAIGHT AND ON THE WAY FROM 23rd STREET UP HERE TO YOUR OFFICE I DIDN'T HURT ANY POLICE PEOPLE. >> YES, THAT'S A FACT. BUT HOLD ON, I JUST WANT TO GET TO WENDY AND FIND OUT WHAT IS IN THIS VIDEO GAME THAT YOU FEEL IS OFFENSIVE. >> THE VIOLENCE OF VIDEO GAMES, THE ISSUE IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE REALISTIC OF THE VIOLENCE OF VIDEO GAMES BUT MORE IMPORTANT IS HOW OFTEN YOU PLAY THEM. STATISTICALLY, PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES SAY NO MORE THAN 13 HOURS BECAUSE MORE THAN 13 HOURS YOU BECOME ISOLATING AND YOU'RE ISOLATING IN YOUR OWN WORLD. SO IT'S NOT THE VIDEO GAMES THAT ARE BAD AS MUCH AS LACK OF SOCIALIZATION SKILLS AND ISOLATING YOURSELF FOR A LONG TIME PERIOD OF TIME. >> SO JOE IS SMILING BECAUSE HE COMPLETELY DISAGREES. JOE, YOU JUST BROKE THE RULE. YOU PLAYED FOR 38 HOURS. >> I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SPEAK TO WHAT THE DOCTOR SAID. I THINK IT'S TRUE THAT DOING ANYTHING FOR 13 HOURS AT A TIME, IF YOU'RE NOT BEING PAID FOR IT, IS PROBABLY GOING TO LEAD TO SOME FORM OF ISOLATION AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE KIDS AND IF PARENTS ARE LETTING THEIR KIDS PLAY A GAME FOR 13 HOURS STRAIGHT, THERE'S PROBABLY SOME BIGGER ISSUES IN THE HOME THAN THE VIDEO GAME. >> WELL JOE, LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THIS IS A GAME WHERE YOU CAN SHOOT UP PROSTITUTES AND AS AN ADULT AND PLAYING IT FOR 38 HOURS IN A ROW. >> I WATCHED "BREAKING BAD" AND SO I TAKE YOUR POINT. I MEAN, I THINK OBVIOUSLY VIDEO GAMES ARE INTERACTIVE IN A WAY THAT FILM IS NOT. BUT I THINK THE TRUTH IS IT'S A VERY YOUNG MEDIUM THAT WE DON'T TOTALLY UNDERSTAND YET. GRAND THEFT AUTO 5 IS A VERY, VERY SKILLFUL, VERY FUNNY GAME AND I THINK THAT GETS LOST IN A LOT OF THE TALK. THE GAME IS EXTREMELY FUNNY AND TONGUE IN CHEEK. IN A THREE-MINUTE NEWS CLIP, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SHOWED A CLIP OF A CHARACTER SHOOTING PEOPLE, THAT'S ONE THING. BUT IT LOSES THE CONTEXT OF THE GAME ITSELF WHICH IS VERY SARCASTIC AND TONGUE IN CHEEK. >> I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, JOE. IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEPARATE NOT NECESSARILY THE VIDEO GAMES THAT CAUSE ANY OF THESE ISSUES, THAT IT COULD BE THE MENTAL STATE OF THE PERSON PLAYING THE VIDEO GAMES AND THE REASON I MAKE THAT CORRELATION IS BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN SO MANY OF THESE STORIES IN THE NEWS, WHETHER IT'S JAMES DiMAGGIO, THE NAVY YARD SHOOTER AND ADAM LANZA, THERE'S BEEN A CONSISTENT NARRATIVE THAT THEY HAVE ALL PLAYED VIDEO GAMES EXCESSIVELY. IT'S AN ESCAPE FROM REALITY BUT THERE'S AN ELEMENT OF MENTAL INSTABILITY. MAYBE THE VIDEO GAMES FACILITATED THAT. >> SURE, THEN WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING ABOUT HEALTH CARE AND THESE PEOPLE'S ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH. >> THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING WENDY THAT QUESTION. >> ABSOLUTELY. AND JOE SOUNDS LIKE A HEALTHY ADULT WHO'S MAYBE IN THE BUSINESS OF PLAYING VIDEO GAMES. THE VIDEO GAMES THEMSELVES ARE BACKING MORE REAL. AND I THINK IT'S REAL IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE SURE OUR CHILDREN ARE NOT PLAYING THE VIDEO GAMES IN THEIR ROOM, IN THE FAMILY ROOM, AND TT PARENTS NEED TO INTERACT, MAYBE PLAY THE GAMES WITH THEIR CHILDREN. AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THE ISOLATION. THEY ARE NOT DOING SPORTS AND ARTS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES. SO A FOCUS LEADS TO SOME MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING. AND IT WOULD BE ANYTHING LIKE VIOLENT TELEVISION OR VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES IS CAUSING CHILDREN TO ISOLATE AND NOT SOCIALIZE. SO, JOE, YOU'RE CORRECT. THERE IS A MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEM BUT IT IS ALSO A NEED THAT WE NEED TO SEE AS PARENTS, AS A COMMUNITY TO MONITOR THE CHILDREN AND MAKE SURE THEY HAVE OTHER ACTIVITIES. >> JOE, YOU MAKE UP A GOOD POINT. IT'S NOT LIKE WE CAN ASK PEOPLE TO BRING THEIR MENTAL HEALTH CARD WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO BUY A VIDEO GAME. SO HOW DOES THIS INFLUENCE PEOPLE THAT MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ALL THERE TO HANDLE THAT KIND OF VIOLENCE/REALITY/NOT REALITY? >> AND AS A PSYCHOLOGIST I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE TECHNOLOGY. BUT WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF WHAT IS ABNORMAL MENTAL HEALTH AND CHECK THESE CHILDREN YOUNGER AND GET THEM PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP. THE SOONER WE CAN FIND THESE CHILDREN AS PARENTS, AS SCHOOLS, AS COMMUNITIES, IT'S USUALLY ISOLATION. CHILDREN PLAYING, SOCIALIZING, WEEKEND PLAYING VIDEO GAMES -- >> PARENTS SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT THEIR KIDS ARE DOING. JOE, I WANT TO GET YOUR REACTION OF WHAT IS IT IS LIKE TO GO ON A 38-HOUR BENDER. HOW ARE YOU FEELING? >> IT WAS A WEEK AGO. A WEEK AGO I WOULD HAVE SAID I WAS VERY TIRED. >> MAYBE I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID YOU HAD BLOOD-SHOT EYES. APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.