In his first newspaper interview, Leslie Benzies, 37, president of the Edinburgh-based gaming company Rockstar North, says its games are victims of the same misplaced moral panic that greeted rocknroll.
Commenting on the Manhunt furore, Benzies said: We wanted to make a horror game that would scare you in the same way a film would.
It doesnt seem to me to be any worse than a film. If its a film or a book, you can do what you want. We seem to be in a different category.
However, Benzies claims that some of those who criticise his games are unnerved by progress. There is a big fear factor here. Its the coming of the railways, its Elvis shaking his hips. Its cars going over 25 miles per hour and making people explode, he said.
Weve had such a beating over the past three years. If I get into a confrontation about it, once Ive had my beating, I ask if theyve ever played the game. Invariably they havent.
Benzies said that he was mindful of the games 18 certificate and would not allow his children to play it, adding: Were very careful about who we market the game to and what is in the game.