Parents who have bought a Kindle Fire HD for their kids to use and have not set up parental controls may want to do so now, because game apps rated M for Mature are now available in the Amazon App Store. Those who have set up parental controls may want to revisit their settings with an eye toward specifically blocking Mature apps as well, since more app versions of blockbuster console video games are sure to be on the way and many of the bestselling console video games are rated M.
Grand Theft Auto Vice City was released for the Kindle Fire HD and other Android devices in Amazon’s App Store last week, and it’s intended to be an app version of the bestselling, very adult-oriented Grand Theft Auto series of video games that up until recently have only been available for console players (e.g., PlayStation, XBOX).
From the app description on Amazon:
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Welcome back to Vice City. Welcome back to the 1980s.
From the decade of big hair, excess and pastel suits comes a story of one man’s rise to the top of the criminal pile. Vice City, a huge urban sprawl ranging from the beach to the swamps and the glitz to the ghetto, was one of the most varied, complete and alive digital cities ever created. Combining open-world gameplay with a character driven narrative, you arrive in a town brimming with delights and degradation and given the opportunity to take it over as you choose.
To celebrate its 10 year anniversary, Rockstar Games brings Grand Theft Auto Vice City to mobile devices with high-resolution graphics, updated controls and a host of new features including:
• Beautifully updated graphics, character models and lighting effects
• New, precisely tailored firing and targeting options
• Custom controls with a fully customizable layout
• Massive campaign with countless hours of gameplay
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This is a game series in which the player takes on an outlaw role, and is encouraged to steal cars, rob random people and kill them. There’s also explicit language and some sexual content.
While a Fire or Fire HD can be a great source of study help, books and entertainment for kids and teens, as more and more content that was previously limited to video game consoles comes to tablets, parents and other caregivers need to be alert to what their kids are, or may be, exposed to through their tablets.