On some level all videogames are like toys. GTA is a toy that lets you live out your testosterone driven fantasies of killing & stealing, while Mario is a toy that lets you imagine what it would be like to jump really far and really high with olympic level athleticism as a fat italian plumber, who can also throw fire balls, ride dinosaurs, and fly. It really depends on what you'd like to do in real life if there were no consequences or limits on how to construct reality. I would say Mario is closer to art because of how abstract the concept of a fatass with amazing athleticism and superpowers is, while GTA is similar to an idea I thought of when I was 7. It was only a matter of time until someone invented a game where you could kill people you don't need or like to create a criminal empire. The art in GTA is that it doesn't hide from the darker side of human desire.
People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge.
When there are more laws, there are more criminals.
- Lao Tzu
