Target Australia pulls GTA V from shelves, response to Change.org petition

[ImpulsE69]

And, there lies the problem. Once you're able to demonize anyone who disagrees with you, regardless of how wrong you are, you're pretty much guaranteed to win. That is a terrorist organization's wet dream.

I love that I can't be against feminism without hating women. I mean, it has to be one or the other right? Similarly, I can't be against Michael Brown, without hating black people.

Religion has been doing this for centuries.

 

[slag]

To be fair, this game was nothing but pure crap and was marketed towards teenage boys.

 

[IEC]

"I DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU LIKE SO I'M GONNA GET IT BANNED!11one!"

In a free society, doing what is effectively censorship through abuse of political correctness creates a chilling effect on free speech and should be avoided. If one group is able to successfully muzzle something they don't like, what's to stop other groups from doing the same?

 

[StinkyPinky]

Australia has a fairly long history of banning videogames, so I'm not terribly surprised. Actually, I'm shocked GTA V wasn't banned there whole cloth. But it's a remarkably stupid attitude that banning videogames is somehow acceptable. I'm all for feminism having a voice, but as soon as they call for censorship of ideas that upset them, they're no better (and arguably worse) than any perceived enemy they're arguing against.

Australia used to be ban a lot of games because their laws didn't have an R18 rating. The maximum was M I believe. So if a game was deemed to be over that threshold it ran the risk of being banned.

I think they now have an R18 rating which is why GTA is good to go.

As for the other points, I do find it funny that games like GTA are labelled as misogynist because of the depiction of hookers, but it's perfectly ok to murder dozens and dozens of men in the game. God forbid a consenting female gives a guy a blowjob, that's scandalous!! (but going on a rampage murdering lots of men, and depicting men as violent animals is a-okay in their warped little minds...)

 

[cmdrdredd]

This is like saying selling Wine at the store makes people a drunk.

 

[cmdrdredd]

To be fair, this game was nothing but pure crap and was marketed towards teenage boys.

Maybe you don't understand satire or something.

 

[CountZero]

Cant see any possible good reason to play GTA. Cant see promoting murder, theft, and killing cops. Granted it is a video game and is a way to just escape reality. If the game was written where you could play a cop or a bad guy then maybe that might be viable.

I wonder what people would think about playing a game where you are a racist member of the KKK. You could gain levels by committing acts of racism and hatred. How would that be different from GTA?

The thing is that *you* can't see a good reason to play GTA.

Your opinion on viability should carry exactly zero weight to whether or not others should be allowed to play it.

I think if someone wants to make a KKK game they can do it, I think they should be allowed to sell it and I think the fact that I don't see any reason to play it should have no impact on it for those that do want to play it.

I also think that if GTA was nothing more than the little bit this petition or the various new articles always go on about it would not be a successful series and people wouldn't play it. There are games that have tried to just be the ultra-violence and they don't do nearly as well.

 

[shortylickens]

Australia is getting crazy.

They banned small boobs too.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Australia is getting crazy.

They banned small boobs too.

Hmm..maybe they are onto something after all....:awe:

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Australia is getting crazy.

They banned small boobs too.

Good to see they still get some things right...

/sarcasm

 

[Mezzanine]

No surprises here, this place is the ultimate nanny state where they scramble to ban anything that may hurt someone's delicate feelings. Pathetic response by Target.

 

[Bateluer]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-...and-theft-auto-5-game-sexual-violence/5939184

Kmart has followed suit.

 

[shortylickens]

K-Mart!

 

[Sulaco]

This isn't just an Australia thing. Nor simply feminism.

Let's not forget the Florida mother who petitioned Toys R Us to remove Breaking Bad figures.

At least in that case though, as of the last I heard, Toys R Us had not yet caved and (hopefully) won't.

 

[Whitestar127]

So, these women want to ban a game that they themselves would never play and have no interest in, to protect their children from playing a game that their children are not allowed to play.

Makes perfect sense. Sign me up!

 

[Stringjam]

So, these women want to ban a game that they themselves would never play and have no interest in, to protect their children from playing a game that their children are not allowed to play.

Makes perfect sense. Sign me up!

It's a bully culture, and every year it seems to get worse. You have all these kids who grew up being worshipped by their p*ssy parents; always caving in giving them whatever they want.

Now they're all grown up and they can't stand not being in control. "I don't like this, so there should be a law...or I don't like that so it shouldn't be allowed."

I've had to deal with so many people like this in life, and it's getting really old. They all have one thing in common - - a complete and utter disregard for their own responsibility. They always have someone else to blame.

 

[exar333]

To be fair, this game was nothing but pure crap and was marketed towards teenage boys.

It's actually quite excellent. The game was released well-polished (even more so by modern standards), has a TON of gameplay and the story is pretty awesome too. You may not like it, but I would argue it's the best-quality AAA game released in a few years. Rockstar spent the time and $$$ on this game to 'do it right'.

 

[yhelothar]

It's actually quite excellent. The game was released well-polished (even more so by modern standards), has a TON of gameplay and the story is pretty awesome too. You may not like it, but I would argue it's the best-quality AAA game released in a few years. Rockstar spent the time and $$$ on this game to 'do it right'.

Yup, you're not required to run people over and kill them just like you're not required to in the real world either. You just can because it's a game.
The sheer scope of the game is astonishing. You can be just about anything in the game or ride anything in the game, from a bicycle to a boeing 747 to a turtle to an eagle.

 

[PliotronX]

Keep in mind that Target Australia and Target US are completely different companies. Different presidents, different executives, different everything (except for the brand name). Don't boycott Target US because of this.

Yeah, rather boycott Target for high prices and pressuring employees to sell retarded credit cards above and beyond any other retailer.

 

[norseamd]

Australia is full of inbred prisoner descendants. Can't say I expected much from the outback.

Lots of bigotry and prejudiced discrimination over there including genocide.

 

[norseamd]

At least in that case though, as of the last I heard, Toys R Us had not yet caved and (hopefully) won't.

Yah but Toys-R-Us is a store for kids not a general purpose department store so it makes sense that maybe they might not want to sell some stuff like that.

 

[norseamd]

Keep in mind the Australian government does also have a lot of problems with stuff like partisanship and corruption. They like to use this stuff to advance their societal control and censorship including internet blacklists which often include oppositional political websites.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Let's not forget the Florida mother who petitioned Toys R Us to remove Breaking Bad figures.

At least in that case though, as of the last I heard, Toys R Us had not yet caved and (hopefully) won't.

Slightly different situations. Toys R Us is a store specifically catering to children; Target is a store that caters to people of all ages. Sure, it's a little ridiculous because Toys R Us stocks plenty of merchandise that could be seen as "inappropriate" for children of a certain age, but I could understand their desire not to be associated with a property specifically about making drugs and murdering people that's not supposed to be watched by anyone in their target sales demographic. Ultimately, a boycott/petition is just a gesture that consumers can take to voice their dissatisfaction with a store's policy; the store is not bound by anything to cave to their wishes.

And Toys R Us did pull the Breaking Bad figures, FYI.

 

[artemicion]

PSA: Please stop demonizing what she's doing as censorship. She's a private entity. She has the right to express her disagreement with GTA. It might be stupid, but she has that right.

Censorship is generally only regarded as bad when done by a governmental entity.

People boycott stuff all the time, for good reasons and for stupid reasons. A private entity's act of calling for a boycott isn't in and of itself reprehensible. People in Montgomery boycotted the buses when black people were forced to sit in the back. People didn't say "OMG THEY'RE CENSORING THE BUS SYSTEM'S RIGHT TO BE RACIST."

All she did was exercise her right to free speech (which encompasses the right to stupid speech) by saying, "me and these thousands of other people will stop shopping at Target if Target sells GTA V." She has that right.

Ironically, to suggest that people CAN'T call for boycotts of retail establishments for whatever reason, stupid or otherwise, is effectively saying that THEIR speech should be censored.

TL;DR - Boycotting over GTA V is stupid. But the right to call for a boycott is derived from the right to free speech, which is a good thing.

 

[SharpHawk]

They have a right to ask Target to stop selling a game. Target has the right to stop selling it. We have the right to call both of them idiots.

If every retailer followed suit, it would have a chilling effect on games. I will always advocate for a society where people live and let live, instead of trying to control others' lives.