GTA V was pulled by the Australian Target representatives, who argued that the game promotes unnecessary violence against women. Even though GTA V was pretty recently launched, Target has pulled all units from its Australian stores on account of a petition signed by more than 40.000 people. The petition accused the game of portraying extreme violence against women as a form of entertainment, which they deem unfit even for an R rated game.
The petition against the sale of GTA V emphasized the fact that the game depicts and promotes violence against women and even portrays it as a form of entertainment. That supposition is not false, but it isn’t true either. While GTA V is indeed a violent game, it doesn’t actually “promote” violence, although it does depict it. Rockstar Games and their parent company Take Two Interactive said that they were disappointed that Target gave in to the pressure of the anti-GTA V petition. At the same times, representatives of the parent company stressed the fact that Target will continue selling the game in North America, since the petition only impacts Australia.
Target Australia has different management and operations than Target America, which means that they will not be impacted by the new pulling of GTA V. GTA V was originally launched last year, but was re-launched for the PlaysStation 4 and Xbox One last month. While GTA V is enjoying enormous success in the US and a new upcoming patch would bring the desired “heists” to the game, it seems like many are beginning to notice that maybe the level of violence in the game is getting too high.
Given the recent trend of feminism and extreme feminism, it is no surprise that GTA V was pulled because of the violence against women depicted in the game. Target Australia will continue selling other R rated games, but Australian people wanting GTA V should find another source than Target. Kmart has also banned GTA V in their stores in Australia shortly after the petition was acknowledged.