Yesterday, we told you about an Australian petition to ban Grand Theft Auto V from being sold at Target. The petition was well on its way to completion when we reported it, and now it was successful. Although the petition wasn't specifically cited, Target explained in a press release its decision to pull GTA V from shelves, stating "the decision to stop selling GTA5 is in line with the majority view of [Target's] customers."
Target believes other M-rated games and R-rated movies have content acceptable for adults to see, but too many customers do not want them to sell GTA V in Australia.
Many GTA V fans are upset over this decision, especially due to concern that other retailers may follow suit. Some have decided to take action themselves. They've started a counter-petition to return GTA V to Target. It isn't described as vehemently as the misinformed petition that got GTA V pulled, but a prominently-featured comment explains the most important concerns:
"The petition that started this was initiated by very misinformed people. They claim the game 'encourages' you to commit sexually violent or generally violent acts against women. As someone who has played the game in question extensively (Almost 200 hours), I can confirm that this is a false claim. The game NEVER encourages this. They also completely ignore the fact that there's much more violence against men than women, but it's definitely not on a level that should have the video game removed from stores. Plus the game has an R18+ rating for a reason."
This counter-petition is aimed not only at Target, but also at other retailers in Australia, to pre-empt any decisions to follow in Target's footsteps. So far, only about 200 people have signed, a far cry from the 40k+ that signed the anti-GTA V petition. Let us know your thoughts on this controversy in the comments below, and sign the petition if you'd like to see Australian Targets sell GTA V again.
