Target pulls GTA V from sale due to its ‘depictions of violence against women’

Australian retailer Target has pulled Grand Theft Auto V from its shelves due to what it says are concerns about the game’s depictions of violence against women”.

It says the move is in response to customer feedback.

"We’ve been speaking to many customers over recent days about the game, and there is a significant level of concern about the game’s content," Target’s GM of corporate affairs Jim Cooper said.

"We’ve also had customer feedback in support of us selling the game, and we respect their perspective on the issue. However, we feel the decision to stop selling GTA5 is in line with the majority view of our customers."

The retailer, however, will not remove other violent games or violent films from sale.

"While these products often contain imagery that some customers find offensive, in the vast majority of cases, we believe they are appropriate products for us to sell to adult customers,” Cooper added.

"However, in the case of GTA5, we have listened to the strong feedback from customers that this is not a product they want us to sell."

UPDATE: MCV has received a comment from Take-Two chairman and CEOStrauss Zelnick.

We are disappointed that an Australian retailer has chosen no longer to sell Grand Theft Auto V – a title that has won extraordinary critical acclaim and has been enjoyed by tens of millions of consumers around the world," he said.

"Grand Theft Auto V explores mature themes and content similar to those found in many other popular and groundbreaking entertainment properties. Interactive entertainment is today’s most compelling art form and shares the same creative freedom as books, television, and movies. I stand behind our products, the people who create them, and the consumers who play them.”