Two Australian retailers have elected to pull the video game "Grand Theft Auto V" from its store shelves after thousands of people signed a petition against the game title, citing its predatory violence that specifically targets women.
Target Australia--which is not directly related to the American retail chain--will no longer sell the award-winning video game in its around 300 locations after a Change.org petition garnered more than 40,000 signatures, Ars Technica reported. Soon after, Kmart Australia (unrelated to the U.S. retail chain) said it would remove the title from its shelves as well.
Clips from the game can be seen on YouTube. This particular scene lets the player pay for sex services from a woman before running her over with his car and then burning her bloody body.
"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 General Manager Corporate Affairs Jim Cooper said in a statement. "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 Change.org petition describes the title as "a game that encourages players to murder women for entertainment" and cites the narrative, which gives gamers a variety of options to kill women for "health points" after sex acts.
The "Grand Theft Auto V" story lets players inhabit three male criminals who go through a series of heists. The title is rated "Mature" in the U.S. for everything from drug and alcohol use to nudity to "intense violence" and "strong sexual content."
For the company's part, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the game "explores mature themes and content similar to those found in many other popular and groundbreaking entertainment properties.
"I stand behind our products, the people who create them, and the consumers who play them," he said in a statement quoted by Ars Technica.
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