Grand Theft Worldwide

Tajikistan has enacted a ban on the distribution of the video games Counter-Strike and Grand Theft Auto (GTA), citing concerns about the games containing violent and immoral content.

The country's interior ministry announced that police in the capital, Dushanbe, will conduct raids and inspections of computer gaming centers suspected of selling these games. The ministry said,

Young people and teenagers who regularly play these games come under their negative influence and commit various crimes.

The ministry urged parents to monitor their children's activities and discourage them from playing games that promote killing, theft, and violence.

Grand Theft Auto Online's newest scenario is the Diamond Casino and Resort in Los Santos. And of course the games features a rather one-sided form of gambling where only the house can win.

Players can buy game money which can be used to gamble at the tables of the Diamond Casino. There's no mechanism to cash in any winnings for real money, but presumably it can be used elsewhere in the game. But just like the real world, players can certainly lose and may be tempted to spend more real money in a forlorn hope of winning their losses back.

Given that loot boxes are causing so much controversy around the world, then this latest venture is surely asking for trouble. Forbes comments:

And in the sense that gambling is the sort of thing that can lead to problematic behavior, it's not hard to imagine how these new mechanics could start causing people with addictive personalities some issues.

Reddit has published a list of 50 countries where online gambling has been banned, and it is speculating that these could lead to the game being blocked in those countries. And indeed there have already been reports of the game being blocked in several countries, but these reports seem in need of confirmation.

Grand Theft Auto V was pulled from Australia's largest department-store chain after feminist complaints about scenes of violence against women. Another major store, Kmart, later followed suit.

Target is Australia's largest department-store chain by outlets. Grand Theft was the second-highest selling video game in the previous week.

Jim Cooper, general manager of corporate affairs at Target said in a statement:

We have listened to the strong feedback. This is not a product they want us to sell.

A petition on website change.org had attracted more than 40,000 supporters, saying the product makes a game of bashing, killing and horrific violence against women.

Update: Petition targets the selling of sickening religious books

7th December 2014. See  article from  tvnz.co.nz

Close to 13,000 people have signed a petition in Australia calling for Target to ban the Bible from its stores.

The protest comes from gaming enthusiasts after Grand Theft Auto V was banned from Target and Kmart this week due to its violent content.The petition, which is posted in change.org, points out that the sickening religious book encourages readers to commit sexual violence and kill women .

News.com.au reports the disgruntled gamers are also calling for Target to change its violent name and aggressive logo , a petition to ban all knife sales and a demand for a ban on Fifty Shades of Gray.

Update: However to be fair, Target did themselves no favours with this advert

7th December  See  article from  kotaku.com.au

Kokatu comments:

I mean seriously, what is wrong with this picture? What were they thinking? This is an advertisement and it is essentially informing consumers that Grand Theft Auto V is a toy for children on the same level as Peppa Pig.

Absolutely mind-boggling.

Grand Theft Auto 5 has been censored in Japan.

The games has been shorn of its sexual content, and its infamous playable torture sequence has been cut entirely.

Kotaku has compared the Western and Japanese editions of the game alongside one another, concluding that the latter contains less violence and sexual content.

The cuts include:

• Trevor revealing a bare butt when discussing his penis
• Trevor humping a clothed girl on a kitchen table
• Franklyn observing a clothed teen idol having sex in a garden
• The torture scene has been deleted