Target Australia Removes GTA V From Shelves

Target Australia have removed Grand Theft Auto V from shelve after receiving extensive feedback and concerns about the games depiction of violence against women.

Targets General Manager of Corporate Affairs, Jim Cooper, had this to say about the decision:

"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,"

"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 GTA V is in line with the majority view of our customers."

Speaking of other R rated products Mr Cooper believed these products to be acceptable to sell, though they still contain graphic violence and/or offensive imagery. 

There has been an outcry over social media, with Target Australia's Facebook post about the decision receiving almost 4000 comments. The majority of posts made on both Facebook and Twitter seem against the decision and it will be interesting to see how Target Australia respond.

Update

Since this story has been announced a second retailer has announced that they will also be pulling GTA V  from shelves. 

The second retailer in question is Kmart whose response to the banning of the game was:

Kmart apologises for not being closer to the content of this game,”

The announcement came after Kmart reviewed the content of GTA V. 

The controversy over these banning's came about after an online petition was started, asking Target to remove GTA V, claiming that the game encourages players to commit sexual violence and kill women. The petition was a rousing success, garnering over 40,000 online signatures.