Activision responds to AAID

By Ellie Gibson Published 2 February, 2006

GUN wasn't meant to offend.

Activision has responded to accusations that PC and console title GUN promotes racism and genocide, apologising to Native Americans who have complained about the game for any offence caused.

In a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz, the publisher said: "Activision does not condone or advocate any of the atrocities that occurred in the American West during the 1800s. GUN was designed to reflect the harshness of life on the American frontier at that time.

"It was not Activision’s intention to offend any race or ethnic group with GUN, and we apologize to any who might have been offended by the game’s depiction of historical events which have been conveyed not only through video games but through films, television programming, books and other media."

Activision's comments come after the Association for American Indian Development launched a campaign against GUN, as reported previously.

One of AAID's main complaints was with regard to the prominence of "Indian scalping" in the game, but according to Activision: "While GUN depicts scalping and killing, these actions are not directed exclusively toward any race or gender but are used against a variety of opponents, reflecting the realities of that time."

The AAID previously requested that Activision removed all content which it deems offensive from GUN, threatening to start a global campaign to have the game removed from shop shelves if this demand is not met.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • reality_cheque #1 6 years ago

    Can we start a campaign to remove everything offensive from Uwe Boll films? For example, the involvement of Uwe Boll...

  • Ninjamagic #2 6 years ago

    Havent played GUN but would be interested to see what this was all about.

    Could you find Indians and ride up to them horseback and scalp them?

    Was there a lot of Indians?

    Was it always the Indians?

    Could you do it to anyone?

    In a way if it highlighted their genocide then isnt that a good thing for them? But i suppose you could look two ways about it.

  • symmetry #3 6 years ago

    Either:-

    1. This is guerilla marketing by Activision.

    or

    2. These people really need to get some perspective, actually play the game, and realise that everyone thinks that Indians (oops, sorry, Native Americans) are really rather cool and that a crappy computer game isn't going to change our opinion of them.

  • miiiguel #4 6 years ago

    Oh man..., the way we're going, someday we can't do/see anything.

  • reality_cheque #5 6 years ago

    Political correctness is just another form of censorship...

  • Zuiyo #6 6 years ago

    James Woods is Rockstar's secret publicist and the indians are Activision's. Welcome to the fantastic world of videogame promotion!

  • Spud_leg_wizz #7 6 years ago

    Bullshit in a tea cup

  • smoison #8 6 years ago

    "Political correctness is just another form of censorship... "
    Amen


    If you don't like GUn DON'T BUY IT.
    Game = Art
    Live with it.

  • the_dudefather #9 6 years ago

    no its
    games = not art
    cars = not art either

    remember? :p

  • effinjamie #10 6 years ago

    Contrary to what Hollywood would have us believe, "Scalping" was primarily a white man thing.
    What better way to prove how many Indians you had killed

  • Mho7276501 #11 6 years ago

    " Political correctness is just another form of censorship..."

    how about a game were you play a german soldier shooting jewish prisoners? Would offence at that be "politcal correctness"?? what about the red neck racist PC shooters you can get from the kkk??? are they ok by your standards

  • smoison #12 6 years ago

    YES!!!

    Why wouldn't you be able to play WW2 (or 1) and play as germans shooting THEIR enemies.
    Same goes for the rednecks in the KKK, it already exists and YOU have no right to stop games you feel are wronge from being made.
    (The movie industry HAS those rights, its about time the game industry is respected the same way)
    PERIODE
    Edited by 1 at 02/02/06 @ 17:50

  • el_pollo_diablo #13 6 years ago

    I've not played GUN, but lazy stereotypes are something that Neversoft seem to do very well in their games. I'm thinking of pretty much the entire skaterboarding community in their THPS games, particularly the latter ones.

    What with the lapdancing scenes and kids in wheelchairs in there too, their games all feel, for want of a better word, low rent.

    If they've offended a group of people, well, they had it coming for being so lazy in their writing and storylines.

  • wired009 #14 6 years ago

    Censorship is not always a bad thing. I can understand if Native Americans are offended by the content in GUN. Many of us are used to shooting Nazis in video games, but they were the aggressors whereas Native Americans were the victims. Part of the problem is that many of the cultures that we are used to seeing in violent games are either no longer around or are ficticious. Native American culture, however, is still here and we should respect that. The workaround could have been if you were able to play from the Native American side, similar to the way you can play both sides in FPS and RTS games. In the end, I think sales of GUN speak for themselves since it was rated below average by many sites. I wouldn't mind seeing scalping censored either. That is a cruel practice.

  • dudefella #15 6 years ago

    Oh please this is so stupid. As if this kind of thing has never been depicted in movies before? But now it's a videogame so everyone gets on their high horse to try and have the game banned or censored? Fuck them.

  • urban #16 6 years ago

    people really will whinge about anything huh.

    guess they didnt realise that everybody was riding around on horse back.

  • el_pollo_diablo #17 6 years ago

    I never said that I thought the game should be banned. I don't think it should.

    But I've certainly got no sympathy for Neversoft.

  • Fozzy010 #18 6 years ago

    !!!!!!SPOILER!!!!!! - Has a point though







    At the end of the game its the indians who help colt stop the "baddie" and save the day. How is that villanising them?

  • Jo0j #19 6 years ago

    oh please...I'm an Indian(yes I don't buy into the politically correct bullshit) and I enjoyed this game a lot...wasn't 'offended' whatsoever. I think that group should reintroduce themselves to the ''peace pipe''.

  • admir #20 6 years ago

    Activision just pay them, thats what they want.

  • Sko #21 6 years ago

    That campaign they threaten would probably stand more chance of success if they changed 'removed from shop shelves' to 'removed from bargain bins'.

  • chronom4n #22 6 years ago

    tell you what one of these days the plumbing society is gonna compain about mario.!! what is fricking wrong with people. haven't they got better things to complain about?

  • Planet #23 6 years ago

    Is this nominated for the "ban this sick filth" od the week? :)

    Now it's my turn! I am german, there are far more games about killing germans (in a different time and with a different ideology though) than about killing indians. I am officially offended and demand: ban this sick filth!

  • Luigi #24 6 years ago

    Let's be honest here... I don't care if a game is about destroying Europe or China or whatever... it's just a game. But the thing is.... How many games do we have that the main mission is... let's say it, anihilate the USA?
    As "Planet" mentioned... there is lot's of WWII games released in recent years... There are great games, but, how about releasing a Metal Gear Solid type game where the main character is a vietcong that uses tactics to eliminate any american threat? The themes are always USA wins and the rest of the world looses.
    Big salut to all eurogamers of our big EU nation from Lisbon.

  • TurdBreaker #25 6 years ago

    boo-fuckin-hoo...

    what sort of politically correct bullshit is this? That's what it was LIKE in those days..

    Next we'll have neo-Nazis comlpaining that CoD2 and other WW2 games are portraying them in a "bad way"..