American Indian Group Calls for a Boycott of Activision’s Gun

Petition refers to the game as "damaging, socially harmful and insensitive"

The AAID, or the Association for American Indian Development, has posted an online petition calling for a boycott against Activision, citing their video game Gun (developed by Neversoft) as “derogatory, harmful and inaccurate” in its portrayal of American Indians.

The petition (boycottgun.com) demands that Activision either removes the offensive content or recall the game completely from retailers.

The petition also claims that the game glamorizes “the brutal slaying of America's indigenous people”, stating that Gun “is a game that specifies the slaughter of a breathing existing racial group of human beings.”

GameDaily BIZ inquired into this matter with Activision, and reported that Activision had issued the following statement:

"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.

"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.

"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. "

Gun, released last fall on the Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, PC and Xbox 360, puts players in the role Colton White, a gunman in the brutal Wild West.

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