Google Rejects Postal For Google Play Store Due To Violence; GTA Games Still Available For Purchase
from the bang-bang dept
We all know that in the land of mobile applications, Apple has long seen itself as the keeper of the moral compass, gently navigating humanity towards the City upon a Hill one rejected phone-game at a time. The reasons for refusal have varied, from the inclusion of fictional narcotics, to the slight chance somebody somewhere might see a breast or a penis, all the way up to a moral stance against comic books, because this is apparently the nineteen-twenties. And through it all, those of us that use Android devices have held up Google's Play store as a nanny-free alternative, free of censorship and hypocrisy.
Well, no more. Google, it appears, has rejected a mobile version of the infamous game Postal over the violent content within the game.
Postal won't be making it to Android devices. Why? Because apparently it has been rejected from the Google Play Store because it contains "GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE."Oh, dear. It appears a second nanny has entered the game, as though we poor gamers were somehow caught in between a vice constructed of Mrs. Doubtfire and Mr. Belvedere, each pressing in on us for the high crime of simply wanting to play a damned game. We're adults, after all, or at least many of us gamers are these days. Thirty-five or so, that's the average age of a gamer today. We don't need to be coddled and protected from gaming violence, it's what we want. Or, again, some of us do, but that's a choice for the consumer, not the platform.
And specifically not for a platform whose decision plunges it into the depths of hypocrisy. As the original forum post over at Running With Scissors notes, it's not as though keeping Postal out of Google Play preserves some violence-free app-Utopia.
"We know many of you have been excited that POSTAL is going to be made available on Android devices, but it seems we have hit a bit of a snag. Unfortunately it appears POSTAL has been rejected from Google Play due to it containing "GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE". Sadly this means it won't be welcomed alongside the Grand Theft Auto series, Carmageddon and horde of Zombie games on Google Play."It's a point well-made and a point not designed to take aim at GTA or zombie games. The sights are set on Google's hypocrisy instead. I imagine the looks of surprise on the faces of the game designers were severe when the rejection notice came. The Play store was our alternative to this kind of nonsense. Perhaps we'll have to go elsewhere in the future.
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Filed Under: google play store, postal, prudes, video games, violence
Companies: google
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"We're adults, after all" -- maybe physically.
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Re: "We're adults, after all" -- maybe physically.
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Re: "We're adults, after all" -- maybe physically.
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Re: "We're adults, after all" -- maybe physically.
My definition of someone with arrested development - the kind of person who tries controlling the kinds of entertainment other adults can enjoy simply because they themselves don't like it. Censors are the real children.
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Basically, I think the experimental evidence has shown that your comment is correct.
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Next up on the ban list: The "Dark Souls" series.
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One good thing
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We all know the real reason
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"We're adults, after all" -- maybe physically
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Re: "We're adults, after all" -- maybe physically
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Go where, exactly?
Nobody 'sells' smart phones, everybody 'licenses' them with heavy restrictions applied and enforced by code signing... Welcome to the future.
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Double standard
Predator Drone Missile Strike - Missile Cam (last second of the missle cam you see a guy entering the door right next to the explotion
https://youtu.be/KcEoRae6Yog
Apaches Wipe Out Taliban Platoon (bombing, shooting people, not sure if the white spots flying around are parts of the bomb or people my guess is the 2nd)
https://youtu.be/KaufhZv84Gk
Googles view of the world:
Game violence = BAD!!!
Real violence = Good!
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I own Postal 1 and 2, they're alright games, do not regret the time i spent playing them, i'll probably buy this one too. However, as far as im aware, the play store doesn't have any kind of an age gate system in place and, postal is one of those games i would say is definitely in need of one. If there is an age gate system that i haven't noticed in the play store, then, i'm right there with yall in being pissed though.
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is that like a parent or guardian?
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"I own Postal 1 and 2"
So, you'd have been fine with people stopping you from buying both games and playing them? Or, does this only apply to people who are being blocked from doing so after you've done so yourself? What would your reaction have been if the retailer you used back then did the same thing?
"However, as far as im aware, the play store doesn't have any kind of an age gate system in place and, postal is one of those games i would say is definitely in need of one."
As is the GTA series. To use a film analogy, The Human Centipede and John Wick might be rated R for completely different reasons, but arbitrarily banning one of them because nobody bothers to enforce the age restriction is not the answer.
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http://www.gog.com/game/postal_classic_and_uncut
http://www.gog.com/game/postal_2_complete
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Missing the point...
"violence", in and of itself, real or imaginary is acceptable. They seem fine with it. However, "gratuitous" violence will not be tolerated in their world.
That's a mighty strange fine line they are walking there.
I say we get rid of all the gratuitous violence and go back to good old fashioned gratuitous sex.
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What kind of a vice? Drugs? Gambling? :)
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nanny
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RMS was right
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I agree with the article. I don't understand why people still trust Google yet vent against Apple. Like there is much of a difference? Still, not a big deal. Just stick the .apk file up on the vendor's web site.
For those that cry "I'm don't have root access on my phone so I can't side-load": Whoops. That's a mistake you can fix. Buy a different device.
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