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Major Norwegian Retailer Temporarily Pulls Games After Oslo Murders

by Julian Williams, posted on 31 July 2011 / 1,871 Views

As you may be aware, there was a set of horrendous killings over in Oslo and Utøya a while back, done by one Anders Breivik. In his manifesto, he stated he spent a large portion of his time in World of Warcraft, and used Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to "train." Mindful of sensitivity, Coop Norway Retail, a retail giant in that area, is pulling those games and several associated items off the shelves temporarily. 

"Others are better suited than us to point to the negative effects of games like these. At the moment it’s [appropriate] for us to take them down. I wouldn’t be surprised if others do the same," Geir Inge Stokke, director of the retail chain, said to Norwegian magazine Rogaland Avis. 

Weapon-like toys have been pulled, in addition to Homefront, Sniper: Ghost Warrior, Counter-Strike: Source, and the entire Call of Duty franchise release list, including Black Ops, World at War, Modern Warfare, and Black Ops. 

Around any great tragedy there are steps taken to be more sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of those affected. This is far from a ban and should not be taken as such - video games are not being censored. This is just a temporary moment of silence, and I applaud Coop Norway for taking this action. 


11 Comments

Machina
Machina (on 31 July 2011)

Hollow gesture. Happens everytime. And then when everyone's forgotten and the story's moved on everything goes back to normal, so I'm not sure why you applaud it - there's no meaning behind it, no genuine conviction there and that, imo, is far more insulting than leaving them on the shelves.

  • +4
Silver-Tiger
Silver-Tiger (on 31 July 2011)

Weapon-like toys have been pulled.. This is ridiculous. Next time somebody stabs someone, they pull all knife-like objects? It seems when it comes to tragedies like this people loose common sense.

  • +3
ROBOTECHHEAVEN
ROBOTECHHEAVEN (on 31 July 2011)

the games shouldn't have been taken off the shelves, this retailer is overacting alot. far too many times the video game industry is being blamed for violence in which shootings take place. when in fact more violence is shown on the tv via the news about real world events then u will ever see in a video game. i lost respect for this retailer taking the easy way out.

  • +3
Incubi
Incubi (on 31 July 2011)

I'm from Norway, and this is ridicolous. Another games retail chain in Norway was asked why they had not followed Coop. They responded saying it was pretty clear games had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the killings in any way whatsoever.

  • +3
Rath
Rath (on 31 July 2011)

They're a private entity and it's their choice whether to do this or not. Personally I think it's stupid, but it's their choice.

  • +2
Xen
Xen (on 31 July 2011)

They pulled Homefront and Sniper: Ghost Warrior? I came in expecting bad news. Turns out, the consumers ended up winning.

  • +1
Tammi
Tammi (on 01 August 2011)

Yup.....violent video games can cause harm in some cases.

  • 0
ryuzaki57
ryuzaki57 (on 01 August 2011)

I think that's pretty lame because it links the killings to video games although it was proven that the motivations of the madman were 100% political.

  • 0
Hephaestos
Hephaestos (on 31 July 2011)

u sure they removed black ops? cause you only say it twice in the news :p "the entire Call of Duty franchise release list, including Black Ops, World at War, Modern Warfare, and Black Ops. "

  • 0
chunjuanas
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  • -1
APKenna
APKenna (on 31 July 2011)

Hey guys, before bashing on them if you were actually in their shoes you would problably do the same...is all about business strategy and unfurtunately politics. As a gamer perspective, yes, probably a "over-reacrion" & they should leave the games alone but think about it, it's all about gaining the trust from those around who feel the pain about this National tragedy, at least this is what I'm getting from these.

  • -1