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[Bojanglez]

People getting mad at Rockstar, but probably posting messages from their iPhones. I doubt Rockstar would give a shit if it wasn't for Apple's policy to blanket ban games with Confederate flags in.

 

[Phase]

They didn't, they just moved them onto RDR2 horses.

The wheels are coming off at Rockstar!

/s

 

[sainraja]

I can think of a lot of missions that would rank higher on the offence meter…. The Trans bomber mission in Vice City for one….lol

if the conf flag is out how they fuck do they justify keeping the trans bomber mission in XD

Oh maybe it's gone as well?

 

[Sosokrates]

This could of just been one artist that took advantage of the situation.

A lot of assets looked to have been redone, so the person doing this T-Shirt may have interjected there own views and replaced the flag.

 

[DeepEnigma]

This could of just been one artist that took advantage of the situation.

A lot of assets looked to have been redone, so the person doing this T-Shirt may have interjected there own views and replaced the flag.

 

[sainraja]

No echo chamber here my friend, all opinions welcome.

Unlike other places you don’t get banned if your comments go against the grain.

Be thankful for your right to oppose and not fear the ban hammer.

Well, he got banned lol

I think that this is a good thing - now everybody can feel welcome and safe while playing the game.

Well, they should change what guns do to people — people who get shot shouldn't die when you shoot them and when a shot hits someone only hearts flow out and they become super happy.

1. It's literally the flag of people who committed mass armed treason against the United States, so I don't care either way.

2. Satire should be preserved, but it's their satire, so they can do whatever they want.

3. It's Rockstar, so they're not making some statement, just likely trying to avoid bad PR.

Also a possible scenario.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

All this does is remind me to buy Mel Brooks' filmography on hard copy before the REEs start fucking with it.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Such a pointless edit, you know a employee did it without being told so.


I love the flag, its a doof indicator.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

fuck that flag. fuck what it symbolizes.

Yes... but that was the whole point of its depiction in the game in the first place. The OG games never glorified or glamorised the flag or the in-game characters that sported it.

Removing the confederate flag from the game is the equivalent of removing the Nazi swastika from Wolfenstien games because the dev doesn't want to offend anyone. It would be completely missing the point and would defeat the whole purpose of the game setting up Nazis as comically evil baddies whose entire purpose in the game is to be shredded into mincemeat by the player in the most gruesome ways possible.

 

[Sosokrates]

Yeah, a very special kind of people, with whom nobody wants to be associated with in this day and age anymore.


Validation of worshiping a flag that stands for slavery.

Like most characters in GTA.

 

[Ebele]

game ruined everyone dam!!

 

[Spukc]

Surprises me it’s the flag that triggered this thread..

if anyone listed to the in game radio shows back in the day.

i can’t wait to see what that will trigger.

that stuff aged baaaaad in 2021

 

[AGRacing]

Yes... but that was the whole point of its depiction in the game in the first place. The OG games never glorified or glamorised the flag or the in-game characters that sported it.

Removing the confederate flag from the game is the equivalent of removing the Nazi swastika from Wolfenstien games because the dev doesn't want to offend anyone. It would be completely missing the point and would defeat the whole purpose of the game setting up Nazis as comically evil baddies whose entire purpose in the game is to be shredded into mincemeat by the player in the most gruesome ways possible.

Don't bother. The people arguing this don't understand context. Don't understand subtlety. Don't understand perspective. They're good old fashioned book burners (at least in this stage of their life)... and they have their place in history as well.

I especially love the argument that portrayals of this flag are ok in 1899 and not ok for 1989. I suppose history should record nobody wore these shirts in the 80s and racism was solved.

When you argue with someone who is for the censorship of art (And this has a story - narrative - cultural commentary- it is art) and you're immediately gas lit as someone who agrees with everything in it - thats how you recognize you're dealing with an intellectual child who probably developed their social leanings on Twitter.

There's only a few things that can bring people to understanding... time and perspective. Young people often don't have enough of either... but luckily some of them will get there on their own eventually.

 

[Rikkori]

This is a preview of how you can expect them to treat GTA 6, if anyone had any doubts left. Rockstar has been satirizing for so long they became the satire.

 

[fart town usa]

Lame.

As others have mentioned, the game is satire. It's not like they're glorifying anything.

Never planned on buying the remasters, old ones hold up just fine and I own them.

 

[Punished Miku]

Maybe censoring this series in the most heavy-handed way possible IS the satire against modern day.

Then at the end they explain that they're just joking and it unlocks the real trilogy with Hot Coffee 2 hour version in 4k.

 

[Rest]

And nothing of value was lost.

People talking about censorship are adorable. The owner of the property removing content of their own will is not censorship. And those talking about the artistic and creative vision of the creators also seem to have missed the point. This project has been renewed. Rockstar is the creator and owner of GTAIII, and its creative and artistic vision has changed. Phil's celebration of the war that a group of people fought to pursue their interest in the crime of enslaving other people no longer fits the vision. The vision has changed, the product has changed. This is the definition of free, uncensured and uncensored expression. This is what it looks like.

 

[cr0w]

Thank god they don't appear to have removed all references of when we kicked Australia's ass.

 

[Raven117]

Whatever, its their game.

They want to make their satire less potent, up to them.

 

[lefty1117]

Yes... but that was the whole point of its depiction in the game in the first place. The OG games never glorified or glamorised the flag or the in-game characters that sported it.

Removing the confederate flag from the game is the equivalent of removing the Nazi swastika from Wolfenstien games because the dev doesn't want to offend anyone. It would be completely missing the point and would defeat the whole purpose of the game setting up Nazis as comically evil baddies whose entire purpose in the game is to be shredded into mincemeat by the player in the most gruesome ways possible.

Is that how confederate flag guy is represented in GTA? Do we get to shred him into mincemeat? (genuinely asking, I don't know this - to me this might be the only acceptable case for including something so hurtful to so many people)

 

[dreamcastluvr]

And nothing of value was lost.

Agreed, but the potential implications of this mentality are pretty concerning. It’s atop a slippery slope.

People talking about censorship are adorable. The owner of the property removing content of their own will is not censorship.

I love that you find us “adorable,” but your condescending flattery doesn’t change the fact that this fits the literal textbook definition of censorship; it makes no difference who is suppressing the content, and despite whatever our feelings are about the confederates, they are viewed as politically unacceptable in our current progressive-focused social climate. Rockstar knows this and removed (i.e. censored) the flag for this reason. Sometimes people convolute censorship with violation of 1st Amendment rights, which it obviously isn’t. Rockstar has every right to do whatever they want with their intellectual property, including censor it.

And those talking about the artistic and creative vision of the creators also seem to have missed the point. This project has been renewed. Rockstar is the creator and owner of GTAIII, and its creative and artistic vision has changed.

The game was created and designed by individuals working for the company 20+ years ago, who are long gone. Rockstar 2021 is the same company in name only. Yes they are the owner, but the people currently there are not the original creators.

Phil's celebration of the war that a group of people fought to pursue their interest in the crime of enslaving other people no longer fits the vision. The vision has changed, the product has changed. This is the definition of free, uncensured and uncensored expression. This is what it looks like.

If I remember correctly, Phil was a right wing gun nut. An alt-right type of character. His confederate flag t-shirt was a defining part of his persona. To my knowledge, there is no visionary change to his character. The flag removal was politically motivated, not by a change in artistic vision.

 

[DeepEnigma]

The owner of the property removing content of their own will is not censorship.

Self-censorship - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Self-censorship is often practiced by film producers, film directors, publishers, news anchors, journalists, musicians, and other kinds of authors including individuals who use social media.

 

[AGRacing]

Agreed, but the potential implications of this mentality are pretty concerning. It’s atop a slippery slope.

I love that you find us “adorable,” but your condescending flattery doesn’t change the fact that this fits the literal textbook definition of censorship; it makes no difference who is suppressing the content, and despite whatever our feelings are about the confederates, they are viewed as politically unacceptable in our current progressive-focused social climate. Rockstar knows this and removed (i.e. censored) the flag for this reason. Sometimes people convolute censorship with violation of 1st Amendment rights, which it obviously isn’t. Rockstar has every right to do whatever they want with their intellectual property, including censor it.

The game was created and designed by individuals working for the company 20+ years ago, who are long gone. Rockstar 2021 is the same company in name only. Yes they are the owner, but the people currently there are not the original creators.

If I remember correctly, Phil was a right wing gun nut. An alt-right type of character. His confederate flag t-shirt was a defining part of his persona. To my knowledge, there is no visionary change to his character. The flag removal was politically motivated, not by a change in artistic vision.

 

[Stuart360]

I think some poeple need to realize that people are not moaning simply about the flag, its also what else could possibly of been removed or changed, all for the sake of wokeness and trying to pander to a loony group of people that many of them wont even be playing the game anyway.

 

[Carter Burke]

WTF, a complete mission because "FAT SHAMING".
I won't buy this game.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Is that how confederate flag guy is represented in GTA? Do we get to shred him into mincemeat? (genuinely asking, I don't know this - to me this might be the only acceptable case for including something so hurtful to so many people)

The guy in GTA is a redneck enemy that isn't portrayed in any positive light at all.

And almost every NPC in GTA can be shredded into mincemeat. That part of why the series is so popular is because the player has all the freedom to do whatever you want.

 

[MacReady13]

Where's that goon that was arguing in the other thread that "update the game for modern audiences" (in their words) "probably means control changes"?

I hope that poster feels like a right pollock now.

This is exactly the shit we were anticipating. Totally, misses the point of the OG artists' satirical intent.

Funny how for some gamers, changing textures in a remaster (Silent Hill 2 and 3) is seen as sacrilege yet this is fine for some? Why can't we just leave the original games alone in this remaster? There is a reason he was wearing that shirt so why bother with the change?

 

[mckmas8808]

There's some weird people in this thread. The hills people are willing to die on are so stupid.

 

[Basil King]

And absolutely nothing of value was lost with this change.

why would you want to be caught wearing a flag of the losing team anyway.

1 less satirical thing in a game isn’t going to ruin it for you, get a grip.

 

[Bluecondor]

People getting mad at Rockstar, but probably posting messages from their iPhones. I doubt Rockstar would give a shit if it wasn't for Apple's policy to blanket ban games with Confederate flags in.

Your point is spot on here. The removal of the Confederate flag likely has very little to do with free speech. Instead, Rockstar would not be permitted to sell a game in the Apple Store that includes images of the Confederate flag.

As in many other areas of life, if you follow the money, there is often a simple explanation for things.

 

[Jaysen]

If it pisses off fans of that flag, cool. Just don’t edit out the titties. Then we have a problem.

 

[Basil King]

I don't get it how it is possible 20 years ago and today it's frowned upon.

I mean it shouldn't have been ok 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago either.

 

[dreamcastluvr]

Your point is spot on here. The removal of the Confederate flag likely has very little to do with free speech. Instead, Rockstar would not be permitted to sell a game in the Apple Store that includes images of the Confederate flag.

As in many other areas of life, if you follow the money, there is often a simple explanation for things.

I checked into this and I think you boys are on to something. I didn’t know about this since I don’t play mobile games. But yeah, makes sense they did this to avoid issues with Apple and couldn’t be arsed with adding the flag back into the console versions.
Whatevs, I can live with that. Still wouldn’t put it past them to tone down some “ of the violence/ jokes/ sexual content. Looking forward to non-journalist reviews.

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

I don't care which flag the character supports on his t-shirt but this is a little surprising given the company in question is Rockstar.

No company and I mean no company is safe from this stuff. Twitter now means a group of people can cause sufficient damage to your business with outrage in some cases wiping tens of millions of dollars off your stock price which in turn upsets shareholders of public companies.

This is why every TV advert in the UK is now filled with black, gay, trans and special needs actors. You can’t even be accused of being a bigot because of the financial implications.

 

[stn]

I don't get it, wasn't it a satire making fun of confederate "redneck" stereotype?

 

[ResilientBanana]

Why is Confederate flag controversial and Spanish or British are not?

Why stop at one? Let’s ban flags of all countries (existing or not) that did fucked up shit in the past.

The confederate flag represents a country like the KKK’s flag does. Your comparison is bad.

 

[fersnake]

some ppl its gonna be offended so lets remove it...

im starting to hate this shit.

 

[Bluecondor]

I checked into this and I think you boys are on to something. I didn’t know about this since I don’t play mobile games. But yeah, makes sense they did this to avoid issues with Apple and couldn’t be arsed with adding the flag back into the console versions.
Whatevs, I can live with that. Still wouldn’t put it past them to tone down some “ of the violence/ jokes/ sexual content. Looking forward to non-journalist reviews.

Of course, thinking about it a bit more, Sony and Microsoft don't have the Confederate flag restriction like Apple. As such, Rockstar could conceivably keep the original flag art in the Playstation and XBox versions.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Of course, thinking about it a bit more, Sony and Microsoft don't have the Confederate flag restriction like Apple. As such, Rockstar could conceivably keep the original flag art in the Playstation and XBox versions.

Spoiler: they won’t.

If any of this is true. If so, I feel it’s a controlled leak, to lessen the blow of other possible censorship since this “isn’t the hill you should die on.”

So get the whining out so you can be browbeaten by the false altruistic pushback only focusing on this one thing, even if you want to complain about other removals. Clever, I must say.

“You’re all racists if you complain about any and all censorship.”

Again, if any of this is true that are being supposedly “leaked.”

 

[Bluecondor]

Spoiler: they won’t.


Ya - you're right. I can imagine them keeping/dropping the flag between versions.

 

[dreamcastluvr]

Of course, thinking about it a bit more, Sony and Microsoft don't have the Confederate flag restriction like Apple. As such, Rockstar could conceivably keep the original flag art in the Playstation and XBox versions.

True, but we are talking about the same studio that did the previous low-effort mobile port of San Andreas. And Rockstar isn’t going to go to any great lengths to get it added back in for XBox and PS.
I guess we’ll see in a couple of weeks. There’s certain to be a mad dash among YouTube gaming channels to find all the changes and glitches.

 

[Lognor]

Great move! Love it. Some cucks gonna be triggered though. Lol