Survival Island 3
Survival Island 3: Australia Story was an iOS and Android game created by Kristina Fedenkova of NIL Entertainment, notorious for its blatant violence and racism against Australian Aboriginals. The game was released onto the App Store and Google Play in December 2015. The game is a 3D first-person survival-action game in which the player is able to ally with or fight against Indigenous Australian people as well as a variety of Australian fauna while trying to survive. It attracted strong criticism in Australia for its racist presentation of Indigenous Australians, which were presented as "real Aboriginals" and a threat to the fair-skinned player's survival. The game was also criticised for encouraging the player to perpetrate violence against Indigenous Australians. Apple rated the game PG for ages 12 and up.[1]
Survival Island 3 | |
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Developer(s) | NIL Entertainment |
Platform(s) | iOS, Android |
Release | December 2015 |
Reception
A Change.org petition was created by Georgia Mantle calling for the game to be removed from Google and Apple marketplaces. She wrote: "By shooting ‘dangerous Aboriginals’, this app makes us inhuman, it re-enforces racial violence, lack of punishment for white people taking black lives, it makes fun and sport of massacres and Frontier violence." The petition gathered over 20,000 signatures in less than 24 hours[2] and as of 16 January 2016, it had received over 60,000 signatures.[3] The petition was also seeking an apology from the game's developer.[3]
Response
On 16 January 2016, the game was removed from the Apple App Store,[4] which was followed by its removal from Google Play later that day. Videos of gameplay captured and published to YouTube were also removed.[5] On 17 January the petition was closed after receiving a total of 84,672 supporters and achieving two of its objectives. Australia's Federal communications minister Mitch Fifield asked his staff to "provide advice on the circumstances of its release". He said of the game: "I am appalled that anyone would develop such a so called 'game' and that any platform would carry it."[6] Others criticized the decision.[7]
References
- "Bludgeon To Death An 'Aborigine': The Virtual Apple iPhone Game The Whole Family Can Play". New Matilda. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- "Survival Island 3: Outrage over app where gamers hunt 'Aborigines'". The Mercury. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- "Demands for 'racist' Survival Island 3 game to be removed from app stores". ABC News. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- "Game encouraging players to bludgeon Aboriginal Australians to death causes outrage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- "Apple Cans 'Australia Survival' Game Where Players Beat To Death A 'Virtual Aborigine'". New Matilda. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- "Minister orders investigation into game promoting killing of Aboriginal Australians". News. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- "NO, SURVIVAL ISLAND 3 IS NOT AN 'ABORIGINAL KILLING SIMULATOR". OK Games. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.