Talk about a tactically STUPID move...

778 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by NA_Wreckdiver, Jan 16, 2013

NA_Wreckdiver

Discussion Starter · Jan 15, 2013

The National Rifle Association, exactly a month after the shooting at Newtown, Conn., has released a branded target shooting game deemed suitable for kids ages 4 and up.

The NRA has been highly critical of the video game industry following the elementary school shooting in Newtown that left 26 dead and sparked a national debate about guns and school safety.

"NRA: Practice Range," available free in the iTunes app store, allows players to shoot at coffin-shaped targets in indoor or outdoor settings. For $.99 extra, players can upgrade their gun to a pistol grip Mossberg or a semi-automatic sniper rifle.

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Did the NRA release it on purpose or was it a coincidence? I'd like to think the later. But obviously the media will use it as they have. A little common sense and foresight on the part of the NRA would have saved them some potentionally bad press regardless of their original intention with this video app..

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Pepsi's Dad

· #3 · Jan 15, 2013

Stupid more on purpose on not

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boli

· #4 · Jan 15, 2013

I checked this out on the app store and I don't see this being an issue at all. It is a shooting game where you are shooting at targets, not people. There are also safety tips that pop up during the game such as "always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction." It also says ages 12+. Once again, not an issue. Kids can hunt at 12 if they want. It is up to the parent if they want their kid to play a simple target range game that shows safety tips from time to time.

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croz2173

· #5 · Jan 15, 2013

It was not a stupid move. Give me a break guys, that target is a common body mass model target. It is obviously not a coffin, why would it be? There is absolutely nothing wrong with a target practice game that teaches gun safety. That game depicts exactly what the NRA is there to protect. Target shooting has nothing to do with Sandy Hook, and nobody should feel akward about it just because some nut did something terrible.

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Bates

· #6 · Jan 15, 2013

CNN sure grabbed it quick...

New NRA video game slammed (their title, not mine)
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/15/tech/gaming-gadgets/nra-shooting-game/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

<span style="font-size: 8pt">edit: spelling</span>

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NA_Wreckdiver

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 16, 2013

EIGHT POINT said:
... But obviously the media will use it as they have. A little common sense and foresight on the part of the NRA would have saved them some potentionally bad press regardless of their original intention with this video app..

My thoughts exactly.

The NRA took a strong position implicating video games.
A product has been released with their brand attached, that is marked
toward kids (don't know who's call that is, may not be the NRA's) and
includes human silhouette targets. That is giving your opponents easy
fodder to twist and use against you in their relentless effort to discredit
you. The timing makes it worse.

The NRA may not have even been aware, since a game developer
produced it likely under a "branding license" and the NRA may not have
even known when it would be released.

However, those details are irrelevant in the court of public opinion.
It may not hurt them, but certainly won't help them at a time when they
are being demonized as the embodiment of the nations "gun problem".

This type of attention does not help our cause anymore than
Ted Nuggent helps the perception of hunters with non-hunters.
Public opinion matters in this fight, and this is probably one of the
most important battles to be fought to date.

I really think the timing and previously stated positions make this a
public relations blunder of epic proportions. The press this is getting
and likely to get, will not be helpful and will undermine their positions.

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