Shortly after we published this story, Activision representatives provided GameDaily BIZ with the following statement:

"Activision does not condone or advocate any of the atrocities that occurred in the American West during the 1800s. GUN was designed to reflect the harshness of life on the American frontier at that time.

"While GUN depicts scalping and killing, these actions are not directed exclusively toward any race or gender but are used against a variety of opponents, reflecting the realities of that time.

"It was not Activision's intention to offend any race or ethnic group with GUN, and we apologize to any who might have been offended by the game's depiction of historical events which have been conveyed not only through video games but through films, television programming, books and other media. "

The Association for American Indian Development (AAID) has started at online petition asking people to boycott Activision's and developer Neversoft's Western-themed video game Gun, as well as any other products from Activision.

The petition, found at boycottgun.com, alleges that the game features "some very disturbing racist and genocidal elements toward Native Americans." AAID is demanding that Activision edit and remove "all derogatory, harmful, and inaccurate depictions of American Indians" and that "upon re-release of the edited version... that Activision do so in a manner that is responsible to the great Apache people and is culturally and historically accurate to the struggle and plight of all people of American Indian ancestry."

The AAID concludes that if re-releasing an edited version is not an option, then they demand a complete recall of the game itself from all retailers worldwide.

The petition's website goes into further detail in the information section about the AAID's concerns. They feel that American society all too readily and frequently accepts the genocide of Native Americans. "What is of the greatest concern and outrage is the outright, unabashed and implied righteousness of its genocidal nature toward Native Americans," states the AAID. "To create a game where one must slaughter members of a racial group in order to move forward promotes and condones the near genocide of Native Americans in this country. If a game were created that had its hero slaughter, say African Americans, Irish, Mexicans, or Jews, would there not be an outcry of extreme proportions? We're not talking about generic bandits or outlaws who could be any race - this is a game that specifies the slaughter of a living, breathing existing racial group of human beings."

The AAID continues, "What's next, the Civil War era game where 'The Hero' must capture and lynch runaway slaves? Of course not. That would be wrong. But apparently, killing Indians is still fair game... Let's be clear...contrary to popular belief and myth, the near genocide of Native Americans is a shameful chapter in American history and should not be condoned or trivialized in a game as if it were okay. Yes, the brutal slaying of America's indigenous people is historically accurate...it happened. But so did slavery, lynching and the Holocaust and we don't see games glamorizing it as if it were the right thing to do."

As of press time, GameDaily BIZ is still awaiting word from Activision on this matter.