Norway store cans 51 brands after Oslo-Utøya massacre

Coop Norway has announced it is to stop carrying 51 gaming brands and toys previously available to customers, after the horrific events in Oslo and on Utøya, including games CoD4: Modern Warfare and World of Warcraft – titles which the perpetrator Anders Behring Breivik claims to have actively played.

According to a report in Norwegian newspaper Rogalands Avis, Geir Inge Stokke, director of Coop Norway Retail, said the retail giant is temporarily removing the games out of "consideration for those affected," by last week's murders.

"The decision to remove the games was made around the time we realized the scope of the attack," he said. "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.

"We have to think very carefully about when to bring these goods back. The economy involved is of no importance."

Breivik, the man behind the attacks, mentioned in his "manifesto" time playing WoW and even went so far as to describe Modern Warfare as a "training" tool in his "plan."

Games confirmed as being removed from shelves by Gamers Globe include:

• Homefront
  
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
  
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
  
• Call of Duty: World at War
  
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  
• Sniper: Ghost Warrior
  
• Counter-Strike: Source
  
• World of Warcraft
  

Toys that "look or function as weapons" have also been removed.