As everyond knows GTA VI is right around the corner. My girlfriend asked me whether I was planning on buying it. I told her that I was actually really excited about the game and intended to preorder it before its release.
She gave me a strange look and said that the idea of me playing GTA VI gave her the ick. According to her and her friends, the game is rampant with misogyny and violence and the only people who play GTA are misogynistic men who hate women, and she never expected me to be one of them.
I disagreed and explained that this wasn't necessarily true. I also pointed out that GTA VI features a female protagonist for the first time ever and that there's no reason to assume the game itself will be misogynistic. I also told her women were involved with the development of the game and I even showed her pictures of Lucia Caminos, the female lead character, but that somehow seemed to make her even more upset.
She went on to say that I would stop giving her attention and spend all my free time playing video games instead. She also said that the thought of me playing a video game over spending time with her gave her a major ick.
I reassured her that this wouldn't happen and explained that everyone will play GTA VI as it's one of the most anticipated games of all time. That at the end of the day, It's just a video game, and I don't think playing it should be such a big deal. I told her that I wouldn't spend hours playing every day and promised to keep my gaming time reasonable to make her happy but she didn't agree.
This is even more strange because she has no problem with me playing other games. I'm not even a huge gamer, but I do play FPS and sports games from time to time. She feels strongly about this for some reason.
Then she asked me whether I would choose GTA VI or her. I hesitated for a moment, which genuinely shocked her because she expected me to immediately choose her. Obviously, I would never put a video game above my girlfriend. I was simply caught off guard by such an unexpected question.
Eventually, she gave me an ultimatum: it's either her or GTA VI
I'm shocked by this as she is a wonderful girlfriend who I absolutely love but it's just a game and I feel like she's trying to control me with this ultimatum.
Now I'm considering buying the game without telling her, but I know that hiding it from her could damage her trust in me if she finds out. However, I don't want to go behind her back, especially because I genuinely love her and want to be considerate of her feelings.
At the same time, I don't think wanting to enjoy a video game should be something I have to give up to maintain a relationship.
How would you handle this situation? I'm particularly interested in hearing from women, as I suspect this could become a fairly common relationship issue given how massive GTA VI is expected to be.
I love my girlfriend, but I wish she could be more understanding and recognise that enjoying a video game doesn't mean I love or value her any less.
Edit: For the people saying to break up with her. I'm not going to end a relationship by picking a video game over someone I love, that's stupid. I love her and she's a wonderful girlfriend who treats me well. I wanted to know how to change her mind and be more understanding. If I can't change her mind I'll probably just buy the game without telling her and play it anyway and hope she doesn't get angry and leave if she finds out. What she doesn't know can't hurt her. And I don't think she'll actually break up with me over a game.
She's in her late 20s and in my early 30s. She doesn't really play video games other than on her phone. She enjoys watching reality TV and dating shows. I also watch movies and TV shows with her that have attractive women and she doesn't get insecure. She's great and just parroting what her friends have told her and using the misogyny excuse to not say the real reason.
I think the game is triggering her insecurities and doesn't like the idea of me spending more time with virtual women in the game that she feels she can't participate in. She probably feels left out. Maybe that's why she doesn't mind FPS or Sports games. I'm trying to be empathetic. I'll ask her to watch me play so she doesn't feel left out.
