Condemned by the media and beloved by fans, it’s a video game about nothing that lets players do anything.
PHOENIX — It was banned in 14 countries, pulled from the shelves of American stores and even included in the late Senator Joe Liberman’s list of the three worst things in America — alongside Calvin Klein underwear ads and Marilyn Manson.
The “Postal” video game franchise ranks among gaming’s most divisive and controversial series ever created. Condemned by the media and beloved by fans, it’s a video game about nothing that lets players do anything. They can light a marching band on fire, use a cat as a handgun silencer or commit mass murder and perform bodily functions on dismembered bodies.
Oh, and it couldn’t possibly have more ties to Arizona.
“You can go back and play” Postal” (1) and see some references to what looks like Bisbee,” said Tad Sallee. “It’s called Paradise, Arizona, because they didn’t actually want to call it Bisbee.”
Sallee and his friend, Jason Sikorsky, are the University of Arizona alumni behind the new documentary “Going Postal: The Legacy Foretold.” Their Netflix-quality feature explores the 25-year history of the cult classic video game, the Tucson company that created it and the cultural firestorm that followed.
“Postal” became infamous shortly after its 1997 release by Tucson video game developer Running With Scissors. Its offensive humor, vulgar content and cartoon-style over-the-top violence triggered the first congressional hearings on video game violence.
Sikorsky believes sound design played a role in the controversy. Video game sound cards were becoming more advanced on PC games.
“You could actually hear sounds that replicated real life, so when you’re shooting someone and you’re hearing them beg for their life and it’s the mid-‘90s and you haven’t seen this except for maybe on ultra-violent movies,” Sikorsky said. “Now kids are playing these games and acting out these actions.”
Even the game’s name struck a nerve with the U.S. Postal Service.
“Going postal” was a ‘90s phrase born out of a series of shootings at post offices committed by postal employees.
“People were shot and killed, so this term came around, “going postal,” where you’d essentially go into your workplace and kind of go crazy,” Sallee said.
The Postal Service filed a trademark lawsuit against Running With Scissors, claiming it wrongfully used the word “Postal.” The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in 2003.
In a letter quoted in the documentary, the Postmaster General wrote to the developers, “All of us at the Postal Service have a sense of humor, but there is nothing funny about your game ‘Postal.’ It is in very poor taste and it an erroneous and unfair portrayal of the nation’s postal employees.”
When “Postal 2” was released in 2003, Computer Gaming World awarded it a scathing a 0/5. Video game critic Robert Coffee even said, “Until someone boxes up syphilis and tries to sell it at retail, POSTAL 2 is the worst product ever foisted upon consumers.”
Despite the controversies and critics — or perhaps because of them — the “Postal” series has sold 10 million copies worldwide and maintained a dedicated fan base.
The documentary does not shy away from the game’s darker associations. It acknowledges a 2006 shooting at Montreal’s Dawson College, where the shooter was described as a “Postal super fan.” The film also references a 2024 Gitnux market data report which said playing violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior by about 10 to 20 percent.
Running With Scissors addresses violence concerns on its website. “Our games feature wonderfully excessive amounts of violence, however we are not in favor of real-life violence and believe it’s a hell of a lot better to act out your frustrations in video games rather than against your fellow man,” the “about” section states.
Sikorsky and Sallee do not take a definitive stance in the film on whether violent video games are harmful to society, especially younger gamers.
“Do I think it makes a child go out and want to commit an act of violence? Absolutely not,” Sikorski said. “I think there’s a fringe amount of the population where that could be the potential.”
If released today, Sallee believes “Postal” would receive a “T” for teen rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). He said violence in modern media has caused more people to become desensitized to violence.
“Going Postal” will premiere on March 29 and April 2 at Harkins Theatres on the 101 in the Valley. It will be available for digital purchase or rental this spring and will stream on platforms including Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.
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