Although gamers likely assumed microtransactions would be the biggest problem facing their most anticipated games, it turns out that President Trump and Congress may actually take the top spot. Following recent comments against gaming’s strong sense of violence, President Trump and other members of Congress have met to discuss the issue. Part of the meeting was a video put together by staff members that highlighted the extreme violence being criticized.
Showcasing several particularly graphic moments from the Call of Duty series (specifically "Modern Warfare 2" and "Black Ops"), among other titles, the footage shows off graphics kills coming from people getting shot, brutally beaten with blunt objects, or straight-up axed to death.
It totals about a minute and a half and upon upload to YouTube, was bombarded with downvotes from a clearly-disapproving collection of viewers.
Since the upload, the White House has yet to comment on anything regarding potential legislation or planned Congressional action, but if that one US lawmaker's plan to add taxes to violent Video Games is any it’ll be important to stay tuned to what may arise from this.
Maintaining priorities
The biggest question that many are raising upon seeing this video and hearing this news is simple: is THIS the issue President Trump and Congress want to take a stand on right now? There was the recent shooting in Florida, as well as the Central Michigan student who shot his parents in his dorm room, so gun violence is clearly the motivator behind government action.
Yet, why is the attention on violent video games, out of all the possible motivators and causes of these terrible events? This is by no means the first time Congressional members have tried to scapegoat, but why would video games be the problem? The immediate answer seems to be that graphically-violent interactive media influences/motivates players to take part in real-life massacres.
It’s the go-to explanation for those who are against any sort of violent media.
Lack of influence outside national borders
The biggest and most central problem with video games being the explanation behind many gun killings is that these games aren’t US-exclusive. Many, if not all, of these game, are released universally and are widely successful across the world.
Yet, even with this knowledge, the US undoubtedly (and unfortunately) still has the highest number of shootings out of any other country. If it’s the video games that are doing it, then why is it only seemingly affecting the United States?
What do you think about this issue? Do you think it’s a discussion worth having or do you believe it’s getting away from the problem? Let me know in the comments!
