Once again, video games are the scapegoat for an issue politicians are unwilling to properly deal with. While Grand Theft Auto isn't at the forefront of it all, it did once again get dragged into the kerfuffle.
Even though the riff of violent video games causing violence had popped up in the past and has been discredited numerous times — specifically with GTA being blamed more often than not — it's still being used as a distraction. The meeting President Trump held at the White House doesn't appear to have been been a true "threat" to the video game industry thankfully, instead looking more like it was designed to divert attention from the current debate in the US regarding firearm laws.
Joining Take-Two Interactive's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, were people like Bethesda's Todd Howard, Entertainment Software Association president Michael Gallagher and the ESRB's Patricia Vance, among others, to discuss the potential negative effects of video games. Additionally, alongside the industry professionals, a number of journalists were also invited, however all conspicuously represented a single side of the political spectrum.
Incidentally, the guest list contained numerous errors. Zelnick was incorrectly cited as the CEO of Rockstar Games and the name of ESRB president Patricia Vance was prefaced with a "Mr".
The meeting was kicked off with a montage of violent scenes from a number of video games varying in age. The footage came from multiple Call of Duty titles, Dead by Daylight, Sniper Elite 4 and others. Thing is, it was ripped directly from the videos of streamers and Youtubers, with their watermarks and all still present in full view.
We have reached a point where the White House of the United States has, in an official capacity, cited someone known as "Dat360NoScope". This is indeed the weirdest timeline.
In a funny twist of fate, the video, which as we mentioned was uploaded by the official White House Youtube channel, has been blocked from being viewed in Restricted Mode. This mode is Youtube's version of parental controls, so to say, where inappropriate content is blocked when Youtube is used on certain systems. The violent content of the video landed it on Restricted Mode's list of such inappropriate content.
Generally, gameplay footage of games which contain violence aren't restricted, but montages focusing solely on the violence and nothing else get blocked. Thing is, the whole point of the Restricted Mode is to cater to advertisers who do not want their content associated with videos that don't align with their brand image. However, the White House video is unlisted and ad-free.
GTA has a history of controversy, as we've written about in the past, however it's never been washed together with an overarching problem like gun violence.
The meeting was said to be inconclusive and the ESA and the IGDA have since made statements regarding the frequently disproven link between violence and video games.
We welcomed the opportunity today to meet with the President and other elected officials at the White House. We discussed the numerous scientific studies establishing that there is no connection between video games and violence, First Amendment protection of video games, and how our industry’s rating system effectively helps parents make informed entertainment choices. We appreciate the President’s receptive and comprehensive approach to this discussion. - ESA
Let’s be blunt on video games and gun violence — we will not be used as a scapegoat. The facts are very clear — no study has shown a causal relationship between playing video games and gun violence. — IGDA
Oddly enough, GTA 5, in spite of having content against which easy pot-shots can be taken, didn't appear in the sizzle reel of violent games. And while some among those invited who are not industry professionals used the opportunity to voice unfounded concerns regarding violence depicted in media, the whole event has been a lot less pronounced than past attempts to have certain games banned or otherwise censored.
Video games have been the go-to scapegoat for violent acts carried out by youth for decades now with some high-profile cases, which were later revealed to be the exception, not the norm, involving games making them an easy target.
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine shooting, were both known to play Quake and Doom, and even created a map for the latter based on the school.
This was the biggest trigger for the whole "video games cause violence" misconception which has been on-going ever since. As a result, whenever the perpetrator of a violent crime with high media coverage was also tangentially related to video games, the misconception was mentioned.
This diverted attention from the fact that in all such cases there were additional underlying mental problems with the shooters. However, something that didn't get widespread media attention curiously enough, was a study produced by the Secret Service and Department of Education into the habits and hobbies of violent criminals.
It likely didn't get much media attention because it concluded that merely 12% of attackers displayed any interest in video games, while 27% were interested in violent movies and 24% in violent literature. Additionally, the rate of attackers who displayed interest in violent media of any form was 59%, meaning almost half of them couldn't be said to have been influenced by such media at all.
Meanwhile the non-gaming industry attendees of the White House meeting have continued to antagonize violent games, often citing the 'sizzle reel'.
However, no gamepocalypse has happened, the politicians aren't coming to take our games, and the speed at which the whole affair has been forgotten shows that it was all meant to be a distraction.
