Meeting on Video Game Violence at White House Falls Flat
U.S. President Donald Trump met with the executives of the video game industry last Thursday, March 8, to discuss the correlation of violence in video games and real-life aggression. However, not many people were in favor of the meeting in the first place, and the actual congregation proved that it may have been unnecessary.
The meeting started off with a video that President Trump presented to all the attendees, showing scenes from "Call of Duty." The video was posted on the official YouTube account of the White House, and was used to further the argument on restricting the laws regarding violent video games.
The discussion proceeded with President Trump asking if there is something that the video game industry could do for the betterment of society, which is a very broad and vague remark to be asked of the people in attendance that day. According to reports, some of the attendees proposed if there was a way to make selling violent video games more difficult for children — which would regulate their exposure to such titles.
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The suggestions are not limited to video games and even expanded to movies and television shows as well.
However, a representative of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) stated that there have been multiple studies conducted in the past that disprove the direct correlation of violent video games to real-life application of aggression.
Furthermore, the ESA rep pointed out that they already have a rating system in place to ensure that parents and children are fully aware of the content in every title that hits the shelves, or those up for digital download.
This has led multiple sources to believe that the meeting was merely placed as a distraction from discussing a heated topic today — gun control. As reported by Polygon, it is highly speculated that the White House has opted due to its inability to respond to gun control proposals that has fueled heated conversations among Democrats and Republicans alike.
It appears that despite the meeting, no further action will be seen from the White House nor the video game executives regarding the matter.
