Former Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime has criticized the “ill-informed” politicians lobbying against video games in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton shootings. Following a statement made by Donald Trump, in which the president pinned video games as one of the reasons behind the attacks, Fils-Aime noted how “countries with high per capita gaming revenue have fewer gun-shooting deaths.”
Trump delivered a statement following last weekend’s tragic mass shootings, with the president admonishing the “glorification” of violence in video games.
“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society,” he said. “This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace.
“It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this, and it has to begin immediately.”
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Trump’s comments echoed those of Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who called for federal action against the gaming industry, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said that shooting games “dehumanize individuals.” Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the GOP’s finger-pointing at video games, tweeting: “Video games aren’t causing mass shootings, white supremacy is.”
Fils-Aime added his thoughts to the debate, pointing out how “4% of the population own 43% of the guns” in the US. He then shared data comparing video game revenue to violent gun deaths, which shows how South Korea, China, and the UK has comparable or higher per-person game revenue than the US, though far fewer violent gun deaths.
Fils-Aime’s tweets can be viewed below:
Facts are facts. pic.twitter.com/sSEbdYZcgE
— Reggie Fils-Aimé (@Reggie) August 6, 2019
It’s unclear how Trump plans to progress with a crackdown on the video game industry aside from strictly regulating mature games, which already carry appropriate age ratings. While Trump did condemn white supremacy in his statement, which appears to be the motivation behind the El Paso attack after the shooter allegedly posted a racist manifesto on 8chan, he stopped short of outlining any plans for major gun control. As a result, this latest effort to blame video games for the shootings is being widely criticized, with many feeling that it’s a deflection from the real reasons behind the attacks.
