Trump Drudges Up The Violent Video Game Debate Again

During a White House listening session, President Trump talked about the violence in video games and films, alluding to the idea that video game violence is at least partly responsible for modern youth violence.

The President also implied he's keen to do something to regulate the kinds of games and films that kids see:

"We have to look at the internet, because a lot of bad things are happening to young kids and young minds and their minds are being formed, and we have to do something about maybe what they’re seeing and how they’re seeing it. And also video games; I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping people’s thoughts."

We’ll have to wait and see if this translates into legislative action, but it's worth noting that this isn't the first time a U.S. politician has threatened to censor video games.

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[Source: CNN]

 

Our Take
The ESRB was actually formed to help prevent the need for government intervention. In fact, according to a consumer research study, the ESRB has a stronger self-regulatory code than either movies or music. We hope video game publishers and parents continue to use this valuable information source to keep age-inappropriate games out of the hands of minors.