Although the Trump administration recently announced its intention to meet with major video game publishers in an effort to discuss the outdated idea of video games having an impact on school shootings, none of the publishers seem to be aware of it.
The ESA, the trade body that represents the US games industry and organizes the industry-defining E3 show, said in a statement to Kotaku that:
"ESA and our member companies have not received an invitation to meet with President Trump."
ESA members include publishers like EA, Activision, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Bandai Namco, Square Enix and more. It went on to clarify that it believes that video games have no impact on the rate of school shootings in America.
"The same video games played in the US are played worldwide; however, the level of gun violence is exponentially higher in the US than in other countries. Numerous authorities have examined the scientific record and found there is no link between media content and real-life violence."
This follows the suggestion from President Trump and his mouth piece, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that video game violence had reached endemic levels and could have a possible impact on the minds of the nation's youth. A Rhode Island representative later suggested that M-rated games should have a 10 percent tax imposed to curb sales and provide additional funds to combat their impact.
"The US video game industry has a long history of partnering with parents and more than 20 years of rating video games through the Entertainment Software Rating Board," the ESA clarified. "We take great steps to provide tools to help players and parents make informed entertainment decisions."
Image source: MichaelVadon/Wikimedia
