Acts of violence are once again blamed on video games. US President Donald Trump implicated games as the reason for two shootings in Texas that killed more than 30 people. Following Trump’s speech, biggest game publishers saw their shares sink.
“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace,” Trump said, according to CNBC.
As a result of Trump’s words, the stocks of video games companies immediately fell:
- Activision Blizzard – by 6%;
- Zynga – by 5%;
- Electronic Arts and Take-Two – by 4%.
Mobile publisher Zynga stands out on this list. Unlike publishers of Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises, Zynga is known for its rather innocent titles – casual simulators and merge games. Although it recently released the “royal battle” of Tiny Royale, featuring a cartoonish style.
Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has already expressed its objections. The ESA indicated that the link between video games and tragic acts of violence has not been proven.
“As we shared at the White House video game meeting in March 2018, numerous scientific studies have established that there is no causal connection between video games and violence. More than 165 million Americans enjoy video games, and billions of people play video games worldwide. Yet other societies, where video games are played as avidly, do not contend with the tragic levels of violence that occur in the U.S,” an Association spokesperson shared.