Several months ago, representatives from the video game industry met with U.S President Donald Trump. The topic was on violent video games, and one person in attendance was Take-Two Interactive CEO, Strauss Zelnick. However, very few details have been released about the meeting.
Violent Video Games
That is, until now. While Mr. Zelnick hasn’t said much about the meeting, he’s finally saying something about it. Speaking to Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, Mr. Zelnick said the meeting was “interesting.” The cause of the meeting was the Parkland, Florida high school shooting. At the time, Mr. Trump blamed violent video games, and the comments weren’t met well.
In the Mad Money interview, Mr. Zelnick said:
“I haven’t talked a lot about it publicly. The truth is, when you’re asked to show up and have a conversation on a serious topic, you show up. Our position is plain.”
Creating Monsters
That position is the opposite of Mr. Trump’s position. Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed video games are “creating monsters” back in 2012. Furthermore, after the Parkland, Florida shooting, the president blamed violent video games. At the time, he said:
“I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on [sic] video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts.”
Take-Two is a member of the Entertainment Software Association, which represents the video game industry’s interests in Washington. The group attended the meeting with Donald Trump and, while we don’t know exactly what was said, it is likely the ESA pointed to studies that have shown there is no link between violent video games and violent behavior.
To date, this is the most anyone has said about the meeting. However, it’s still not much to go on as far as details are concerned. Furthermore, it’s still unclear what, if anything, will come out of the meeting, which occurred in March.
Source: GameSpot.