Games are a ‘scapegoat’ in gun violence debate, claims IGDA executive director

Embattled president Donald Trump’s attempt to reframe the gun violence dispute in the US around violent video games has met with resistance from the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) executive director Jen Maclean.

Speaking to USgamer, Maclean says: “The science is crystal clear, there is no connection between playing video games and gun violence, absolutely none.”

Video games have been under fire in the US since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which has seen many students become politically active with the aim of moving the gun control debate forwards in the country. Trump responded by holding a meeting at the white house with game industry execs, vocal video game critics and media watchdogs, which culminated in a sizzle reel of violent games being leaked to the world at large.

Maclean says that "the United States is unique in its problem with gun violence, so just trying to make that connection, not only does it not pass the science test, it doesn’t pass the common sense test."

“the IGDA believes very strongly and we’ve stated publicly—and will continue to state—that anytime to use video games as a scapegoat instead of moving forward with common sense gun laws that the majority of Americans want is doomed to fail.”

The IGDA as an organisation has long claimed that the problem with gun violence in the US is the easy access to firearms. Whether this will be enough to stop this latest crusade against video game violence remains to be seen.