Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/26/parents-of-uvalde-shooting-victims-sue-call-of-duty-creator-activision-meta-and-gun-companies.html
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Hadn’t appreciated that gun manufacturers actually license the images of their models used in video games; and yet the NRA still uses video games to point blame of mass killings - really is a partnership from hell
Slate article from 12 years ago
The Marketing Link Between Gun Manufacturers and Video Game Makers
Turns out NRA CEO and executive VP Wayne LaPierre’s attempt to blame video games for mass shootings might cause complications for some of the organization’s sponsors: video game manufacturers and firearms makers have a quiet but symbiotic marketing relationship.
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While video games often license the image of the firearms used, manufacturers don’t necessarily want their products associated with illegal activity depicted in some games. And gamers have previously gotten Electronic Arts to remove links on a promotion for Medal of Honor Warfighter that brought users to the websites of a gun maker and a gun accessories manufacturer.
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There are a lot of studies that show a link between video game violence and real world aggressive behavior, and there are a lot of studies that show no such link. I suspect most of these studies are biased either by who’s sponsoring the study or by the researcher’s own opinions, but regardless, we’re left in a situation where a lawsuit like this will come down to a battle of the experts.
Here’s what I do know. People play these same games in the UK, in Germany, in India, in China, in Japan, and in every other country on the planet, just about. And none of those other countries have the problems with gun violence that we do in this country. It’s the guns. It’s the easy, and relatively cheap, access to guns. We have more guns than people in this country. By a lot. This really isn’t a difficult problem, as far as understanding what’s causing it. It is a difficult problem to solve, because of our culture’s obsession with firearms as toys, and maybe video games contribute to that. I don’t know. Also, the NRA has way too much influence over politics in this country. Sadly, it’s going to take years to fix all this. Even more sadly, there doesn’t seem to be enough motivation to even start.
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This is true of many real-world things that appear in games. Aircraft manufacturers, car companies, other types of arms and armaments beyond guns. It’s been an issue for video game preservation, because these licenses often expire, and the game gets pulled.
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My usual interpretation of conflicting studies like this is there is either no actual link, or it is too weak to tease free of confounding variables. Which is the case here, i think. I also find the “Guns? It’s not guns, it’s those damned video games!” argument to be just flat out stupid. But that’s just me.
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Why would they have to license stuff anyway? What‘s the crucial difference to a film, which doesn’t need a license for guns and other stuff?
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A movie can just buy the gun. Can’t do that for a video game.
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No, but they still shouldn’t need a license to depict the external appearance of a commercial product that’s easily seen in public. If a logo or something trademarked is visible, that would need a license, but the gun itself shouldn’t. However, companies that own buildings are forcing video game developers to get licenses to depict buildings in video games, and that’s not required either. I suspect these game companies would just rather pay and avoid any legal entanglements that might delay the release of the game, even if they’re bullshit.
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IANAL. Is this a way, or was there a courts-based way, to get the tech companies to throw the gun companies under the bus here? The argument “there’s no correlation between violent video games and gun violence, once you look beyond the United States” seems like a compelling way to get the lawsuit dumped on the gunmakers exclusively.
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I have no idea if a game can make a killer. But i do wonder if games can make a better killer? Can it help desensitize? Can it give a sociopath that last bit of confidence? Simulators are used to train in many industries including weapon training.
Even the military trains with “simulations”… a round target. Once you graduate from the idea of using a weapon on a round target it makes it that much easier to replace the target with a living “enemy”.
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They should. The NRA has tried to throw video games under the bus before.
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So much so when the NRA’s new chief legal council joined many NRA staffers threw a fit because the guy used to be one of the heads of Gearbox Software. They were wired to throw games and the game playing public under the bus to keep Jim Bob ignorantly in bliss.
It’s been a part of their strategy even to the point of the Trump admin attacking game company’s corporate boards even when one of them are his very own brother lol
It did surprise me then the game biz used (keyword USED) to license fireams designs from the companies who would attack them immediately after every single mass shooting since Columbine. Why should they support those who would attack them and their customers? I’d wish those parents would not play along with the firearm industry bs attack lines while also attacking them.
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You don’t have to read ‘the bible’ to have morals. You don’t need a magic sky daddy that has a list of after life punishments or rewards to be a decent human.
Reading the bible doesn’t make you more moral, and so I’d posit that playing violent games doesn’t make you a ‘better killer’. I am pretty sure the military ‘boot camp’ experience is designed specifically to break down your mental state so they can make a normal person into someone that ‘could’ pull the trigger - I don’t think target practice is what does it - otherwise hunters would be going off the rails all over the planet (even gun averse countries let you hunt).
I do, however, suspect the link to violent games is similar to how sex offenders end up with large porn libraries - people who are broken try to find a way to exist with society and themselves, and only when they find those things lacking and unable to relieve their problem, do they go out and give in.
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The US army doesn’t use human shaped targets? I have no idea how to confirm but that seems strange. There are lots of them available. Some even look like Middle Easterners. 
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Gun violence has been declining overall for a long time, and video game use has been increasing. They don’t even correlate, nevermind any kind of a causal link.
I have a lot of empathy for the parents involved. I’m not sure the existence of video games is the cause of their pain, but I certainly understand their wish to find answers and resolution.
There is something particularly broken about late 20th/early 21st century society that has created the phenomenon of the mass shooter, and particularly the school shooter. I find it horrid. I have no idea how to tease out all the causes and overlapping factors. But it is pretty obvious to everyone who isn’t in the US that it happens a WHOLE LOT more in one country than anywhere else, and that correlates very strongly with the availability of high powered weaponry.
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I wonder if new recruits are still firing at the old school pop up targets? See thing move, shoot thing.
Yeah, we know the targets that can be bought.
Yep, and there are a number of those countries where people on average spend even more time playing violent video games than we do in the US. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of high-homicide countries like El Salvador have less gamers than average. If video games are a factor in real-world violence it’s way, way down the list compared to gun access.
That said, if these game companies are paying weapons manufacturers for the rights to depict their deadly products, therefore helping to make more money for the industry, then screw 'em.
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My understanding is that in film & television the relationship is often reversed. If you see a real world product (generally identified by its logo) that means the producers of that product payed the production to include it. The opposite does also happen though, where the production has payed for a licensing fee.
Nah, that’s like saying playing Mario Kart will make you a better driver. The mechanics of firing a gun in a game using a console controller and the mechanics of firing a gun in real life are totally different. If you want to see where people are learning the skills and muscle memory to become more effective killers then visit a shooting range.
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