Vice President Joe Biden Meets With Gaming Industry

Biden is a cool guy. I guess if anybody's going to handle something like this, I'm glad it's him.

Plus he made a great cameo in Parks and Recreation.

Also, fuck the hypocritical NRA. With an old, rough wooden spoon.

this didnt seem to be focused on the video games industry at all.

Not sure how I feel about those people in particular representing the gaming industry, though I suppose they'll always be on our side as far as this specific debate goes.

I resent the fact that such a meeting had to take place at all, but I can understand why. The gaming industry still needs to defend itself and make its case to the woefully uninformed public. We can't exactly let the politicians take full reign over the discussion, or bad things will happen.

@Totoni said:

Wait. First they blame video games for the shooting, and then they release their own video game? It's just a target practice game, but that's just as hypocritical as it can be. Also ages four and up? That's just... I can't... What... Ahh, I give up.

The same reason they never blamed Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, or Battlefield in any of their speeches. They love the games that sell guns. That's practically their main reason for existing in the first place.

@mrfluke said:

also get ready patrick, i wouldnt be surprised if the comments on this story turn into another shitstorm.

@Walreese55 said:

IN what world is Joe Biden called upon to be a voice of reason and to lead? Joe Fucking Biden, the man who literally could not keep his mouth open for more than five minutes without embarrassing himself

That didn't take long.

That's a pretty good turnout for game companies. The biggest noticeable absence (for western developers) is Ubisoft (aka. the face-stabbing simulator folks).

The acknowledgment of the complexity of the issue is also a good starting point. Hopefully that sets a non-witch hunt tone for the discussions. The worst way to start any discussion is by saying "this is a black and white simple issue". That doesn't leave a lot open for debate.

@Walreese55: He has been a great politician, been though a lot in his life, but worked hard through the political ranks instead of just buying his way in there.

Gotta admit when I saw the headline thought this was a Alex article, not that I'm complaining the headline just seemed very alex-y (that's a word right? No. OK).

Thanks for providing the video was wondering what that meeting sounded like.

More like Old White Guys Faff About So They Look Good When Reelections Happen.

The beauty of that NRA game is that it says "Start Shooting..." WTF why is that ellipsis there?

I'm not exactly pro-Biden, but I'm gonna go ahead and give props to Biden for not using the Vgame industry as a scapegoat all together. Sounds like the NRA got their signals crossed.

Can Patrick or Alex give us a recap of if this video is worth watching, insane/delusional or pointless?

It doesn't sound right to me that only a handful of companies were in attendance (of which 6 of the companies listed don't actually develop games) and were called "The video games industry."

Joe Biden is a great Senator and was a legitimate Presidential Candidate in '88. Biden is an incredibly caring human being that has been through a ton of shit and had done more good for people in his life than most of us ever will. If you believe the buffoon image of him, you must be watching Fox News.

Art is a reflection of the culture,not the other way around.

also get ready patrick, i wouldnt be surprised if the comments on this story turn into another shitstorm.

The mission No Russian in COD MW2 is deplorable. Kids are playing that, it's interactive and can't be compared to violent movies because you are the one choosing to shoot all the bystanders in the airport in a mass shooting simulator, it is bad taste and was only in that game to create the controversy or as head honchos like to call "free advertising".

good for joe biden, i wouldnt be surprised if i get flack for this (which go ahead, as youill be talking to a wall, im remaining stubborn on my stance) but if it was anybody else, they would have come down on videogames as the reason.

What is ging on...

Wait. First they blame video games for the shooting, and then they release their own video game? It's just a target practice game, but that's just as hypocritical as it can be. Also ages four and up? That's just... I can't... What... Ahh, I give up.

IN what world is Joe Biden called upon to be a voice of reason and to lead? Joe Fucking Biden, the man who literally could not keep his mouth open for more than five minutes without embarrassing himself

In the wake of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, where 20 children were shot and killed, Vice President Joe Biden met with representatives from the video game industry last Friday.

Part of that meeting with Biden was recorded, as well, and I’ve embedded it below.

"We know this is a complex problem," said Biden. "We know there's no single answer, and quite frankly we don't even know whether some of the things people think impact on this impact on it or not. So I want you to know you have not been singled out for help.”

Biden is expected to brief President Obama sometime today with recommendations for how the Administration can respond to the outcry over our nation’s most recent encounter with gun violence on a massive scale.

Reuters reports representatives in attendance were from Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, E-Line Media, Entertainment Software Association, Entertainment Software Ratings Board, Epic Games, GameStop, Sesame Workshop, Take-Two Interactive, Texas A&M University, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Zenimax Media.

Additionally, the National Rifle Association, which partially blamed video games for the incident at Sandy Hook, released an app set in the first-person for iOS platforms today called NRA: Practice Range. It's available to download for free for anyone ages four and up. Weird? Weird.