The US President Donald Trump has spoken negatively about video games following shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. He says we need to stop or reduce the violent culture. The stock prices of Activision Blizzard (Call of Duty), Take Two (GTA 5), and EA (Battlefield 5) fell by several percent on August 5.
This is what Trump said: Trump addressed the gruesome incidents in El Paso and Dayton, where 31 people lost their lives.
He said:
“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes cruel and gruesome video games that are commonplace today. It is too easy for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence.
We need to stop it or significantly reduce it, and it must start immediately. A change in culture is hard, but each of us can choose to create a culture that celebrates the value and dignity of every human life. We must do this now.”
The president sees partial blame on the internet. We must recognize that the internet provides a dangerous access point through which confused minds are radicalized.
The shooter in El Paso had shared a “manifesto” on the internet forum 8chan – as a result, the company Cloudflare distanced itself from the forum. They had previously provided protection for the website.
Just in the past days, leading US Republican politicians have spoken critically about video games.
Famous Twitch streamers associated with games like Call of Duty or Fortnite criticized the politicians’ statements and the media coverage. They called for strict gun laws.
Stock Market Reacts with Falling Prices
This is how the stock market reacted: Overall, the US stock market fell after the incidents. But especially video game companies were apparently hit hard by the fluctuations. As Marketwatch reports, video game companies suffered significant price losses between 4 and 6%, after Trump criticized the glorification of violence (via Marketwatch).
This is how the stocks fell on August 5:
- Activision Blizzard (Call of Duty) from €43.56 to €41.44
- Take-Two (GTA 5 Online) from €108.86 to €101.42
- EA (Battlefield 5) from €84 to €79.10
Take-Two presented excellent quarterly numbers after the stock market closed, which then pushed the price back up. Especially GTA 5 Online is performing excellently.
Trump’s statements have drawn criticism. For instance, e-sports journalist Rod Breslau has commented critically on it:
