13 Worst Video Game Industry Decisions Made In 2016 (So Far)
5. E3 Gets Political
On June 12th of this year, the vile shootings in Orlando nightclub took place - the very same night that E3 kicked off.
Throughout the various press conferences over the following days, publishers and video game companies started most of their shows by paying tribute to the lives lost in the massacre...moments before launching into video game footage that undeniably glorified and fetishised gun violence.
It made those involved seem extremely tone-deaf, but the problem was that once one company paid tribute to the victims, the rest no doubt felt obliged to say something, even when a memorial ribbon or more appropriate statement on social media would've made more sense.
Then we had certain quarters of the Internet debating which show gave the "best" tribute, which is really about as tacky as video game fandom can get. It's probably best to just keep these things separate, unless you're Nintendo, who could get away with it because The Legend of Zelda and guns are so far away from one another.