As you probably heard, US president Donald Trump called a meeting with various gaming industry representatives last week to discuss video games and their role in acts of violence. Anyone with half a brain can see that this was all drummed up to take the pressure off the real issue – gun control.
It’s not the first time people in power have pointed to games in the wake of mass shootings, and it probably won’t be the last, despite decades worth of scientific studies that continue to find no causal link between video games and real-world violence.
But the meeting did bring up an interesting little fact from the classic Nintendo 64 days, which was originally published in a New Yorker article about the “non-existent link between violent video games and mass shootings,” written by Simon Parkin.
Martin Hollis, Mario creator and Nintendo god, Shigeru Miyamoto, had an extremely weird request for the end of the popular game.
“…He once received a fax from Shigeru Miyamoto, the inventor of Super Mario, calling the game “tragic” and “horrible.” Miyamoto proposed that, at the end of GoldenEye, players should be forced to shake hands with their victims as they lay recovering in hospital beds. (The idea was never implemented.)”
Can you imagine if that was actually the end of the game? Walking through an enormous hospital wing full of the hundreds of NPCs you ruthlessly gunned down throughout the game, shaking their hands while credits rolled over the screen. No hard feelings for shooting you in the face, pal.
Interestingly, Miyamoto has never forced Mario to shake the hands (or feet?) of the countless Goombas he’s stepped on, nor has Link ever apologised to the families of the Stalfos he cut down without a second thought in Hyrule field.
I mean, the guy’s fine with making child Link walk into the body of a gigantic fish – surely a scarring experience – but taking out the evil henchmen in a 007 game is only ok if you shake their hands afterwards? Bond was sent their by the bloody government, it was his dang job.
The White House meeting opened with a sizzle reel full of violence in a number of games presented without context. You can check it out below if you like.
Of course, the industry representatives maintained the same position they always have – there’s no proven connection between games and violence.
I give it roughly two weeks before someone makes a mod for any game that forces you shake the hand of every enemy you kill.
