Fortnite creators say Prince Harry was wrong to say video game phenomenon was "created to addict"

[Aeolienne]

(Not written by me)

 

Fortnite creators say Prince Harry was wrong to say video game phenomenon was "created to addict"

 

By Tom Hoggins

 

Epic Games, the creator of video game phenomenon Fortnite have suggested that Prince Harry was wrong to label the game as "addictive" and said it "shouldn’t be allowed".

 

“We were quite taken aback and really rather surprised because the statements that were made, in our view, couldn't be further from the truth from our intentions and design philosophy,” Epic’s senior counsel Canon Pence told the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS). “It's really always been our effort and intent to create a fun, fair, flexible, engaging and generous form of interactive entertainment for our audience.

 

"So I feel like a statement that suggests that there was some sort of nefarious attempt to extract short-term profit is a real mischaracterisation."

 

When asked by committee chairman Damian Collins if the firm felt that Prince Harry had "got it wrong", Pence replied: “I do.”

 

Prince Harry had made the comments about Fortnite, which has over 250m registered players and made $2.4bn in revenue in 2018, during a visit to the YMCA in South Ealing.

 

"That game shouldn't be allowed,” he said. “Where is the benefit of having it in your household?”

 

"It's created to addict, an addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It's so irresponsible. It's like waiting for the damage to be done and kids turning up on your doorsteps and families being broken down."

 

He added that social media was "more addictive than alcohol and drugs".

 

Epic was giving evidence to the DCMS alongside fellow US game company Electronic Arts about a variety of topics on the gaming industry for the government’s white paper on a duty of care for technology companies. The almost three hour long, often fraught session covered topics such as game addiction, age verification and loot boxes.

 

Both companies cast doubt over the World Health Organisations’ recent classification of "gaming disorder" relating to the overuse of games, with Pence saying: “We do participate in industry organisations which have taken issue with the manner and process of which that has gone through, there is plenty of debate over whether that process was proper.”

 

“I think the use of the term addiction unfortunately masks the passion that our players have and the joy they get from playing our games, I think the term is a mischaracterisation.”

 

Pence said that the upcoming white paper was “an important paper” but there was “more work to be done on it”.

 

“It’s important for us to protect our players and we think it’s an important start,” he said.

 

Source: Telegraph