The moral war against video games is far from over. If there are certain games that are singled out more than others, Fortnite definitely stands out and is accused by parents of creating a dependency for their children.
We all remember the “phenomenon Fortnite who kidnapped the children in this virtual universe. According to their parents, they stop eating, sleep and even to shower to play battle royal. Worse still, they claim thatEpic Games intentionally made his game addictive for profit.
The court finds no evidence for these charges of deliberately addictive gambling. However, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that the game is actually addictive and the designers and publishers actually know it. – Sylvain LussierJustice of the Supreme Court of Canada
By deciding to send this case to court, a judge of the Canadian Supreme Court and the parents of these children are rekindling the sterile debate concerning the impact of video games. If there is no question here of questioning the fact that addiction to video games exists and is well recognized by the World Health Organization in 2018. It is above all a question of not making generalizations and of recognizing that video games have also demonstrated several benefits.
Excessive time, danger of virtual currency, lack of interest in family or schooling… So many elements that prompted his parents to file a complaint against Epic who disputes, advancing the absence of a real expert report on the undesirable effects of gambling.
We have one of the best parental controls in our industry that gives parents the power to oversee their children’s digital experience. They can receive playtime reports that track hours spent playing each week, and in-game purchases require prior parental consent. – Epic Games
A few days ago, the father of Fortnite also announced a system of restricted accounts to offer the possibility of playing online in a more secure way with restricted functionalities if the child is under 13 years old. This approach is part of Epic Games’ desire to create a metaverse for kids.
This isn’t the first time the publisher has been targeted by parents for Fortnite. In 2019, some were already pointing the finger at the loot boxes and microtransactions. Even though Epic Games seems to want to reassure parents, addiction to digital content such as skins and mystery boxes remain important topics.