20 Times Video Games Made the News

Beating the Unbeatable

Tetris (1989)

Tetris isnt a game most of us can really beat; eventually, the blocks will pile up and youll lose. However, in 2023, a thirteen-year-old named Willis Gibson, known online as Blue Scuti, did effectively beat the NES version by progressing so far, he caused the game to freeze. This happened on the 157th level. Before this, causing this version of Tetris to freeze was only achieved by AI, so its undeniably an impressive accomplishment. With a game as old and famous as Tetris, this story was picked up by multiple outlets. Not all of them covered it favorably, though. Jayne Secker of Sky News concluded her dismissive coverage by stating Gibson should go outside and get some fresh air.

Adoption Jokes

Portal 2 (2011)

Most people who experience Portal 2 recognize it as one of the funniest games ever written. But one joke caused a bit of a stir soon after the game was released. Neal Stapel was playing the game with his adopted daughter, and was made uncomfortable by Wheatley poking fun at player character Chell for being adopted. It isnt even much of a joke; instead its one of the many instances of Wheatley being a bumbling idiot, which is actually what youre supposed to laugh at. Still, Neal took the story to his local news channel in Charlotte, North Carolina, who ran with it and seemed to insinuate the joke was meant to make adopted people feel bad for being so. Clearly, utter nonsense.

No Politics

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)

New Horizons was a safe haven for many players at the beginning of COVID, with people around the world using it to virtually spend time with friends and loved ones. However, some used it in a way that Nintendo deemed incorrect. Most impactfully, certain Chinese activists used it as a way to advocate for Hong Kongs freedom. In response, New Horizons was removed from grey markets, unofficial online storefronts in China, less than a month after the game was released. Additionally, Joe Bidens presidential campaign released official yard signs that players could decorate their island with. This was seemingly not the type of coverage Nintendo wanted the game to attract. In November of 2020, the company updated its community guidelines requesting that the game not be used for political activities.

Raising Voter Awareness

Among Us (2018)

Another game that grew popular during the COVID-19 pandemic was Among Us, two years after it was originally released. In 2020 congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with colleague Ilhan Omar, joined players for a live stream on Twitch. The purpose? To raise awareness among young potential voters, while also just having fun by playing the game. The stream was actually a massive success, bringing in around 439,000 viewers, making it one of the most viewed streams on the platform at that point. While some were quick to criticize Ocasio-Cortez for playing a video game, theres no denying she achieved what she set out to do.

Safety Concerns

Pokémon Go (2016)

Pokémon Go was a monstrously huge launch in 2016, to the point where developers Niantic struggled to keep up with the player count. Something as big as this couldnt be ignored by news outlets, big or small. And that was especially true when stories came in about accidents and even deaths. A driver playing the game in Japan in August, 2016 hit a woman, killing her, which was reportedly the 79th accident related to the game to occur in the country. Even playing the game in sensitive areas, whether ethically like memorial sites or in a sense of security like the USs Pentagon, has been restricted. Clearly, and this isnt necessarily the fault of the developers, no one anticipated the lengths to which players would go to catch Pokémon in the real world.

Gambling Laws

Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)

Encompassing the release of Battlefront II were its egregious microtransactions, which drew the ire of many players. More than that, they were so predatory that multiple government bodies around the world had to meet to decide if its loot boxes could be considered as gambling. First, there was the Belgian Gaming Commission, which did find that to be the case. Elsewhere, a representative of the Hawaii House of Representatives equated it to a marketing stunt using Joe Camel to sell cigarettes. Australia, Singapore, and the UK held their own investigations as well. EA would eventually remove these loot boxes and fix the games monetization. But if your game causes this kind of worldwide reevaluation, thats not a good look.

SeXbox

Mass Effect (2007)

First released on the Xbox 360 in late 2007, Mass Effect drew a lot of attention and not all of it good. In January of 2008, Fox News ran a segment called SeXbox. Although they had Geoff Keighley on as a guest, who did his best to defend the game, their angle was that Bioware and Microsoft were selling players, notably children, full digital nudity and graphic sex. Of course, only Keighley had fully played the game, so they were only reacting to cutscenes. These featured minor nudity, and could only be reached after progressing through a long romantic plotline with an NPC. And clearly, having sex is just one of the many elements BioWare included in crafting a living experience. This remains one of the most ridiculously out of touch pieces of coverage from a mainstream outlet about a video game.

Into the Mud

Mario Kart Series (1992-)

Lets get back to the positive. In Colorado in 2013, 10-year-old Gryffin Sanders and his younger brother were in the car with their 74-year-old grandmother. When she suffered a heart attack and lost consciousness, Gryffin quickly took hold of the wheel, steered the car through traffic and into a muddy ditch, saving all three of their lives. While Gryffin did ride go-karts, he also listed his time playing Mario Kart as a reason for why he knew what to do. Well, in many of those games, driving off the road and into the mud does slow you down. The car was traveling pretty fast, so its a good thing Gryffin was a gamer.

Driving to Safety

Grand Theft Auto V (2013)

Another instance of a kid utilizing driving skills they learned in a video game, this time in Ireland. In 2014, 11-year-old Charley Cullen was in the car with his 79-year-old grandfather, who also lost consciousness behind the wheel. After the car veered into a ditch, Charley grabbed the wheel and steered it out. With his grandfathers foot still on the pedal and the car picking up speed, Charley had to steer the car out of busy traffic and towards his house. They ended up crashing, with Charley fracturing his skull but still able to carry his grandfather the remaining 50 yards. Steering through multiple streets of busy traffic is impressive for his age and under such stress. And the only driving experience he had, which he told the press, was with Grand Theft Auto.

Promoting Bullying & Bisexuality

Bully (2006)

Of course, Rockstars games are not usually in the news for positive reasons. Prior to the release of Bully in 2006, several organizations ran campaigns against Rockstar for making light of or outright promoting the act of bullying. But in the game, you actually spend a lot of time fighting against the bullies. More controversy emerged when it was discovered that the protagonist, Jimmy, could kiss both girls and boys. The game was the subject of a motion filed by Florida lawyer Jack Thompson, which wont be the last time you hear that name, who argued the game promoted violence and obscenity to players. Anyone familiar with Rockstars releases knows Bully is actually pretty tame for the studio.

Promoting Cannibalism

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (2005)

In this action game, you obviously play as a zombie. Well, that should be obvious, given the name, and yet there was a sizable controversy soon after release about the game promoting cannibalism to players. Yes, part of Stubbs gameplay involves eating brains and U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman criticized it for potentially harming the entirety of Americas youth. The developers at Wideload Games had to put out the unnecessary statement that Stubbs was not a cannibal, but a zombie, which had been depicted eating people in pop culture for decades at this point. Still, multiple news outlets, both country-wide and local, added fuel to the fire by running with the story.

Grenades

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012)

In 2013, three boys were searching a vacant lot in Mandaue City of the Philippines for scrap, when they came across a box of grenades. One of them, 12-year-old Jose Garciano, immediately recognized the danger they were in, told the other boys not to touch them, and notified the authorities. The reason Jose knew the grenades were explosive was not because he had seen them in real life before, or even in movies, but because he had seen them blow up in Counter-Strike. This caused the local paper to run the humorous headline Violent Video Game Saved Kids. Considering the Counter-Strike series was linked by news outlets to violent crimes before this, such as the Virginia Tech Shooting in 2007, this was a nice piece of positive press.

Saving Lives

Americas Army Series (2002-15)

For those unfamiliar, Americas Army is an FPS series actually made by the US Army as a recruitment tool. That means its pretty accurate, as one Paxton Galvanek can attest to. In 2008, Paxton was driving through North Carolina with his family when he witnessed a car flip several times, crashing. While his wife called 911, he rushed over to help the two inside. He was immediately able to assess the situation, pulling the passenger from the car and providing first aid to the driver, who was missing fingers and bleeding from the head. Afterwards, Paxton claimed he used what he had learned playing the Americas Army series. Everyone naturally branded him a hero, and he wrote to the team behind the games to thank them for including medic training.

One Lucky Sister

World of Warcraft (2004)

In 2007, a 12-year-old Norwegian boy named Hans Jorgen Olsen made the news for saving himself and his sister using tactics he learned from World of Warcraft. The two were walking through the woods when they came across a moose, who didnt take kindly to the children walking into its territory. Hans, with undeniable quick thinking, remembered being able to Taunt in World of Warcraft in order to draw attention away from weaker party members. He did so, allowing his sister to escape. He then used another tactic he had learned from the game, Feign Death, so that the moose would lose interest in him, which actually worked. Once the moose was gone, Hans ran home to tell his tale, which amazed pretty much everyone.

Teaching How to Kill

Manhunt (2003)

With its highly disturbing content, Manhunt was always going to draw controversy. But in 2004, the media tried to link it to a murder in the UK. 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah was killed in England, and news reports claimed a copy of the game was found in the home of the murderer, 17-year-old Warren Leblanc. Stefans parents and the media vilified the game. And Jack Thompson, popping up again, pursued a suit against Sony and Rockstar. As horrific a tragedy as this was, there has never been any evidence that violent video games cause violence in those who play them. Moreover, the police stated a copy of the game was actually found among Stefans possessions, not his killers as the media had reported. Leblanc got life in prison, and the case against Sony and Rockstar was dropped.

The Long Crusade Against GTA

Grand Theft Auto Series (1997-)

When talking about video games in the news, wed be remiss if we didnt mention the numerous times Grand Theft Auto was used as a scapegoat. Ever since the first game was released, mainstream news outlets have tried to paint it as glorifying violence and influencing players to commit real-world crimes. GTA literally holds a Guinness World Record as the most controversial video game series due to how it has been covered in the news. Famously, multiple lawsuits were filed against Rockstar throughout the 2000s by, you guessed it, Jack Thompson, trying to place blame on GTA for criminal activities and even get the games banned from release. It never worked, of course.

A Strange Gift

Undertale (2015)

In 2016, the late Pope Francis invited a group of YouTubers to the Vatican, claiming their influence could promote tolerance, empathy, and understanding on the web. Each YouTuber brought a gift. As for MatPat of The Game Theorists, he brought Undertale. This earned him a fair amount of ridicule from the media as well as gamers, but his logic for choosing the game is sound. According to him, he chose Undertale specifically because it preaches acceptance and pacifism towards the monsters you come across, unless youre playing the Genocide Route that is. He saw in the game the qualities the Pope represents, like mercy and compassion. And he considered it the peak of what video games as a medium can reach in terms of understanding others.

Dealing With COVID

Plague, Inc. (2012)

Plague, Inc. is a strategy game that tasks you with creating a devastating pathogen, spreading and maintaining it to annihilate humanity with surprising realism. It saw a sizable resurgence at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, seemingly by players who sought to understand the nature of a global virus. In response, developer Ndemic Creations released a new mode, Plague, Inc.: The Cure, in which you actually tried to stop the spread. Ndemic worked with experts at the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network in order to accurately represent the measures put in place to deal with such an event. It was also part of a campaign to spread information about health and safety during a worldwide pandemic. It was definitely one of the more positive things to come out at the beginning of the pandemic.

Gamergate

Look, we dont have enough time to cover EVERYTHING that happened with Gamergate. In a nutshell, it was an online harassment campaign in the mid 2010s aimed at women within the gaming industry. It began with Zoë Quinn, the independent developer of Depression Quest, who was accused by their ex of receiving positive reviews in favor of a sexual relationship with journalist Nathan Grayson. Never mind that those accusations had no proof; the fire had been lit. Quinn received a multitude of threats ranging in violence, and the campaign later spread to critic Anita Sarkeesian, developer Brianna Wu, and actress Felicia Day. As part of a wider culture war, Gamergate had widespread reach. So, it naturally received responses from government officials and coverage from more mainstream media sourcesmostly negative, understandably.

The Origin of the ESRB

Mortal Kombat (1992), Night Trap (1992), & Doom (1993)

The first instance of violent video games being discussed by those outside the gamer bubble had wider consequences than any other. In response to games growing more violent, a series of congressional hearings were held in 1993 and 1994. Specifically, they concerned Mortal Kombat, Night Trap, and the original Doom and how those games could impact the children who played them. If the makers didnt find a way to regulate video games, the government would. And so, the Interactive Digital Software Association was founded to represent the American games industry, and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board was founded to review and provide ratings for games prior to release. This was a necessary step, not that it would stop government bodies from targeting games in the future.

Know of any other interesting examples of video games ending up in the news? Let us know about it in the comments!