IOC President says Olympics “Doesn’t match” with video game violence

There goes my Hotline Miami Bronze

We ran a news story last month about renewed efforts to make video games part of the programme for the Olympic Games in the future. According to the International Olympic Committee, most games would be an ill-fit.

“We want to promote non-discrimination, non-violence, and peace among people,” said IOC President Thomas Bach, speaking to the South Morning China Post. “This doesn’t match with video games, which are about violence, explosions, and killing. And there we have to draw a clear line.”

I have to admit, I do love games that are about explosions.

Bach also made commentary on other problems, such as the lack of an industrial body to monitor for rule-breaking and good sportsmanship. The president did go on to suggest that non-violent games could still be considered, such as sports simulations. This is probably because football has never been linked to acts of violence.

Tongue-in-cheek pedantism aside, the feedback I got from the previous article, on Twitter, and from friends, was that they thought gaming didn’t belong in the Olympics. So even if it ends up being a fruitless effort, who knows how much, or how little, disappointment would be caused?

eSports are still set to feature in the 2022 Asian Games, though a list of titles has obviously not yet been made available.

“Violent games” have no place in the Olympics [South Morning China Post]