The Top 5 Most Infamous Video Game Controversies

Since the early 1980s, video games have become a staple in home entertainment around the world. From Super Mario to Sonic the Hedgehog, many gaming mascots have made their way into the homes of gamers for years. The companies and studios behind iconic games have basked in their success as they continued to count their money. However, not everything has always been so pleasant concerning the world of gaming. A lot has happened to change the industry, often for the worse and these headlines were never going to garner great PR.

Here are five of the most infamous video game controversies in history.

5. Mortal Kombat is Responsible for ESRB Ratings

In 1992, Mortal Kombat hit arcades and consoles around the world. It was one of the first fighting games to include significant amounts of realistic violence and gore. While the masses ate it up in droves, Congress and many parents in the United States were not excited about their children being exposed to large amounts of blood and bones flying about everywhere. As a result of the outcry, Congress came together to develop the ESRB ratings, and their first order of business was slapping a big fat “M” rating on Mortal Kombat. This rating system still exists to this day and it was largely because of Mortal Kombat.

4. Doom’s Impact on School Shootings

On April 20th, 1999, two students entered Columbine High School in Colorado and killed ten students. After they committed the murderers, the pair then killed themselves. During the police investigation, they discovered that the students were avid fans of the game Doom. Doom is an intense first-person shooter that both young men spent a considerable amount of time playing. One of the killers even compared the eventual Columbine shooting to a game of Doom. Levels were created in the game by the shooters that mimicked the layout of the school and as a result, this reignited the debate about the impact that video game violence had on the minds of young players.

3. Overwatch’s Brush with Gender Inequality

Overwatch does an excellent job of creating a diverse group of heroes with various talents. However, they caught heat when they first came to the video game table in 2016 by seeming to promote hypersexualized female video game characters. Tracer is a female character that the player can control in the game. In the character’s signature pose, female gamers complained that Tracer was reduced to a sex symbol. This situation reignited the debate that female characters only come in one body type while male characters are shown in many different ways. As a result, the developers at Blizzard changed Tracer to tone down the sexuality.

2. In the Early 1980s Video Games Almost Became Extinct

An over saturation of video game consoles led to people getting a little tired of the medium. As a result, toy stores that carried the technology decided to scale back as they thought it was only a fad for the time. Everyone was jumping into the video game industry, and many third-party developers were either developing games no one wanted to play or copying off of a more popular game. These factors caused a significant decrease in interest for video games and almost contributed to an industry-ending crash. The eventual saving grace came with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the mid-1980s. Good ol’ Nintendo!

1.    This Coffee Was a Little Too Hot

One of the most infamous controversies of all time involves Grand Theft Auto’s, San Andreas. It was a widely acclaimed game and was incredibly popular with fans of the franchise and went on to become the best selling Ps2 game of all time! However, the game did have a dirty little secret. If players incorporated the Hot Coffee mod onto their PC, then gamers could unlock mini-games involving the title character engaging in X-rated acts with female non-playable characters. Once the games were discovered, the ESRB launched an investigation to determine if these actions were embedded in the game's code. Grand Theft Auto has always pushed the envelope, but this act definitely takes the case. Turns out all those frequent acts of violence were fine, but the Hot Coffee mod was a little too hot for most and was quickly removed!