{"id":21417,"date":"2020-06-08T14:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/?p=2586284"},"modified":"2020-06-08T14:10:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T14:10:00","slug":"video-game-companies-only-stand-for-what-you-make-them-stand-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/06\/08\/video-game-companies-only-stand-for-what-you-make-them-stand-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Video game companies only stand for what you make them stand for"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/span>Graphic by William Joel \/ The Verge<\/small><\/p>\n

Corporate statements of solidarity are the beginning of the conversation, and not the end<\/p>\n

On May 25th, the police killed George Floyd, and in every state, protests against police brutality and anti-black racism have been ongoing ever since. For reasons that risk trivializing a serious moment in history, the brands have also decided to speak up, too, issuing statements of solidarity across social media platforms. This, for better or worse, is to be expected: we live in the age of the Brand Statement, and brands acknowledging people as more than just potential sales is better than pretending nothing is happening in the world.<\/p>\n

Video game companies, however, are uniquely bad at this. Most statements made by the makers and publishers of games are boilerplate: companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo decry racism, affirm the need for inclusion and equality, and often directly address “the black community.” A few, like publishers Ubisoft and Activision, even say “black lives matter” outright, instead of rephrasing it in corporate-speak.<\/p>\n

In a piece for Vice<\/em>, <\/em>Gita Jackson writes about how these statements aren’t just the bare minimum. They’re clueless and hollow, unwilling to confront their complicity and center the conversation on anti-black racism — while also lagging behind companies like luxe exercise bike brand Peloton in both timing and charitable donations.<\/p>\n

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