Top video game publishers meet with Biden on gun violence

Representatives from the top video game publishers, including Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard, participated in a meeting with Vice President Biden Friday afternoon to discuss ways to curb gun violence in the United States.

Attendees at the meeting included Entertainment Software Association CEO Mike Gallagher, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello and representatives from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, ZeniMax Media, Take-Two Interactive, Epic Games, E-Line Media and video game retailer GameStop, according to the vice president's office.

Texas A&M University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a research lab that studies efforts to educate children through media, also had representatives present at the gun violence task force meeting. In addition, a video game industry consultant and leader of a government-funded study on the effects of video games on teenagers attended.

The video game industry has been criticized by lawmakers and the National Rifle Association for producing violent content following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month. First-person shooter games, such as Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty" and Electronic Arts' "Medal of Honor Gunfighter," have been singled out for fueling aggressive behavior in real life. 

Take-Two Interactive's "Grand Theft Auto" game series has been criticized in recent years for its violent content and portrayal of women.

The meeting is one of many that Biden and administration officials have held this week with industry groups and stakeholders to discuss clamping down on gun violence in the U.S. after the tragic shooting in Newtown, which resulted in the deaths of 20 young children.

Biden said the series of meetings showed the video game industry "was not singled out for help," noting that he met with entertainment trade association chiefs on Thursday, according to a pool report.

Biden said he came to the meeting with "no judgement" about video game companies, per the pool report. "You all know the judgement other people have made," he added.

The vice president is set to deliver a set of policy recommendations on gun violence to President Obama on Tuesday, which are expected to create a framework for new gun laws. So far, Biden has not indicated that those recommendations would attempt to regulate violent content in video games or other forms of entertainment. 

Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also joined Biden at Friday's meeting with the video game industry representatives.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) introduced a bill after the Sandy Hook shooting that would require the National Academy of Sciences to study the effects violent video games and video programming have on children. When he released the bill, Rockefeller blasted the video game industry for marketing violent content to kids. 

“Major corporations, including the video game industry, make billions on marketing and selling violent content to children,” Rockefeller said in a statement. “They have a responsibility to protect our children. If they do not, you can count on the Congress to take a more aggressive role.”

— This story was updated at 4:26 p.m.

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