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Should Fortnite Be Banned?
At its peak, Fortnite was by far the most popular game in the world. However, when it comes to the younger crowd, is a combination of violence and animated graphics a good idea?
Four years after its initial release, Fortnite remains one of the most popular games in the world, continuing to appeal to a variety of demographics thanks to a multitude of brand collaborations.
The premise of the game is simple: upwards of 100 players dive onto a vast, storm encompassed battlefield with the purpose of accumulating weapons, armour and equipment in order to be the last solo, duo, trio or squad standing.
To win the game, you and/or your squad must eliminate all other players using firearms, explosives, and a variety of other weapons, gadgets and devices. Some parents and authoritative figures have voiced concern about the concept of combining this objective with pleasant, animated images.
There have been some requests for the game to be banned entirely, but are these views taken seriously?
Should Fortnite Be Banned?
It’s indisputable that calling for a total ban of Fortnite is ludicrous and unreasonable; the game itself should not be prohibited. Parents who are concerned about their children being exposed to animated violence should consider it on a case-by-case basis.
When it comes to this matter, Fortnite has always been cautious. There is no “killing,” simply “eliminating,” and when a player is eliminated, they fall to their knees before being teleported away by a drone-like object.
There is no blood and no fatalities are left on the ground, making Fortnite a better option for younger players than almost any other game in a range of genres.
If a game like Fortnite was to be banned, where would the banning end? Racing games involve car crashes, MMORPG games can involve children communicating with the general public, adventure games can involve players running scared from monsters and wildlife – this could go on.
In terms of addiction, any game can be addictive, too, so banning the games themselves is quite obviously not the answer. Limiting screen time, ensuring other important tasks, like homework, are completed before being allowed online, and other simple steps can be taken to reduce the impact the games can have on a child.
Why Do People Want Fortnite To Be Banned?
The majority of people that are calling for Fortnite to be banned are parents that don’t fully understand what is going on and believe their children are loading up their consoles and fine-tuning their killing abilities.
They see the game as a violent one and don’t believe children should be playing anything that involves weapons and violence. For this reason, it seems strange that they’re calling out Fortnite specifically.
The animated element of the game could be to blame for this, as these parents believe the games target audience is their children, which to an extent is certainly true, especially when you look at some of the collaborations the game has done with other brands that are popular with children.
The addictive nature of the game also certainly plays its part in the calls for a blanket ban of Fortnite.
You load into a game that will be around 20 minutes in length at most if you make it to the final few players or teams remaining. If you’re eliminated, it’s time to start again. Load back in, parachute off the flying bus, find guns and battle.
The popularity of the game played its part in its addictiveness, too. When all your friends are playing, of course you want to be involved. If a child has homework to do but their friends are online playing, it’s going to be stressful and distracting.
Why Did Prince Harry Call For A Fortnite Ban?
Back in 2019, Prince Harry spoke out about his views on Fortnite and whether or not the game should be banned. He was quoted as being very much in favour of a ban.
“That game shouldn’t be allowed. Where is the benefit of having it in your household? It’s created to addict, an addiction to keep you in front of your computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible”.
The problem with this, is, well, of course it’s created with the intention of being as fun and as gripping as possible. This is the goal for absolutely every video game in existence and it’s the reason any of them become popular and successful.
Addictiveness is in no way exclusive to Fortnite, so again, where would this banning end?
There are many more examples of people calling for bans, too, which are usually a mixture of concerned parents and YouTubers click-baiting concerned children that don’t want their favourite game to be banned.
Countries That Have Banned Fortnite
There are a handful of countries where a ban has happened for a variety of reasons.
North Korea, as expected, as well as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Crimea, Jordan and China have all banned their populations from participating in Fortnite, as well as other games like PUBG.
Indonesia has also considered the possibility of banning the game due to a holy site being created by a user in Creative Mode. However, this was likely just a threat to Epic Games to get them to remove the user-generated map in question.
While it’s not impossible for Countries like The US or The UK to implement a ban on Fortnite in the future, I’ll eat my hat if they do. Parents will need to take matters into their own hands if they’re still concerned, which will hopefully involve educating their children on matters as opposed to household bans.
Secluding children from their friend-group activities could probably be even more damaging to them, but I’m certainly not an expert.
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