Fortnite doesn’t need any more exposure — it very regularly props up millions of concurrent players — but this weekend EPIC Games’ epic battle royale game got to enjoy a little more time in the limelight, thanks to Good Morning America. Check out the clip above as GMA’s correspondents discuss Fortnite’s popularity with concerned parents, and consult medical professionals to ask whether or not the game is a cause for concern.
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It may look and sound comical to us since we’ve known about and enjoyed Fortnite for a while, but you have to imagine how parents who are out of the loop have to feel. Here’s a game that suddenly appears on their kids’ consoles that they know they didn’t buy or pay money for, and it’s the only thing that many of their kids want to do with their free time.
Parents who are wired into news networks very likely saw that president Trump plans to meet with video game executives about violence in games following the recent school shooting in Florida, and that has to be a little unnerving as they witness their kids spend countless hours running and gunning in Fortnite. Are my kids addicted to this game? Are they being exposed to unhealthy and violent material? How much is too much? These questions were bound to come up, and according to the experts, it’s not as big of an issue as some parents thought.
The main problem we’re dealing with here is potential addiction. Fortnite is a fun, free, social game that you can easily lose hours of your life to, but as long as it’s played in moderation, parents shouldn’t be worried. The psychologist that GMA invited onto the show to speak mentioned that he plays games with his kids, which gives him greater insight into the types of games they’re playing, and how much time they’re spending online. This seems like a pretty pragmatic approach, though we know that not all parents will feel like they have time to do that.
In terms of violence, what you see in Fortnite is pretty PG compared to games in similar genres. Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, for example, is much more realistic, and appears more violent than anything you would see in Fortnite.
Do you think that Fortnite is too violent or too addictive? Do you find yourself thinking about the game when you’re not playing it? If so, chime in and let us know in the comments below! Spoiler: As I write this story, a Fortnite stream is playing on one of the biggest TVs in the office.
