We’re going to start this article off with the picture that sparked this situation.
If you haven’t figured it out, the child is playing a video game with a controller similar to those of Sony’s PlayStation brand. Why is this such an issue? The company who was in charge of the ad, The Gate, did not seek permission from the gaming giant in order to utilize the obvious likeness of its controller.
The Change4Life ad campaign has been started by the British government in order to bring attention to the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. The image, which depicts a young child playing video games, gives off the impression that playing video games instead of going outside may lead to an early death. A handful of other prominent companies in the gaming industry have already spoken out against this ad, including Sega, Atari, Future Publishing, TIGA, ELSPA and MCV.
It’s not set in stone yet whether or not SCEE plans on going through with legal action against either The Gate or potentially the British government itself, but the image is definitely provocative from a gamer’s point of view. That’s not to say we don’t value exercise — we love our sports and physical activities as much as everyone else — but gaming can certainly be part of a healthy lifestyle.
We’ll be sure to watch closely as this develops.