Mobile Games Like PUBG Are Violent & Addictive, Says Minister Prakash Javadekar

The already crazy 2020 took an even crazier turn when the Indian government decided to ban popular Chinese apps from the Indian version of app stores, with apps like PUBG Mobile and TikTok, among several others, forced to shut shop in India.

Reuters

This was a major shock to budding PUBG Mobile players who had upskilled and upgraded their profiles with perfect 'Chicken Dinners' and were on the verge of becoming professional streamers or esports players.

While there is no info on PUBG Mobile resurrecting from the dead in India, Indian minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, in an event called games like PUBG Mobile violent, explicit and addictive, while also announcing that they intend to set up a centre of excellence in gaming to safeguard Indian culture, values and ethos.

He revealed this at the 'Khel Khel Mein' event -- a pan Maharashtra Toy/Game/Project Design competition. He said in a statement, ¡°Happy to announce that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in collaboration with IIT Bombay has decided to form a Center of Excellence in gaming and other related areas. We are at an advanced stage of preparation and this will come into effect as the new session begins in 2021.¡±

He added, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is passionate about preserving and perpetuating Indian values, heritage and cultural ethos and is putting in immense effort so that the children and youth of our country are made aware of our rich culture and tradition. We can also introduce those values via modern technology and put it to optimum use."

Reuters

Speaking of PUBG, Javadekar said, "PUBG was just one example of it, but criticising those games is not the solution. The solution is to create our own games and apps in line with #MakeInIndia for the world so that these are adopted world over for their basic values that are an integral part of our Indian ethos."

What about FAU-G?

What's surprising is that even though Javadekar bad-mouthed PUBG Mobile into being violent and explicit, made in India FAU-G by nCore Games suffers from similar traits, where players engage in violence on screen -- you as a player fight against the Chinese army that's trying to encroach on the Indian border.

FAUG/ Play Store

Does that mean FAU-G too will face a backlash soon or maybe it will get a special pass since it's Made In India? Violence in video games remains a topic of concern for parents and active research, and the jury's still out -- Harvard University noted that "much of the research on violent video game use relies on measures to assess aggression that don't correlate with real-world violence."

What do you think? Do you think mobile games or PC games promote violent tendencies in people who play them? Let us know in the comments below.