ESA to meet with White House officials this week to discuss video game violence

The White House announced last week that president Trump will be meeting with representatives from the games industry to discuss violent video games.

Shortly afterwards, the Electronic Software Association (ESA), the video games industry lobbying body, revealed that no one has actually reached out to set up such a meeting.

Now, the ESA said in a statement that there is in fact a meeting that'll be taking place on Thursday this week. "Like all Americans, we are deeply concerned about the level of gun violence in the United States," the ESA said in a statement (via Gamespot).

"Video games are enjoyed around the world and numerous authorities and reputable scientific studies have found no connection between games and real-life violence.

"Video games are plainly not the issue: entertainment is distributed and consumed globally, but the US has an exponentially higher level of gun violence than any other nation. The upcoming meeting at the White House, which ESA will attend, will provide the opportunity to have a fact-based conversation about video game ratings, our industry’s commitment to parents, and the tools we provide to make informed entertainment choices."

The ESA did not say which of its members, which include executives at major publishers, will be meeting White House officials, nor if the meeting will involve president Trump.

This meeting was set up after Trump suggested that violent video games may have had a hand in the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida.