Facebook reportedly pulled virtual reality (VR) shooter "Bullet Train" demo from its booth at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after being criticized on social media.
While Facebook possibly means no harm with the game demo, the timing for its presentation of the VR shooter was not, as the event, which happened a week after the Florida school shooting, drew many pro-gun advocates to react. Many of these pro-gun advocates blame the video-game industry for the violence it presents, claiming it is not guns or the ability to purchase guns that push criminals to shoot people; it is the violence that they become conditioned to through video games. The chief executive officer (CEO) of National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, said in 2012 that the video game industry sells and sows violence. Republican Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin said in the wake of what happened in Florida that video games desensitized people to the value of human life and that guns are not the problem. President Donald Trump followed the same line of logic after he said on Feb. 22 that the level of violence in video games are shaping the thoughts of young people.
As said earlier, CPAC started on Feb. 21, roughly a week after the mass shooting in Florida. According to NBC, 17 were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland following a series of gunfire by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz who was believed to have used an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle.
Hugo Barra, Facebook's Vice President of virtual reality said in a statement to Variety that "Bullet Train" was included in the standard set of Oculus demos they feature at public events alongside other action games that feature possible violent themes. In light of what happened in Florida, Facebook has decided to remove the demo. Furthermore, Barra apologized on behalf of the company that they have failed to remove the game's demo in the first place.
Facebook's VR shooter demo caught the interest of netizens after NowThis producer Sean Morrow tweeted a video clip of "Bullet Train's" demo.
"Bullet Train" is developed by Epic Games for the Oculus VR platform. The game is set in an infiltration simulation inside a train station where players take on the role of an agent tasked to shoot enemies.
