Councillor says gaming is “destroying lives”

Neil Burden made the comments during a debate at Cornwall Council’s meeting yesterday when the council agreed to provide more funding to the university’s Launchpad scheme which is helping students to launch businesses in the digital sector and has a focus on creative and gaming industries.

The Stoke Climsland independent councillor said that he had even had to stop one of his own family members from getting “addicted” to video games. He singled out the online game Fortnite, which has more than 125 million players worldwide, for criticism.

He said: “I am appalled that our university in Cornwall thinks digital gaming is the most wonderful thing in the world. It is the most horrendous thing in the world.

“I don’t know if anybody has seen Fortnite? Prince Harry has said how dangerous it is. People go on it when they leave work and they stay inside and don’t go outside and are still on it by Monday morning when they have to go to work again. It is sad, it is addictive.

“We are creating more of this addictive stuff in Cornwall, destroying people’s lives completely. I just feel it is very sad that we are part of that.

“I think that is time that the university came to us and explained what they are doing to create real industry and not this superficial nonsense that so many families now have got caught up with and I feel so sad about it.

“I know that even my own family, a nine-year-old who has got addicted to it and we do all we can to stop him getting on the machine because it is very sad and a sad reflection on modern society.

“I feel that the university has a lot to answer for and perhaps they should come and speak to us as a council.”

Bob Egerton, the Cabinet member presenting the proposal to invest £900,000 in Launchpad, responded saying: “There is a difference between gaming and gambling. These are games that people play. It is not my cup of tea but for a lot of people it is.

“I am sure your generation did a lot of equally worthless things and whether it was using a stick to roll a hoop down the street or whatever and parents would say why are you wasting your time on that, I am not going to buy you a hoop because it costs me too much money.”

Deputy council leader Adam Paynter gave a more serious response and defended the games industry which he said was worth £3.86billion to the UK and employs more than 20,000 people.

“This is not a small industry,” he said. “I agree with Cllr Burden that there are certain things that are being developed, not in the UK, that are damaging. But that is a tiny, tiny minority of the vast majority of stuff that is being developed and worked on through the UK industry bringing billions of pounds into the UK economy.

“It is something that our young people ought to be able to have a go at as well and I think Falmouth does a huge amount in creative industries, it is not purely about gaming.”

Nick Dixon, head of the Launchpad programme at Falmouth University, said: ““Falmouth University is committed to growing Cornwall’s economy through entrepreneurship, creativity and digital technology. Launchpad is the epitome of this commitment; it is a postgraduate progamme on which participants build high-value, high-growth businesses, hand-in-hand with global partners which have so far included Amazon, the BBC, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Pendennis.

"They’re using digital skills to create new, responsible, products and services for sectors including agritech, e-health, finance and entertainment.

“We are delighted that Cornwall Council has extended its partnership with Falmouth University in recognition of Launchpad’s contribution, in terms of new businesses and jobs, for the benefit of the local economy.

“In addition, Falmouth is proud of its Games Academy which offers courses in games, but also Web Development, Creative Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality. Not only is the UK games sector now the biggest in Europe, our students are becoming experienced in technologies and skills that are in demand in other sectors and that are shaping our societies, communities and economies both now and in the future.

“We will be contacting Cllr Burden to offer a meeting, so he can see for himself the types of cutting-edge digital businesses that are being built on the Launchpad Programme and that will help transform Cornwall’s economy.”