If you are a gamer or live with one, you have without a doubt heard of ‘Fortnite.’ An MMORPG, ‘Fortnite’ is a battle game, based on survival on an uninhabited Planet Earth. While it was only introduced in 2017, it quickly gained traction, becoming one of the most played, watched, and talked about games online.
You might be wondering why we would be looking at a video game that has nothing to do with hockey. At the end of August, it was announced that the NHL requested that players stop talking about ‘Fornite.’ We asked the Hockey Pursuits blog to give us their take on this new turn of events and their thoughts on the relationship between hockey and ‘Fornite’.This is their view they shared with us.
Old Gen Vs New Gen
There is always a generational discrepancy on any team, with the coach naturally being older than the majority of the players and even age gaps among players. While this has always been the norm, there has been a shift in culture in the youngest players. Where previous generations were more likely to go to a bar for entertainment, players now will stay in their rooms playing Fortnite.
Problems with ‘Fortnite’
It might seem like video games are a better option than hanging out in a bar, but video games come with their own downsides. ‘Fornite’ is known to be addictive, causing players to stay up all hours battling one another. As a result, they will not get enough result or have the break that they needed before playing the next day.
Another issue that has arisen with the game is that there is a lack of team bonding happening. Instead of players socializing among themselves and getting to know one another better, they are absorbed into their phones or game systems.
NHL Makes a Move
Naturally the NHL is concerned about a growing epidemic of players becoming addicted to a video game. The results would mean that teams would not be able to socialize among themselves and there would be a complete change in the dynamics of a team.
As a result, the NHL requested that players scrub all ‘Fortnite’ references off of their social media accounts and stop referencing it. The hope is to bring a separation between the players and the game, making sure that there is not a connotation associated with the NHL that promotes the video game.
Why ‘Fornite?’
But this ban on talking about ‘Fornite’brings up the question: why ‘Fornite?’ Why have other games not been likewise specifically targeted? Video games are not new, but this push for a specific game is.
It’s because of how fast it is spreading. Only around for just over a year, ‘Fortnite’ already has over 125 million users, with numbers growing all of the time. The game is addicting and fast moving. If the NHL looks like they promote it, it looks the same as promoting an addiction.
The Future
While they may have requested players not discuss ‘Fortnite’ on social media or any public forum, the concept is not sustainable. Unless the NHL is going to ban players from gaming altogether, discussion of video games and playing them is still going to happen. We will have to wait to see how they handle this in the future.