The US government has been making headlines for its increasingly frequent use of video game references, and it seems both Republicans and Democrats are getting in on the act. You’ve likely come across some of these videos shared by the official White House X account, which have been drawing criticism for their cringe-worthy approach to pop culture, including video games.
Many of these videos have been created using AI technology, such as a Halo-themed video that faced backlash from Master Chief’s voice actor, and some rather unsettling Animal Crossing edits. These posts have sparked significant public outrage, but even foreign politicians have expressed concern over the US government’s apparent disregard for copyright laws.
Last month, the White House X account posted a video that combined footage of US military operations with gameplay from Wii Sports. The game’s title screen was altered to read “Operation Epic Fury,” the name of a military campaign during the conflict with Iran. It’s hard to fathom why someone would juxtapose war footage with the bright, cartoonish world of Wii Sports—a game where the most intense action is boxing. This move has been widely criticized as being in very poor taste.
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The video has now drawn criticism during Japan’s House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, where Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi commented on the issue. “Generally, even in the case of public institutions, it is inappropriate to reproduce copyrighted works without the permission of the rightsholder,” Motegi stated, as reported by 47News (translated by Automaton). He didn’t address the content of the video directly, likely due to diplomatic considerations. Nintendo, however, has remained silent on the matter, offering no response regarding either the Wii Sports or Animal Crossing videos.
It’s somewhat surprising given how protective Nintendo is of its intellectual property, often taking legal action against fan games and removing music from YouTube. However, The Pokémon Company did distance itself from the White House’s use of Pokémon-related imagery in a statement to the BBC. In this case, Nintendo might be wary of attracting additional tariffs, especially considering the White House’s previous actions, such as the ongoing spat with the Pope and their lawsuit against the US government over existing tariffs.
Similarly, Microsoft has not commented on the White House’s use of Halo imagery to promote ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), although several developers involved in the series condemned the move as “abhorrent.”
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Perhaps we’re old-fashioned, but we prefer it when politicians don’t try to speak to the gamer crowd because it always feels embarrassing regardless of what they’re trying to promote.
Just yesterday, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani held a press conference to announce plans to provide more childcare to residents by raising taxes on those who live outside the city but own more than one home valued above $5 million (about £3.7 million) within the city. And yet, in doing so, he made an out-of-nowhere Mario Kart metaphor to explain it: “I like to think of it this way: government is driving the race car, and philanthropy is there to give it that turbo boost across the finish line. Or, if you are a Mario Kart fan, government is Yoshi and philanthropy is the golden mushroom – that edge we need to beat Bowser on the Rainbow Road. To belabour this metaphor even further, Bowser is corporate greed in this scenario.”
At least everyone in the room got a laugh out of it, and at the age of 34, Mamdani likely has a better understanding of video games than most other politicians. Although you can play as anyone in Mario Kart, so being Bowser doesn’t make you the bad guy.
While such comments are a clear attempt to appear more relatable to younger demographics, they can’t help but trivialise important issues.
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