Fortnite has raised the ire of an Australian current affairs program

Fortnite is an incredibly popular video game, so it's natural for the otherwise games-ambivalent mainstream media to want a piece of it. Enter stage right Australia's A Current Affair, which in addition to being a fairly sensationalist outlet, also occasionally runs stories comparing the best fake tans on the Australian market. So you know it's pretty good.

The video above (via Kotaku) shows how it panned out, with the outlet parroting the usual stuff about games being addictive and games being violent. "The latest video game craze is violent, addictive and free, and the kids love it," the video description reads. "So, when does harmless fun turn into unhealthy obsession?" (Good question!).

One highlight is when an 11-year-old Fortnite enthusiast explains the objective of the game. "You have to make sure no one kills you," the boy says.

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"So you kill others?" The journalist asks, aghast.

"You just shoot them, and then they fall to the ground and die," he replies.

It's not the first time Australia's mainstream has flirted with Fortnite: NRL player Josh Dugan famously imitated the health replenishment / bandaging animation on field earlier this month – arguably a bigger deal than Drake appearing on a stream with Ninja, providing you're Australian.

Anyway, in the words of one canny Facebook user commenting on the A Current Affair program, perhaps bannings are the answer. "Parents SHOULD bans their kids... not because of the 'violence' but because they suck, they always wanna land at tilted & when they do they die straight away. do you know how hard it is to try and win a squad match as a solo? lol"

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.