The developer behind the world famous survival simulation game Plague Inc. has released a statement in response to the skyrocketing of sales that have occurred since the outbreak of the coronavirus. The troublesome coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has given members of the international community significant cause for alarm. Earlier this week, The World Health Organization stopped short of declaring the virus a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” despite a rising death toll and new cases popping up around the globe.
Plague Inc. released back in 2012 for iOS and Android, and quickly became one of the best-selling games for mobile devices. As a pandemic simulator, Plague Inc. tasks the player with infecting the world with deadly pathogens, from basic bacteria to the “Simian Flu” from the Planet of the Apes movies, and many, many more. In 2013, Ndemic Creations’ founder James Vaughan spoke at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention about how the game models predict the spread of infectious disease. In the years since release, Plague Inc. has become one of the most popular mobile games in the world.
Plague Inc. developer Ndemic Creations has issued a statement on the coronavirus and how it relates to sales of their game. In a post titled “Statement on the current Coronavirus outbreak,” detailed on the official company website, Ndemic says “whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players, as people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks. We specifically designed the game to be realistic and informative, while not sensationalizing serious real-world issues.”
Ndemic also says that Plague Inc. should not serve as a tested scientific model on how the coronavirus may or may not spread by saying, “please remember that Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the current coronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people.” Furthermore, Ndemic suggests that anybody who is looking for additional information on infectious diseases should get their information from local and global authorities, including the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
It’s a bit crazy that Ndemic felt the need to address this issue to begin with. Although the company’s game model for the spread of infectious disease may be impressive, Ndemic is the first to admit that it shouldn’t serve as a scientific basis for anything. Plague Inc. is a video game, not a real disease, while the coronavirus and other infectious viruses are epidemics. Sure, it’s true that Plague Inc. sales spiked in China, which isn’t a problem at all so long as players can dissociate the game from the real world. Right now, the global health community is steeply on edge, hoping that the now widespread coronavirus will be contained and quarantined.
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Source: Ndemic Creations
