Gaming - News
The Horrifying Reason GameStop’s Marketplace is Under Fire
By MARY OSBORNE
Around January 2022, GameStop, the famous gaming retail chain, decided to join the latest trend in gaming and host an NFT marketplace, which relies on independent creators who make art to sell on the platform. While the chain does not approve each individual image uploaded to its platform, it does approve or deny specific creators, based on an application.
Despite the vetting process, GameStop has come under fire for approving a creator who attempted to sell an NFT that bore a striking resemblance to the 9/11 photograph “Falling Man” by Richard Drew. Instead of the original image of a man jumping from a Twin Tower to his death, the NFT featured an astronaut with the caption “this one probably fell from the MIR station.”
Debate raged over the internet, with most gamers horrified that the NFT existed in the first place and others unsure if the image was meant to poke fun at a tragic event or pay homage to it. The NFT has since been removed, but it’s unclear if GameStop or the artist took it down. So far, the company has not commented on the NFT or explained how it’s dealing with the situation.
