As flags fly at half-staff outside for Orlando, shooter games get usual plug at LA trade show

LOS ANGELES – The flags outside the Electronic Entertainment Expo are flying at half-staff in honor of the victims of the attack on a Florida gay nightclub that left 49 dead. But it will seemingly be business as usual inside the video game industry's annual trade show this week. E3 kicked off Sunday and Monday with flashy presentations featuring footage of upcoming games -- many of which depict unrelenting gun violence -- from Electronic Arts, Bethesda Softworks, Microsoft and Ubisoft. EA, which has a studio in Orlando, did not directly address the shooting Sunday afternoon while hyping games such as the World War I-set military shooter "Battlefield 1? and the robot-filled sci-fi shoot-'em-up "Titanfall 2." Chris Plante and T.C. Sottek of the technology site The Verge wrote after EA's presentation that "witnessing a sales pitch for the fun in gun violence felt strange, to say the least." The developers on stage at Bethesda's presentation Sunday evening sported rainbow ribbons in support of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community as they showed off games like the arena-based shooter "Quake Champions" and the stylish assassin tale "Dishonored 2." Microsoft began their Monday morning presentation with a moment of silence led by Xbox chief Phil Spencer before actress Laura Baily demonstrated a bullet-riddled level from sci-fi shooter "Gears of War 4." Later, the PC Gaming Show asked attendees to donate blood.