Supreme Court to decide hte future of Video Games

[Clickme]

The Supreme Court has recently taken on a case that demands Video Games to get regulated beyond hte ESRB where it pertains to violent content and Minors. This would result in developers being forced to restrict creativity and game content or else be forced into a special category which in turn would keep games from selling overall, not jsut to minors. Games stop selling, nad developers will stop making those games period! Then we lose our games because parents don't set parental controls or read ESRB labels! Also this bill doesn't mention online sales of games, so it doesn't even effect the major source of underage gamers from playing MAture games they buy online! And even then, the Parental controls on the console itself make that a moot point. The Government does NOT need to stick it's fingers in this. Doing so will only complicate the system and encourage the removal of all content viewed as "negative" to this bill.

This also brings us to the 1st Amendment issues of content in games being protected the same way as content in books and movies!

IF you love your games and don't want to see bent and twisted into 100% child friendly (no more HAlo, no more Call of Duty, no more Left 4 Dead, no more Team Fortress) then join hte Video Game Voter Network and keep up to date with hte Court here: http://www.videogamevoters.org/scotus



-State and local laws restricting access to video games continue to be struck down by the courts based on First Amendment concerns. Unsurprisingly, courts find that contemporary video games are enormously complex forms of entertainment that blend elements of literature, cinematography and graphic design?all of which are amply protected by the First Amendment.-

Protect our games!

[TF-Viewer]

Sounds like it'll never happen just on account of the First Amendment itself. So calm the hell down.

[Clickme]

Except that Video Games do not officially (as of yet) have the same protected status as books, movies and music under the 1st amendment.

[JBird]

Common sense to the rescue: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...61-Free-Speech

Hazaah!

[Lock]

I'm not worried too much about this...This will probably be delcared agianst the Constituition.

[Daichi Azure]

knowing the courts they'll make a some sort of law that mandates that if a game has a M rating or higher to ask for ID to verify age if they look under oh 30 since there are some out there that look that old but are only in their mid to late teens...

[mario72486]

The problem is that it's already a mandate. The problem lies in parents being complete morons and picking up whatever games their kids ask for, regardless of the rating. By the time they realize it's M-rated and their kids are exposed to all of this "bad stuff," it's too late.

[Drachen]

I guess we'll see. The Ninth Circuit court has already made a ruling that there is no evidence of games harming minors. I don't know about the Supreme Court specifically, but I know that appeals courts can't find any new facts in the case but may throw out facts on technical grounds.

While I certainly don't want government to exercise control over the content of games, to a certain extent, we already have a system like this in place with the ESRB and store age enforcement. It already functionally bans "adult" content. There have been just over 20 AO-rated games and no developer is going to spend the money to create a game that no major retailer would stock. Sony, MS and Nintendo all have rules about minimum ratings and will never certify an AO game. Remember the re-rating controversies over GTA:SA and Manhunt 2? They had to change the games because retailers would not sell them. That's without a law.

[Clickme]

Places like Gamestop are VERY good about keeping to their "Over 17 MEANS over 17" regulations in games, and I've even seen them recommend other games to parents looking at M-games as b-day/x-mas presents. IT's not like the retailers are slacking. They are doing their jobs. It's hte parents being lazy and not even taking time to learn about parental blocks on consoles. I get the feeling that non-gaming peoples jsut ignore everything about games for hte most part. MY mother for one, used to tell me that she didn't want me playing violent games, but she never took measure to enforce that, assuming I'd be a good, obedient child... and I was for the most part, but I was also left to make my own choice because she didn't understand games nor did she ever take the time to. Is that the fault of hte developers or retailers? No. There's also the case of second hand games that are given from a friend or relative to the child and don't pass through the "Store with ID Policty". In that case it's entirely up to hte parent again.

The only other way (besides ignorant parents) that kids could get games is from places like Amazon which have gift cards and no need for credit cards, to buy online, and that's something that this law doesn't even touch upon!

[Drachen]

Originally Posted by Clickme

There's also the case of second hand games that are given from a friend or relative to the child and don't pass through the "Store with ID Policty". In that case it's entirely up to hte parent again.

That's the way it's supposed to be. It's entirely legal to give your child alcohol. It's not legal to sell to an under-age person.

Originally Posted by Clickme

The only other way (besides ignorant parents) that kids could get games is from places like Amazon which have gift cards and no need for credit cards, to buy online, and that's something that this law doesn't even touch upon!

Amazon is based in Seattle and has no facilities in CA, so a CA law isn't going to affect them. If there was a national law or a WA law (or possibly a law in a state where they have distribution centers), they'd have an age verification system up in a heartbeat.

[Clickme]

That's the way it's supposed to be. It's entirely legal to give your child alcohol. It's not legal to sell to an under-age person.

It's also illegal for someone of-age to provide minors with alcohol, it's just a lot harder to regulate, but that's not hte point.

[LOD]

Originally Posted by JBird

Common sense to the rescue: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...61-Free-Speech

Hazaah!

No discussing politics in the lounge!!!!

Unless those politics have to do with video games of course : p