California ‘violent video’ row
p2p news / p2pnet: California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose Terminator character features in more than one violent video game, has declared that he’ll fight the Entertainment Software Association and Video Software Dealers Association who are suing the state after it passed a law barring the sale of violent video games to minors.
"I will do everything in my power to preserve this new law, and I urge the attorney general to mount a vigorous defense of California’s ability to prevent the sale of these games to children," Reuters quotes Schwarzenegger as saying.
"California’s new law will ensure parental involvement in determining which video games are appropriate for their children. I believe strongly that we must give parents the tools to help them protect their children."
AB1179 by San Francisco assemblyman Leland Yee prohibits selling or renting a violent video game to someone under 18, says the San Francisco Chronicle. Violations are punishable by fines of up to $1,000.
The Bill defines a violent video game as one that lets a player, “virtually inflict serious injury” on humanlike figures in a way that’s “especially heinous, cruel or depraved,” says the story.
"It is not up to any industry or the government to set standards for what kids can see or do," Reuters has Video Software Dealers Association president Douglas Lowenstein saying, "that is the role of parents. Everyone involved with this misguided law has known from the start that it is an unconstitutional infringement on the First Amendment freedoms of those who create and sell video games."
Yee was among those who was behind moves which eventually forced Take-Two Interactive Software to take its RockStar Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game off retail shelves because of hidden animated sex scenes.
At the time, Take-Two and Rockstar lied that they’d had nothing to do with the scenes.
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See:-
Reuters – Calif. sued over violent video game ban, October 18, 2005
San Francisco Chronicle – Video game industry sues to toss new ban, October 18, 2005
Take-Two and Rockstar lied – Rockstar sex game and ratings, July 19, 2005
October 19th, 2005 at 7:02 pm
Never mind the first amendment rights of the software developers, for pete’s sake… What the hell does that have to do with anything?
I agree that there should be stricter regulations about the nature of games that kids are allowed to play before they are mature and responsible enough to understand the difference between real and virtual, right and wrong. But does there really need to be a law about selling video games?
As I understand it, here in the UK, if a video store is discovered to have sold/hired adult video’s to minors then they are disciplined by some sort of regulatory body (dunno who, dont want to research it). Surely this would be a better approach, allowing the courts to deal with actual criminal cases rather than trivial things like this.
I wonder what the real goal is here? What are they trying to achieve, somewhere down the line? Apart from even more control over what we deem to be entertainment, that’s pretty much a given!
October 19th, 2005 at 8:43 pm
are there any games that aren’t violent?
my gosh, that’s all i see in the shops – and i don’t even play games but one can’t help noticing them. i think they’re stupid and should be banned – until they start making only educational and informative games – or at least only non-violent ones, like YDKJ.
BAN ALL GAMES! THEY ARE STUPID, EXPENSIVE, AND A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!
October 20th, 2005 at 3:59 pm
“Educational” like those “games” full of commercials for Pepsi & McDonald
?
October 20th, 2005 at 4:04 pm
Schwarzy, son of a nazi who surely did help murdering thousands of “innocent” civilians (no one is innocent btw), wanna be the 1st non-american president of the P$A, seeing that brainless people like Reagan and “Dumbya” Bu$h Jr. have been so successful, just tries to look as stupid as can be.
To restrict violence, what about banning selling firearms or at least ammo (btw, not selling ammo is definitively *not* breaking 2nd stupid amendment, read it again…) or better ban producing firearms & other mass-destruction weapons like bombs…
October 21st, 2005 at 12:03 pm
My Parchessi set is ablaze on the sidewalk as we speak. Next, I’m throwing in the Chinese Checkers and then the Scrabble set.
November 21st, 2008 at 5:54 am
Trying to stop all of the bad things in games is like trying to stop all the bad things in our country. Video games are a reflection of our times, like a mirror. I work at a company where people play video games for a living and I can say if you dont like what you see in the mirror, it isnt the fault of the mirror.