ESA wins Louisiana suit

[8th lutz]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162486.html

 

Entertainment Software Association representative has confirmed for GameSpot that the industry trade organization has chalked up another victory in court, this time in Lousiana. The representative said that a federal judge granted the ESA's request for a permanent injunction preventing the state from enacting a law designed to limit minors' access to violent games.

 

For those who forgotton what this law Louisiana had was this:

 

According to the text of the law, it would have been illegal to sell, rent, or lease a game to a minor if it meets the following three conditions:

 

(1) The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the video or computer game, taken as a whole, appeals to the minor's morbid interest in violence.

 

(2) The game depicts violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors.

 

(3) The game, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

 

The Jack Thompson law went bye-bye for this time at least for a state that should more concerned about rebuilding the New Orleans then games at this time and the gov. of that state should be out of office.

[Albert]

Good.

 

..Al

[Uzumaki]

So basically the game companies want to let 10 year old enjoy raping girls, jacking cars, and blowing away enemies?

 

I still think there should be some limit. At least put age restriction and make it a felony to rent or sell to minor the same way cigs and booze are illegal to underage.

 

I know there's been studies done before to show (or disprove) connection between violent video game and violent lifestyle but I'd still prefer to limit it.

[misspent_youth]

I don't know about a felony; is it one to let underage kids into NC-17 movies? If there were to be any sort of penalty, it surely cannot be any harsher than the corresponding movies offences. The comparisons to booze and cigarettes do not stand up to me.

[JB]

So basically the game companies want to let 10 year old enjoy raping girls, jacking cars, and blowing away enemies?

 

I still think there should be some limit. At least put age restriction and make it a felony to rent or sell to minor the same way cigs and booze are illegal to underage.

How about we attack the movie industry first. They've been doing it longer AND more actively.

 

The video game industry has never sued Nickelodeon for not selling ad space for an M-rated game in a children's show. The movie industry HAS sued Nickelodeon for not selling childrens' ad blocks to the R-rated 5th Element AND explicitly stated that the child audience was considered crucial to the film's success.

 

And yet politicians want laws to regulate the former, while letting the latter continue to police itself.

[Avid Fan]

What game can you rape in?

[8th lutz]

So basically the game companies want to let 10 year old enjoy raping girls, jacking cars, and blowing away enemies?

 

I still think there should be some limit. At least put age restriction and make it a felony to rent or sell to minor the same way cigs and booze are illegal to underage.

 

I know there's been studies done before to show (or disprove) connection between violent video game and violent lifestyle but I'd still prefer to limit it.

Limiting cigs and booze to underage people isn't working, how do you explain according to a study that 1 out of every ten middle students smoke cigs?

 

It is up to the parents to do their job. You may do a laws for 10 year old kid but the problem is the parent getting the game for the kid despite how tough the law is. For an example if a parent buys a rated "m" game for their 10 year old without that child being in the store and that parent sees the rating and the restrictions with the parent not giving rats butt about the rating and the restriction to make the games for adults. There are parents who are idiots out there and shouldn't be parents.

 

If a there a connection between video games and violent lifestyle why my brother hasn't done any crimes or kill anypeople since he played a rented game with called Mortal Kombat 13 years ago with my dad renting the game when my brother was 11 going on 12? I didn't do any crime since then and I also did play doom on the 32x and Wolfstein 3d for the performa 575 by apple along with playing Mk2,MK3, Ulimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Eternal Champions. My brother and I were tought right from wrong by our parents and we had something called "parentng" , some that some kids and teens lack nowdays. Speaking of bad parenting a 12 year girl in Wisconsin is being tried is an Adult for Stabbing a student in in the heart with a pick-like metal comb. That isn't caused by videogames, that is caused by how the kid was raised.

 

The violent lifestyle to video game link can't exist due to past history before video games: What caused people to become gangsters and mobsters in the 1920's and 1930's? Also what cause the violence in the wildwest in the 1870's, and 1880's? There was no tv, radio, or videogames back the the 1870's and 1880's.

[Lauren Tyler]

What game can you rape in?

 

 

I think that was just a broad expression. The closest I could think of (save for numerous 'fanmade' crap on the internet) is GTA where you can get a prostitute into your car, drive to a secluded area and get extra health for reduced money, but then again that's not exactly rape, unless you have a very sick mind.

 

Personally, I think stores should have their own policies about enforcing the ratings, instead of the law doing so. For example, the law might say something like 'Children under 13 must show ID before buying Teen rated games, and likewise for persons under 17 attempting to buy a Mature rated game.' That is not only a little harsh in my opinion, but last time I checked, most people don't get some kind of ID with their date of birth on it untill they're anywhere from 16-18 (maybe higher or lower depending on where you live, but that's where I live.)

[JB]

Personally, I think stores should have their own policies about enforcing the ratings, instead of the law doing so. For example, the law might say something like 'Children under 13 must show ID before buying Teen rated games, and likewise for persons under 17 attempting to buy a Mature rated game.' That is not only a little harsh in my opinion, but last time I checked, most people don't get some kind of ID with their date of birth on it untill they're anywhere from 16-18 (maybe higher or lower depending on where you live, but that's where I live.)

Many stores DO have a policy.

Whether or not their employees follow it is another story.

 

The Toys R Us in my area is serious about it.

They card anyone buying an M-rated game.

[Brad2600]

So basically the game companies want to let 10 year old enjoy raping girls, jacking cars, and blowing away enemies?

 

I still think there should be some limit. At least put age restriction and make it a felony to rent or sell to minor the same way cigs and booze are illegal to underage.

 

I know there's been studies done before to show (or disprove) connection between violent video game and violent lifestyle but I'd still prefer to limit it.

 

Why should the rental clerk play the role of a parent? Blame it on the parents for letting their kids play/rent violent games in the first place!

 

There should not be a law that punishes people who abide by the rules just because of what Jack Thompson wants.

[MegaManFan]

Here's another good article.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11906

[MCHufnagel]

That is not only a little harsh in my opinion, but last time I checked, most people don't get some kind of ID with their date of birth on it untill they're anywhere from 16-18 (maybe higher or lower depending on where you live, but that's where I live.)

Both of my kids have school ID (they are 11 and 14), and I think all Middle and High schools have it. While not legal ID it could help. A child with an ID from Middle School wouldn't be allowed to buy or rent T rated games, while someone with only a High School ID (not old enough to drive) couldn't buy or rent a M rated game.

[ninjarabbit]

Video games like television, movies, music, books, and more are (and should be) a form of free speech and any attempts to limit it in such a way should be thrown out by the courts. The government shouldn't be telling kids what they should or shouldn't be playing, that's the parents' job. Overall I think the video game industry has done a good job of policing itself by having a ratings system and letting parents know what kind of content to expect in a particular game and many retailers are also doing a good job of not letting kids get M rated games without a parent or other adult.

[EmOneGarand]

. . . to the R-rated 5th Element . . .

 

5th Element was rated PG-13...

 

http://imdb.com/title/tt0119116/

[JB]

. . . to the R-rated 5th Element . . .

 

5th Element was rated PG-13...

 

http://imdb.com/title/tt0119116/

I'd've swore that was the one...

 

The movie sucked anyways. I'd give it an R for brain damage.

[shadow460]

Aw, come on, JB. Give it an E for the effort they put into making that futuristic McDonald's.

 

I think the law is a waste of time myself. The games are rated, they've redone the rating system at least once (when it went from people like VRC to ESRB). What more do we need? Carding anyone who's buying AO games? Of course. Custers Revenge and Pick Up would be AO for obvious reasons. Carding people for M rated games? If it comes to that, yes, but right now, it hasn't.

 

The whole violent video game debate is nothing more than certain politicians pandering to bleeding hearts in exchange for votes. It's just unfortunate that there's more of an outlet to people who would be offended by violence. One person who seems to be in a position to interact with such an outlet had the gall to tell me that Ms Pac Man was violent!

If there were more outlets to younger folks who had been raised with video games of any kind than there were to the rest of the population, the debate would shift. It would say that the ESRB is a restriction on free speech, and we'd vote for the politicians who supported it.

 

The idea that any video game of any kind causes a noticeable negative impact on society is complete hogwash. Any arguments I've read that say otherwise are like horns on a steer: A point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between.

If we're going to change the law, it needs to be changed on a federal level so that all 50 states are on the same page, and the political debate needs to stop. If anything, it needs to have sale restrictions like this:

AO-21 and older

M-17 and older

T-13 and older

E or K-A -self explanatory

eC-anyone

[Avid Fan]

AO-21 and older?

Can go to war, but not play San Andreas?

More like 18 and over

[Gabriel]

. . . to the R-rated 5th Element . . .

 

5th Element was rated PG-13...

 

http://imdb.com/title/tt0119116/

I'd've swore that was the one...

 

The movie sucked anyways. I'd give it an R for brain damage.

 

You may be thinking about Terminator or Robocop. I dimly recall something like that with one or both of those R rated franchises. And both had fairly popular toy lines at one point.

[+batari]

I still think there should be some limit. At least put age restriction and make it a felony to rent or sell to minor the same way cigs and booze are illegal to underage.

It's generally not a felony to sell booze or cigs to minors. In most states they are misdemeanors, with booze being class A or B, and cigs being a class C, which is punishable by a fine only.