Judge nixes California ban on selling violent video games to children

[WanderAimlessly]

I say skip the next step which is the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and go directly to the Supreme Court:

**Judge nixes California ban on selling violent video games to children
**Dec 23 4:04 PM US/Eastern

A federal judge has blocked California from banning sales of violent video games to children, prompting backers to vow to take their case to the US Supreme Court if necessary. In a decision late Thursday, US District Court Judge Ronald Whyte granted the entertainment software industry’s request for an injunction halting implementation a California law slated to take effect January 1.

The law, which was signed by celebrity governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, banned the sale of extremely violent games such as the popular Grand Theft Auto series to people under 18 unless they have parental consent.

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PF

 

[jdnation]

I’m a gamer myself and play mature games that aren’t necessarily as violent, and I agree that mature games should not be sold to children. However industry people do have a point where people who may inadvertently sell a game to someone under the age could face quite harsh penalties. This also means that some stores would be reluctant to carry these games due to these penalties and since it would indicate lower sales, so the industry will lose money.

But in such a case I cannot blame the industry. For one I’d like to purchase these games from a convenient location, and we can’t fault them if games get into the hands of kids, but I think we need a better way for getting stores to restrict games to minors and alert parents. I remember purchasing a game at Electronic Boutique recently and the cashier asked me if I was purchasing the game for anyone as a present. When I said yes, he reminded me that the rating of the game printed on the cover was meant for people 18 and over. That is a good policy.

Also for concerned parents, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have announced that their next generation consoles, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s codenamed ‘Revolution’ will all have parental controls that will detect ratings in games and movies and play only those that are allowed by parents. It is a good feature that lock out content not for your children, and I’d advise using them.

 

[coyote]

jdnation:

I’m a gamer myself and play mature games that aren’t necessarily as violent, and I agree that mature games should not be sold to children. However industry people do have a point where people who may inadvertently sell a game to someone under the age could face quite harsh penalties. This also means that some stores would be reluctant to carry these games due to these penalties and since it would indicate lower sales, so the industry will lose money.

But in such a case I cannot blame the industry. For one I’d like to purchase these games from a convenient location, and we can’t fault them if games get into the hands of kids, but I think we need a better way for getting stores to restrict games to minors and alert parents. I remember purchasing a game at Electronic Boutique recently and the cashier asked me if I was purchasing the game for anyone as a present. When I said yes, he reminded me that the rating of the game printed on the cover was meant for people 18 and over. That is a good policy.

Also for concerned parents, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have announced that their next generation consoles, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s codenamed ‘Revolution’ will all have parental controls that will detect ratings in games and movies and play only those that are allowed by parents. It is a good feature that lock out content not for your children, and I’d advise using them.

I would like to make one thing clear. Society and private individuals do not OWE ANY INDUSTRY a guarantee of profits. As a consumer I do not OWE any manufacturer, producer or business my money to insure it’s survival.

As a parent, I am the ultimate authority when it comes to whether my child can purchase or even play adult rated games. To place the onus of this responsibility upon the vendors and manufacturers of these games is an imperfect, unreliable and doomed solution. I do not allow myself the lazy indulgence of hoisting this responsibility on anyone’s shoulders but my own. Period.

 

[TheBlackGhost]

I agree there are some mature games that should not be sold to children under the age, of course there are some I believe do not deserve the M rating (Halo 2? Cmon.) but of course it seems I do not have the power to rate them. I hate how people blame video games for society’s problems though, you can get porn and blood and gore and strong language all on channels on now standard cable for free (I’m not making it up), but some cartoon shooting is really gonna mess some kid up. If you are so impresonable from games, then you shouldn’t be playing them, and that’s the parents fault.