More Laws trying to control game sales

Soccerman18

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/playing-by-the-rules/520391

I'm curious, who exactly benefits from laws like this?

Uly

Politicians in a political sense.
Concerned (read: centophobic) parents in a safety sense.

We win negative win.

aesir

Although its odd they'd make it a fucking FELONY to sell a mature game to a minor, I don't really have a problem with having things like that enforced.

dur23

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I'm curious, who exactly benefits from laws like this?

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Parents who want the government to raise their children?

Tulkamir

"A state-established committee would be formed to oversee and study the issue"

In other words: A bunch of old rich conservative know-it-alls who can't even figure out how to turn on a computer will get together and pretend they are doing something good by commiserating over the evils of video games.

I'm all for controlling the sales of violent games to minors, but making it a felony is flippin retarded. The rest of it doesn't mean dick all, but that is just stupid.

Rhinokey

i'm fully behind this law. i don't see anything wrong with it unless they are hidden things not mentioned in the article. and as for the comment about letting the government raise your kids. it seems everything in this just helps the parents. under this it means if a parent wants a kid to play a violent game just buy it for the kid. the parental controls help the parents chose what can or can't be played so you don't have to sit over the kid every minute he is playing.

i'd vote for it 100%

KeyserSoze

Sell little Timmy a handle of Jim Beam... get a $1,000 fine and 24 hours community service. Sell little Timmy a copy of Halo 3? Get a minimum 3 year sentence in a federal "pound-me-in-the-ass" prison.

AstroZombie

I think the game industry has fulfilled our obligation to society with the establishment of the ESRB. It's up to the retailers and parents to start acting responsible. If the retailers won't hold up their end of the deal I guess politicians are going to have to force them to.

Uly

[ QUOTE ]
"A state-established committee would be formed to oversee and study the issue"

In other words: A bunch of old rich conservative know-it-alls who can't even figure out how to turn on a computer will get together and pretend they are doing something good by commiserating over the evils of video games.

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Just to add a bit. Surprisingly, when it comes to the topic of videogames, it's usually the liberals that are the harshest critics, minus a certain JT, but he's not people, is he? Best examples are Hillary Clinton and Lieberman. I'm sure there's a fair share of Elephant critics as well, though.

John Warner

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I think the game industry has fulfilled our obligation to society with the establishment of the ESRB. It's up to the retailers and parents to start acting responsible. If the retailers won't hold up their end of the deal I guess politicians are going to have to force them to.

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i agree whoooollleee heartedly. i would say that the responsibility falls more on the parents than the retailers though, but obviously that can't and shouldn't be enforced. having grown up with what seemed at the time to be a neurotic mother, i couldn't have imagined convincing my mom to buy me a rated M game, but in today's day and age, i would have just pirated the fucker.

quite frankly i think this whole situation is a mess. obviously saying anyone under 18 can't play a violent video game is a rediculous over generalization. on a side note, the content in games is so stupid that more accurately, nobody above 18 should probably be playing them haha.. i'm guilty.

the capacity to identify with a human being to the extent that you dont want to shoot them, and to have a healthy ego so that you can make that identification is what's important. and i think we all know people in this industry with unhealthy egos. hmm?

Tulkamir

[ QUOTE ]
Just to add a bit. Surprisingly, when it comes to the topic of videogames, it's usually the liberals that are the harshest critics, minus a certain JT, but he's not people, is he? Best examples are Hillary Clinton and Lieberman. I'm sure there's a fair share of Elephant critics as well, though.

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Hmmm, good point. I meant little "c" conservatives though. People who don't like change. (Video games are change).

Also, Rhino, I don't think anyone thinks that laws prohibiting the sales of video games to minors is bad, however making it a felony is a disgustingly over the top punishment, as has been said.

Thegodzero

I agree with the system needed the parent controls for each profile, that makes sense to me.

Jail time for selling a M game to a minor seems off, a $50,000 to $250,000 fine to the store and community service sounds better. That way the company gets screwed when one of the people that works for them sells to a kid.

Other than that the ESRB is doing a damn good job and letting parents know whats inside.

bounchfx

it is already illegal for workers of gs/eb to sell M rated games to a minor... the problem is most of the time the parents buy the kids the game.. then come back and complain about it.

there was one couple that came and bought their kid GTA San Andreas for PC. We explained it was rated M for X reasons etc etc and why we thought it wasn't appropriate for the kid to have. They wouldn't listen, little fucking jimmy wanted it so he got it. they came back the next day telling us how awful it was.

thing is, that kind of thing happens very, very often. it is more the parents buying the game for the kid than retailers selling it to children.

Joao Sapiro

i agree with rhinokey, but i guess for this logic they wouldnt permit kids to watch the news...

Jesse Moody

you guys all mentioned some valid points and yeah i think there is a bit more harm in selling a pint or two of jack daniels to a kid then a video game but others might not.

i can agree though that it is the parents that do buy a lot of games for kids that don't know whats in them.

Cthogua

Soon were going to have a "War on Videogame Violence," since that seems to be the only way we know to approach social ills...declare war on them! There'll be a "Videogame Violence Tsar" preferably someone who knows nothing about videogames and has never even played one but was someone in the administrations frat brother in college. You can even make it a moral issue, tell kids that it makes them bad people to play violent videogames, make commercials where big black monsters try to get them to play GTA. Once you get everyone whipped up into a frenzy you'll have no trouble passing all sorts of laws that don't need to be based on evidence or facts at all! Just remember, there's no such thing as crack babies!

"The Myth of the "Crack Baby""

snap.crackle.pop

Don't worry guys, if you make something illegal it will go away

Mark Dygert

If this is what it takes for people to start using the ESRB then so be it. It's sad this is how far it had to go before people took notice of it =. Hopefully when the clueless get caught up, this can be relaxed.

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Soon were going to have a "War on Videogame Violence,"

[/ QUOTE ] YEAH games win! Hopefully England will not lose another prime minister over this war-on.

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I can agree though that it is the parents that do buy a lot of games for kids that don't know whats in them.

[/ QUOTE ] There is a 1-2 letter code on the box that tells them what is in the box. If they can come up with something more simple lets hear it. The suggestions I hear from people sound a lot like the ESRB.

Mommy: They need a code like movies have, it doesn't have to be very big just something to give the parents a heads up as to what kind of game it is.
Dev: You mean like the ESRB?
Mommy: The Who?
Dev: This letter right here.
Mommy: I'm not that tech savvy I don't know what your "codes are".
Dev: OH COME ON! You buy crap on EBay, and you tell people to "google it" all the time but this, THIS stumps you!? Hint: Much like the big E on the eye chart, this is for everyone.
Mommy: So you're an eye dr?
Dev: I see why your son resorts to violence...

HonkyPunch

I'm fucking sick of this. Half of the senile old fuckers that are making these laws probably don't even know what a Wii is. The only way the know how to use a computer is to store all their pictures of naked children. If they really want to restrict the sales of violent games to minors, then fucking do it and quit talking about it, and questioning video games. It's not video games that make people kill eachother, it's other people. Video games, if anything, can help channel that violence, at least for a bit.

motives

Well i am all for the law.
im not sure i understand the logic behind the punishable felony though. But then again you americans are kinda crazy

Ninjas

So what about the indie developer who has his game bought online by a kid pretending to be 18? I guess it is okay to have obscene violence and porn in your game as long as you give it to kids for free.

This law is retarded. Anyone who supports this law either hasn't thought through the consequences (ie, grouping games in the same catagory as drugs, instead of movies and music which are unregulated and killing off independent development by making it too risky to sell your game), or just hates games.