Video Game Industry to Sue Michigan's Governor

hapwned writes "A news release at Warcry writes that the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) plans on filing suit in Michigan to overturn the recent Violent Games Act. From the article: 'The ESA argues that this bill is an effort to substitute the government's judgment for parental supervision and turn retailers into surrogate parents. Lowenstein said that the industry's products were being unreasonably and unfairly singled out. He contends that while there is no question that a few games have content that some audiences will find offensive, the same can be said for some content in TV, films, music, and books. Since the government does not regulate the sales of those entertainment industries, it should follow suit for the sale of video games. Ultimately, he concluded, parents, not government or industry, must be the gatekeepers of what comes in the home.'"

Comments

Where is the Common Sense?

[robocrop]

Why can we not come to a common ground and have the law enforce the ESRB ratings system? Treat video games like cigarettes, liquor, and porn: make it illegal to sell an adult game to children.

I don't see why this compromise can't be reached. At that point we will be conducting due diligence, and can reach that wonderful state of plausible deniability.

Parents...the forgotten authority

[csharp_wannabe]

Why is it that in America we allow such things to happen? What happened to parents taking responsibility for their children? As a child I remembered hearing my parents telling me "No". And if I continued bothering them the spanking would commence. These days parents are afraid to be parents because of how government regulates children. If a parent disciplines their kids by spanking, it's bad. But if this is not done, than they will grow up and be miscreants. As a conservative right-winged nut, I refuse to blame the game industry. It is the parent's responsibility to take handle of the situation. If you are reading this and want to understand what happens to a generation of children who never got spanked, by all means read Starship Troopers by Heinlein. Parents take back your children or else the state will impose its foot into your house.

Re:Sure the government regulates those others

[knarfling]

One question. What would happen if some of these novels were re-written in cartoon/comic book form, with language that could be read by a 10 year old, and placed in the kid's section of the library/bookstore? People would complain, and if it happened enough, people would try to introduce legislation to prevent it. Books do have a self-regulation system, in that as a child grows in reading comprehension, more mature topics become available. Video Games do not have that self-regulation. Do the gamecontroller keys get harder to press as the topics become more mature?

Video Games, by their very nature, are mostly targeted toward children and teenagers, because that is what brings in the money. It seems to me that the video game industry wants to have a double standard. "We want to sell to children, teenagers, and adults, so we can get more money, but let's put a 'Mature' rating on it so that we can be protected against people who complain."

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it is the government's job to regulate video games, and I do believe that it is a parent's job to teach and raise his/her/their children. But the game industry is not doing a good job of self-regulation, either.

Re:It's the government's right to protect minors

[Darby]

I'm just no sure how we can get parents to take an interest and to realise the responsibility they owe to their fellow citizens.

IMHO, the first step would be to stop pushing parenthood and stop providing incentives for it.

If the only people who had kids were those who really give enough of a shit to take the responsibility seriously (like it sounds like you are) rather than just every dipshit who wants to be a part of something or wants something to love them then that problem would dissipate

Part of this is governmental which we (supposedly) have some power over (subsidies).

The other part is societal e.g. TV, commercials, and movies (the pushing thing).

That's way tougher to address given that whole freedom of speech thing.

Another alternative is punishments for parents when their kids screw up.
That's a real tough one as well due to nature/nurture/societal influences etc.

So, it is a really serious issue but it's a really tough one as well.

Good luck with yours.

Re:It's the government's right to protect minors

[Mr2001]

We completely disagree.

"We"?

The populace, under 18, needs to be prevented from pr0n, booze, weapons, and in this particular case, violent video games or those video games with adult images in them.

No, they don't. European children manage to handle nudity and alcohol at younger ages, and they're turning out all right. Hell, they have lower rates of teen pregnancy than the US.

There's nothing wrong with watching porn or violent imagery, as long as you know the difference between fantasy and reality. That comes along in the single digit age range, not at 18.