A Brief History of Videogame Legislation

Joystiq is running a new column by Dennis McCauley (who you may recognize from the Game Politics blog). This week, he's got a post up looking at the history of gaming legislation. Starting in the 90s with the creation of the ESRB, McCauley walks us through some of the more notable skirmishes gaming and the body politic have had with each other. From the article: "In 2002 the city of St. Louis took the Indianapolis law one step further, prohibiting not only coin-op play, but retail sale or rental of violent games to minors. Different approach, similar fate. The 8th Circuit Court tossed the law for much the same reasons that doomed Indy's. A city attorney expressed bitter disappointment, called the Federal Court ruling 'a blow to the parents of St. Louis County and the kids.' That was three years ago, and, last time we checked, St. Louis hadn't been overwhelmed by a GTA-like wave of youth violence. As a matter of fact, youth crime levels have been trending downward for years."

Comments

Derelict Legislators

[Anonymous Coward]

The bill's author, Democrat Sandra Pappas, rather famously told GameSpot, "Legislators don't worry too much about what's constitutional."

I think this quote pretty much sums up the discussion.

Mid 1990's Carmageddon contributed to violence

[saskboy]

I wonder where the wave of car violence was in the mid 1990s when everyone was playing Carmageddon and Carmageddon II Carpocalypse Now where the aim of the game was to crash into other cars, including police, and run over pedestrians in creative ways? I see my CD label shows the game was set as M for Mature by the ESRB. So maybe no children ever played it because parent didn't buy M games for kids back then? ;-)

Goes back further than 1990. Even 1980.

[Tackhead]

Before politicians whined about GTA, they whined about the fatalities in Mortal Kombat.

Before that, they whined about Exidy's Death Race (1975), and Chiller.

And at home, in 1982, there was Custer's Revenge for the Atari 2600 console.

And from its very invention up until the 70s, people had to go to court to prove that pinball was a game of skill, not a game of chance, and that pinball machines were therefore not illegal gambling machines.

For everything fun, there's gonna be some idiot with a (D) or an (R) beside his or her name telling you not to do it. Fuck 'em all.

Video Game Law

[bigbigbison]

Of interst may be Jon Festinger's book Video Game Law which covers the various videogame laws that have been passed, but also lawsuits involving videogames from the cases involving Ralph Baer's patents up until Blizzards suit against makers of the bnetd project. It seems to have been published only in Canada, but if nothing else it can be ordered from the publisher.

Re:Goes back further than 1990. Even 1980.

[soft_guy]

Before that it was D & D, pool, cards, bowling, etc.

The Political calculus

[bmasel]

A year ago, when I confronted Sondy Pope-Roberts, the Democratic State Assembly sponsor of Wisconsin's vidgame bill, she said "the pollsters" (I presume Hillary Clinton's,) had told her "This polls higher than anything else we asked."

Sondy's subsequent press release asserted that "86% of 16 year old boys play these [violent] games." Asked why she'd want to alienate 86% of (then) 16 year old boys, some of whom will be eligible to vote this November, and the rest by her next re-election cycle, she responded, "They won't vote anyway."

This, like the DOPA Myspace censorship legislation that just passed the US House with only 15 dissenting votes (roll call) seems to me pretty shortsighted for a Party that will be competing in elections not just in '06 and '08, but on into the future.