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Videogame Decency Act in Congress
GamePolitics reports on yet another attempt by lawmakers to make the world safe from the dangers of electronic entertainment. Entered by Representative Fred Upton, the bill spells out penalties for game companies that try to 'sneak' something past ESRB raters. Says Upton, "I guess I thought the FTC would have had some more teeth than they apparently have... I'm not at all happy... In essence there are no consequences. None... I would like to have thought that (Take-Two and Rockstar) would have been able to be fined for millions of dollars for the trash they put out across this country. I am going to be looking to write legislation giving the FTC the authority to impose civil penalties."
Entered by Representative Fred Upton, the bill spells out penalties for game companies that try to 'sneak' something past ESRB raters.
What does that even mean? Hot Coffee wasn't a 'sneak', it was excised content that required a third-party modification to even view. Yeah it was on the disc, but it wasn't accessible. It's not like you hit a secret code and OMG PORN.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
We've seen this before. It sucked - it set the comic book industry back nearly twenty years. *AND* it was self imposed. Let's learn from that mistake, shall we?
Mods: Disagreeing with me != my post Offtopic / Flamebait.
World without hate or war, invaded. Tragic?
Let someone else be the parents. We're too busy scarfing down Starbucks and watching reality TV and can't be bothered to know what our kids are doing.
Didn't someone buy GTA:SA for their 11 year old kid? Yeah, great way to be a parent.
i've never gotten one let me know if i got one
I think it's ok for the ESRB to have some sort of civil power over companies, but not like this.
If the system was designed to make sure a disgruntled employee can't insert pr0n into a children's game without direct retribution, then the system may very well help. But after seeing the overreaction to the GTA SA hot coffee mod, I have an awful feeling that this won't lead anywhere near it's stated goals.
If forums teach us anything, it is that logic and critical thinking should be required courses in the public schools.
Content that was required to be disclosed? Would the Hot Coffee mod have been required to be disclosed? You can't view it through gameplay alone. There is no (demonstrated) bug that would allow you to access it without patching the game's files, in contravention of the game's EULA.
This law is useful only for selective enforcement. It has no other purpose. Remember Howard Stern getting fined by the FCC for saying essentially the same thing that Oprah said on her show?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Distributing a video game without rating from the ESRB is completely lawful, just that some stores won't stock it. They are a private organization. Defrauding them is a contractual matter between 2 private enterprises. Mr Upton, STFU and GBTW.
Seriously, it's about time Congress did something that affected me, and what could be better than making sure we get some decent games? I'm sick of all the shite games on the shelves these days, which based solely on their packaging are indistinguishable from the good games sitting right next to them. They cost just as much, but are complete crap, blatant shovelware designed to sucker people into buying them. The makers of garbage like Turok: Evolution should be held accountable. Good for you Congress for supporting decent games.
Uh, wait, I think I missed something...
The enemies of Democracy are
go ahead, continue to alienate a large and growing segment of the voting public. more and more every day, gaming is a passtime engaged in by adults of voting age. when a politician calls a perfectly good game "trash", he just looks like an out of touch relic. i mean, we all played GTA. it was good clean ludicrous fun (if a bit monotonous by the fifth iteration or so). by the way, i'm an avid gamer ... no, not an obnoxious pimply-faced 15 year old, as this politician probably assumes all gamers are, but a 30 year old married guy -- and i'm far from unusual. politicians going off like this remind me of strom thurmond types from the 50's railing against the black man's devil music, swearing that the evil jungle beats will corrupt the morality of our children.
WE are the children whose parents swore to us mario would rot our brain and corrupt our souls. we will reject that notion as wholeheartedly as our parents rejected the same assertion back when it was aimed at the Beatles and the Stones.
i could live a little longer in this prison
So IF a publisher fudged their way past the ESRB, and got caught once the boxes were on the shelves, what happens?
(almost) Every distributor returns all of the merchandise at the publishers expense. Production facilities have to be retooled for a new release, and new production runs made. All those boxes have to be shipped out to the distributors again. Some of those companies may not be interested in selling the product any more though. Consumers may be less interested in the watered down version. Future releases from that publisher may have difficulty securing distribution.
So... Aren't they already being fined millions of dollars? What's the point of this bill, let capitalism drive the market.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
The whole purpose of the VOLUNTARY rating system is because the first amendment prevents laws like this (rightfully so) Game companies voluntarily have their games rated because they fear a legal battle and stores like Walmart wont sell them otherwise. These politicians are just going after the "think of the Children vote" or they are fascists. Maybe both.
Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
If you commit fraud, you deserve to be punished. Why we need a new law to cover fraudulent behavior is another issue. However, if you hide sexual content in the game, then make it accessible (yes, I know Hot Coffee didn't do this SO DONT KEEP BRINGING IT UP!) easily through a cheat code or something, you should get at least a slap on the wrist. However, if you really want to change the behavior, make the people who conspired to put the content in there surreptitiously bear the legal costs, not the company. All collective punishments against companies do is get good workers fired.
The intention of the law doesn't sound all that bad, but why does it have to be a law in the first place? Can't a little line in some ESRB contract accomplish the same? And why make all the fuss about it anyway? HotCoffee was totally harmless and as far as I know the only case where it ever happened, but even then only by accident and not on purpose (unused/disabled data and code in video games is pretty common).
If those politicians actually want to protect the children they should better try to make ESRB ratings mandatory, since that might actually change something, instead of worrying about laws which never ever would have been used anyway.
Apparently, Mr. Upton has never played any of the modern Grand Theft Auto games. I'm personally insulted that he called my favorite series of games "trash". He should probably realize that calling one of the best selling games in video game history "trash" is equivalent to alienating (or just plain pissing off) a very large percentage of his constituents. I can't imagine a politician calling a mainstream music act "trash". Ann Coulter is trash. Grand Theft Auto is a very good video game for adults.
I don't respond to AC's.
What a coincidence. I was just drafting legislation that would fine Fred Upton for being a douchebag.
I propose a new version where you go on a rampage thru DC. Killing Senators, children, lawyers, ect.
All those in favor say "Hell yea".
Support your local school shooter, give them your firearms.
I say we do away with this terrible organization once and for all. They keep on screwing up over and over again, then point the finger squarely in the opposite direction. They (Meaning the suits at the ERSB) support those who are down on the gaming industry; and in essence helping keep the industry stifled. The ERSB likes to blame developers for what are very clearly PARENTAL CONTROL issues (There is NO reason you should buy your kid GTA. My parents only played solitare; but they knew enough to not let me play Doom or Mortal Kombat as a young 'un. This was before the ERSB existed by the way; and PC games had a FAR better rating system.)
Getting to my "ERSB Ratings Suck" rant; anyone remember the olde' Thermometer rating system that was featured on such classics as Duke 3D? Rating of 1-4 in the categories of; Drug Use, Sex & Nudity, Violence, and one or two others. Provided right next to the Rating (1 being Gratutious Violence or Sex, 4 Being Bikini's and Papercuts) was a breif description of WHY it had this rating. It was a thing of beauty. It had standards. (Unlike the MPAA's ratings which the ERSB ratings are based on; which seem to change year to year. [Full Frontal nudity in a Pg-13? Never though that would happen, then lo and behold, the MPAA changes it's standards{has to have Graphic Sex for R}])
Of course, the first step to doing all this (Making the ERSB mean something; cause it's a good idea, I'm not for censorship but rating something serves a purpose) is to actually get some people who know what the fuck they're doing. If they screw up, then they should take the blame, instead of shovelling it off on the developers.
This is a public service announcement:
DogDude fucks dogs!
That is all.
Isn't the ESRB a rating the game companies choose to use on their own? I don't even think it's required by anything that a game be certified by them. If some law requires the ESRB to do something, couldn't companies just decide not to have their games reviewed?
-SaNo
Nice try at karma points. Not only do I live in the USA, but... I AM A PARENT.
You = FAIL.
By the time we all reach that age, we will think differently.
The current generation of Congress critters were teenagers in the 1960's. If it worked as you said, why aren't drugs legal now?
"Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
The FCC (may as well be called the Federal Censorship Commission) would be wiped out for being 100% unconstitutional.