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Could CA Violent Game Law Lead To an Industry Exodus?
donniebaseball23 writes "Oral arguments for the California games law are set to begin on November 2. It's a hugely important court case for the industry, and if the Supreme Court sides with the legislators it could lead to an exodus of talent from the games business, says one attorney. 'Certainly less games would be produced and there would be a corresponding job loss,' said Patrick Sweeney, who leads the Video Game practice at Reed Smith LLP. 'But I expect the impact will likely be significantly deeper. I believe the independent development community would be severely impacted. Innovation, both from a creative and technological aspect, would also be stifled. The companies, brands and individuals that we should be embracing as the visionaries of this creative and collaborative industry will migrate their talents to a more expressive medium.' Meanwhile, Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, author of Grand Theft Childhood, notes that even if California gets its way, it could backfire."
The only people opposing game certification are the types who like to sell padded bras to pre-pubescent girls and sweets to children crawling around in their nappies. They're the same types who claim guns and tits content is mature as they smash heads together driving the market down to its lowest common denominator. The dumber, nastier, and more violent the better. In the end it always results in an exodus of talent and customers just like any other ghetto. Think Somalia.
Unless these control freaks and greedy wankers learn to back off the gas they're not only going to destroy the market their selling into they'll end up tearing down their own industry as well. Think movies. Think music. So what they're really saying is that they're producing shit nobody really wants and they're prepared to do anything to beat, bully, and asset strip games into the ground until there's nothing left. At no point does this involve what's right for the customer or society. It's all about them.
We already do the same thing for porn, you have to be 18 to buy it. If someone wants to argue seriously that violence isn't as harmful as depictions of sex, and therefor doesn't require an age limit, i'm all ears.
Until then, this law is actually a step in a less hypocritical direction, albeit an even more ridiculous one since limiting access to information based on content is both more offensive and more dangerous than anything a teenager could see in a video game.
what a garbage site with garbage summaries