New York governor signs 'unnecessary' game law

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jul 22nd 2008 3:58PM

New York Governor David Patterson has signed some of the most ... well, put it this way, if you like the government wasting time, then you're going to love the recently signed New York game bill. GamePolitics reports the legislation establishes an advisory council to conduct a study between games and real-world violence. It also requires -- here's the kicker -- new video game consoles to incorporate parental lockout features by 2010 and retail games to disclose ESRB ratings. News flash: All consoles already have parental lockout features built in and ESRB ratings are prominently displayed on each game's box and disc.

For its part, the Entertainment Software Association believes the law ignores "legal precedent, common sense and the wishes of many New Yorkers in enacting this unnecessary bill." It points out that the mandates required are already voluntarily in place and the bill unfairly singles out the video game industry. The ESA asks if New York would like to convene a government commission on books, theater and film as well. It's still up in the air if the ESA will sue New York, but the lobby group has gotten good at getting game laws overturned in several states and making its money back for doing so in the process.

Source

Tags: david-patterson, esa, game-law, law, legislation, new-york, new-york-game-law, the-esa

Reader Comments (84)

Yeah, and gas companies like Exxon Mobile should use all their profits to completely fund electric cars if they cared about the people.

What does a private industry spending money to stop governments from targeting them as a scapegoat for socieities problems have to do with governments wasting time and money? Maybe if government would stop targeting videogames as the source of all society's ills and focus on the real problem (IMHO, broken homes, parents that are too busy to pay attention to their children, bullying, parents that would rather let their kids do whatever they want instead of doing what is best for them, etc) the videogame industry could use some of their profits for the good of the people, like donating games and money to children who are terminally ill or who come from a lower class family. Oh wait, they do that already.

Dude, your arguements are completely hollow.

Well I have the luxury of not really caring about what you think about my arguments, fortunately :-)

You see, 'tis *you* who are spotlighting the issue of "videogames being targeted as the source of all society's ills" when, in reality, no one in government gives a hoot about games. Video game legislation comes into being for the simple reason that important constituents: priests, PACs, community volunteers, policemen, educators, influential parents, and business owners write to and/or approach their local representatives with concern over the issue. Politician or not, someone rejecting the *idea* of reducing children's exposure to blood, violence, killing, etc. in games -- whether *you* consider it 'art' or not -- is simply psychotic. Standing up for video game company's right to "manhunt" people or steal cars and kill cops (and it is their right, of course) is like standing up for a child molestor's natural rights. This is why the ACLU is a highly unpopular organization to most Americans despite the fact that they uphold civil liberties: they defend molestors, American Nazis, terrorists, etc. when no one else will.

I don't know what Exxon Mobile has to do with this...? Companies are not governments, they have no responsibility to take care of people and only do so when it is beneficial to the bottom line for publicity's sake. Ideally, communism evolves beyond this sort of heartlessness, but experiments with it have so far failed due to the revolutionaries becoming addicted to power during their overthrows of the capitalist system.

oh and john, you're a baffoon. you think private enterprise ought to reign free over the health industry without regulation protecting the people from their most heinous and profiteering practices such as denying coverage which people HAVE PAID FOR due to pre-existing terminal conditions? What's next, are you going to tell me the government shouldn't tell libraries, policemen, firefighters, or the military what to do??? what exactly SHOULD the government do in your opinion???? LOL!

To be fair, the DS does not have parental controls, and there are a few games that are debatably not OK for kids. I'm not sure about the PSP. I guess they are not "consoles" in the traditional sense of the word, but without reading the text of the bill, I'd imagine the bill's language applies to them.

So, um, is it wrong for me to think that that picture makes him look like Serious Cat?

http://www.jasonfinley.com/SeriousCat.jpg

Just compare the two of them side by side and tell me it doesn't make you laugh.

So the governor can cheat on his wife and abuse drugs but games are bad, huh?

That was the last governor...

http://tinyurl.com/ytn46g There you go. Current governor. Here, I'll even trail off with some elipses...

And here on the drug issue, since your google is broken.
http://www.observer.com/2008/paterson-admits-prior-cocaine-use

what does a person's personal life have to do with their qualification to govern? Was Justinian who codified what would become the legal basis of all continental European courts and reformed 1,000 years of complicated and untranslated case law into a single modernized system that created the concept of innocent until proven guilty 2,000 years ago and before computers or even printing presses a terrible governor because he married a greek whore...?

Professor rinks,

BEST....REBUTTAL....EV-AR!

And what about the Chicago Mayor....sleepin' with the help on the tax payers dime....

No one is forcing you to read my comments. Sorry you don't care about Roman history, but it just happens to be an important foundation for state and federal law in the united states (which i presume you must live in since you're an idiot who thinks history of law is useless and irrelevant in a discussion about legislation). Don't mind me, go back to your madden and kit-kat bars, dipshit.

MarMar- the point is the hypocrisy of legislating morality, not whether or not he's "fit to govern".

Regardless of what you think of the governor or any governing body for that matter, time and money can be better spent on legislation that isn't redundant. In other words, on things that matter.

And Mar mar, for someone who doesn't care what others think, you sure defend yourself and the governor a lot.

I know what you're saying, but hypocrisy is not something anyone is immune of -- it doesn't matter. My grandfather was an alcoholic and it was hypocritical for him to scream at me when i had a hidden bottle when i was a teenager -- but was he wrong to be mad? no. Christ stood for non-violence, peace, etc. but even he got angry in the temple to make a point of how sacred the place was supposed to be... was him being a hypocrite in that instance make his message of peace, love, etc. invalid? of course it doesn't. I'm not religious at all btw, I'm speaking on this purely academically.

Jesus wasn't being a hypocrite in the temple. He was angry and not hidding it. Had he hidden it, then maybe you could call him that. The people in the temple were robbing those that had good intention, people who simply wanted to worship. This is what made him angry. He didnt just throw a fit, he was protecting those he loves.

This governor's lifestyle was hidden, all the while showing a public face that was falsely moral. That's where the hypocrisy comes in. It doesnt mean he should stop trying to do good. But no good comes of legislating something that people are doing voluntarily anyway. The money that people are paying could go to more important things. So if he's aware of this, he's effectively robbing the citizens he governs.

Thank god, it's about time! If only we had studied this link eight thousand years ago! Think of all the wars that grand theft chariot spawned!

fucking idiots.

blind justice... never saw it coming..hahahah

love*ice

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this guy is a lib.
liberals seek to expand the role of government.
hes only doing what his political party wants him to do.

You're dead wrong. In America Liberal is not a political party. Also It was the conservative Bush administration that curtailed BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT POLITICS IT'S A GAME SITE CANT WE ALL GET ALONG

The sad thing about this is it's another reason spend tax payer money. As 'stupid' as everyone thinks the people involved are, I'm sure they've done this research.

No one will question a 'video game' bill because it's inflammatory enough for people to be blinded by it. I'm sure this has some rider clauses where someone or some people are getting filthy rich by it.

Yes, this is an unnecessary bill, probably intended to mollify constituents.

Yes, getting the government involved in regulating the video game industry is a Really Bad Idea.

So, why do we keep having these bills pop up? And does our current strategy of deriding politicians for being out of touch seem to be working? Why do these politicians feel a need to mollify constituents about video games in the first place? After all, politicians may be out of touch with the gaming community, but if they weren't in touch to some degree with their constituents, they wouldn't be where they are. Could it be that gamers are as out of touch with the mainstream as the mainstream is out of touch with gamers?

The mainstream reads things like the following...

http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html

...and tends to give it credence. The mainstream trusts scientists. When science says there may well be a link between violence in video games and serious aggression, the mainstream tends to listen. Why wouldn't they?

The mainstream also can see what it believes is a trend in the video game industry to constantly push the naughty envelope. Some developers don't seem too interested in disabusing them of this perception. Media coverage of "Hot Coffee" or games like Manhunt or Postal, though perhaps overblown, exacerbate the problem. The mainstream sees these things as irresponsible, and tends to paint the whole industry with this same brush.

So far, it seems our strategy as gamers (or gamer lobbies) has been to (1) deny the science, and (2) circle the wagons and assert our rights. But this strategy doesn't look to be getting any traction with the mainstream, does it? These kinds of bills will just keep popping up until we do.

What if we considered a different strategy? What if we embarked on a massive PR campaign where we (1) expressed our support to further the scientific studies regarding violence and video games, and (2) admitted that some developers, though they have a right to produce art without government interference, are being irresponsible at times with the way they push the naughty envelope.

As a person whose livelihood depends upon the success of the gaming industry, and as a parent, I'd really love to see a move toward the second strategy. Since the first obviously isn't working, why not give it a try?

Why don't you read up on the Comic's Code Authority and you'll see how far idiotic legislation and lead to stagnation in creativity? or how about other legislations such as the congressional hearings on heavy metal lyrics?

It's embarrassing how our comic industry is filled with costumed heroes with bare-bones storylines with no blurring of good and evil. Only recently with the absence of the CCA do we get comic stories that are worth reading. Japan, on the other hand, continued to embrace the comic medium and now you can find comics of every genre and age group, from pre-teen boys to middle-age business men.

Never have faith in your fellow man. Whenever the oppurtunity arises to control the minds of the people, politicians will jump at the chance. This is another meaningless attempt at control, and that's why I protest against it. If the sheep that we call our fellow Americans believe all the lies that these politicians and elitists spew from their mouths, then we won't be able to play anything except Solitaire, Mario, and Pokemon. Or worse, nothing at all.

Not only did I not recommend legislation in my post, I specifically called it a Really Bad Idea.

The knee-jerk, reactionary position where we hate on politicians for proposing legislation doesn't seem to be working. Calling your fellow Americans a bunch of sheep following lying politicians may get applause here on Joystiq (heck, it may even be true), but it doesn't seem to keep the mainstream from wanting their representatives to pass legislation against violent video games. In short, this is a failed strategy that merely perpetuates mainstream's perception that the game industry is immature and irresponsible.

So, I'm suggesting a more mature and responsible strategy to help fight the misconceptions. This strategy could include:

1. Embrace the science, don't deny it. Call for and help fund additional research to study the link between violent media and aggressive behavior.

2. Start a very public campaign to help educate soccer moms on the ESRB ratings and what they mean. Encourage parents to follow the ESRB recommendations.

3. Don't be so quick to defend the irresponsible actions of those looking to push the naughty envelope. Admit the existence of responsibility as well as rights.

This sort of response could be the first volley in a war to change how the games industry is perceived. It allows us to say to the mainstream, "Look. See how seriously we take this issue and how responsible we are being about it?" I believe that's a message to which the mainstream would respond. And if not, what have we lost? They aren't exactly falling over themselves to embrace our current strategy where we deny science and ignore responsibility while stubbornly asserting our own rights.

Abortion will be mandatory because, you know, living leads to death.

Awwwe! When I look into those eyes I can't stay mad at that guy

Yeah I know took a cheap shot a legally blind guy. I just didn't want him to feel left out. Ya know, like one of the guys.

Wow and we all thought EA was the only Nanny in the world of games.

Bang a few more whores, Patterson. My TV is set to block the channel out only when you appear. Backdoor Sluts 9, however, is a suitable program.

How can he see that this is not effective?!

LOL I thought I was the only one that noticed he was cross-eyed.

Justice isn't blind...its cross-eyed! The truth is now known!!

The DS doesn't have parental controls...

I don't have a PSP so I Can't speak for it, but the DS doesn't have parental controls at all.

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New York governor signs 'unnecessary' game law

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