ESA sues Chicago Transit Authority over advertising discrimination

I can see them banning AO games but M rated games are where the advertising dollars come from in the first place. Doesn't make any sense

I live in the Loop and there are tons of buses, bus stops, and billboards advertising District 9, a rated-R movie. I've only seen ads for the most high-profile games, but I definitely remember GTAIV ads.

GTAIV might get a pass with enough money, but games that aren't getting as much money like brutal legend that should still be bought by everyone would be blocked.

I don't understand why M rated games doesn't just = R rated movies for everything just by default. People are weird.

Good. Those ads were in no way controversial. Fox News Chicago likes to make stories out of nothing. Every ad for their evening news tries to make some interview sound controversial by editing the fuck out of it.

I see no problem banning AO games, but most of the games sold nowadays are M, and most don't even deserve the rating but only get it to sell more games.

While I do think that the CTA are jerks for banning ads for M-rated games, I also thought that they were broke. How could the ESA get any money from them?

I'm certain that they'll get the ruling they're after. Maybe the CTA should have a look at the Constitution sometime.

They're not suing for money, as far as I know. They're only suing for their constitutionally protected rights of free speech.

If they are suing for money though, could someone provide a link for further info?

I really don't see what the problem is. Why shouldn't the CTA be able to say what they permit on their billboards?

It's their loss if they're losing lucrative advertising deals, but I appreciate them sticking to a principle.

I thought this was a dead issue. They took down all the ads (from the buses not the bus shelters [The shelters are JC Decaux not CTA]) when the console game was coming out and there was a big fuss, but I thought they had them up again around the time the PC version was coming out.

Regardless, the advertising for M rated games is still on billboards (L4D billboards were everywhere), bus shelters, and painted on walls. The city of Chicago can be absurd. Every decision making city worker is afraid of making decisions that could get them in trouble with special events, the media, or the aldermen. They'd rather spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in delays and changes to projects than delay something like Venetian night or any other event.

That said, we want the Olympics and that's kind of what things are about right now. I hope we get it.... I need a new job...

I fear the outcome here will be a banning of R rated movie advertisements instead of an allowance of Videogames.

Let me rephrase, ESA wins, legislators get upset and ban it all, then another court case.

1.) There were sooooooooooo many GTA ads on buses, L stops, etc.

2.) The CTA is totally broke. They should be doing anything to get some revenue.

Kind of silly for the CTA to block the GTA IV ad when there was (i'm not kidding) a 50 foot something ad on the side of a building near the Clyborn Metra stop for months. Oh, and the Rockstar stickers all over downtown on just about everything. Do they really think that they are going to be protecting anyone by preventing advertising on the L or busses?

It would NOT make it fair to ban TV-MA and R-rated advertisements as well.

I hate it when people do this. They make the mistake of thinking that the ESRB M rating is equivalent to an MPAA R. Tell me, when was the last time you saw photorealistic nudity of real human beings in a videogame? When was the last time you saw gore that was realistic to the level of Saving Private Ryan? How about Saw?

No, an M rating in the videogame world is equivalent to a PG-13 movie. Even the most intense M-rated videogame is animated characters. And they're not even allowed to do things they would be allowed to in an animated movie. You could have full nudity on animated characters in a PG-13 movie, but such would earn you an instant M from the ultraconservative ESRB.

The ESRB is a pox on gaming. They present a chilling effect on free speech and they stunt the market artistically. We will never have videogames that deal with actual mature issues as long as the ESRB exists. And no, if we get rid of them the government will NOT step in. They have already tried, many times, and the courts have struck them down. If there were no ESRB, it would be the same. Games can be labelled for content without having to be "rated". Parents can decide at what age their kids are ready for content, not some shadowy secretive organization that demands tens of thousands of dollars to rate each game. And the videogame console manufacturers should be ashamed of themselves for throwing in so completely as to all forswear that no unrated or AO rated material would ever boot on their systems.

Would you buy a DVD player that would not play unrated DVDs or NC-17 rated DVDs? Of course not. But for some reason, gamers feel fine shelling out hundreds of dollars for these crippled boxes that won't play anything that might have the danger of actually having a cultural impact beyond the kitschy.

Although the ESA might have a somewhat legitimate argument, it seems that the Supreme Court has allowed a governmental entity to have advertising space and limit what can be said there much moreso than it can limit what can be said in a public forum. It seems in this case, although the ESA will argue otherwise, banning violent video game ads is acceptable because the city has an interest in keeping controversial and disruptive advertising off of its buses. Regardless of whether you think an M-rated game SHOULD be more controversial than an R-rated movie, it is more controversial in our society.

The first amendment is not some blanket rule that allows anyone to say anything at anytime.

Im rather upset that devs dont just push there rating up 1 year from m to Ao and give us more sex, gore ect in there games. Its only one year. But I hear there not allowed so I guess that sucks

We have the same thing going on in Boston, well, not a lawsuit, but "discrimination." Basically, I don't care if there are dicks and rainbows all over my train, as long as I get to work, the ballgame, the bar, etc in one piece and on time.