Schwarzenegger vs. EMA, the recap

I don't get why the two sides don't just work out a compromise?
Gov't could HELP the game developers and retailers rate their stuff, and maybe even work out a better distribution channel. I can only guess how much brick and mortar stores could use some of this help right about now.

Every time I see the news, it's always like this. There's a simple, win-win solution sitting right in front of everyone, but they are willing to forsake for no apparent reason other than to uphold the status quo.

I read the transcript. And the case they are trying to make doesn't have any sense to it. They wanna ban some violence but not all violence but then certain violence is accepted but other
Violence isn't. It's shoddy and doesn't help.

"Gov't could HELP the game developers and retailers rate their stuff, and maybe even work out a better distribution channel."

Christ, no. By all accounts, the ESRB is doing just fine at rating the products, the last thing we need to do is get government bureaucracy and elected officials involved in this. And we sure as hell don't need the government involved in distributing games.

Anyway, this case will settle it. No more state laws every year or two trying to ban games, because now we will have a Supreme Court precedent that says you can't do this.

The Supreme Court justices raped California so hard, that Clarence Thomas's wife will be calling California's lawyers next week to demand they apologize for it.

Hey Christopher Grant, you forgot to tell the readers what ECA and ESA are! Christ, what happened to proof-reading? Spell check is NOT enough!

I can not believe the court allowed this complete waste of time and resources to get this far.

The economy suffers in the meantime, but they are too damn concerned that virtual people bleed if they get hurt.

The ESRB does a pretty good job....the law that they were trying to pass was just too broad....glad it was canned.

I mean hell....most retailers don't want to risk getting caught up with the ESRB

I am on page 21 of the transcript, and the early heavy-hitters by the justices are hilarious, if only for the fact that the Supreme Court seems to understand that the whole notion is silly (unexpected, I think, I didn't think judges truly understood things from this generation. I'm pleasantly surprised).

What I don't understand, is why is this even an issue? The ESRB ratings are pretty much EXACTLY what California wants, only that since it's from the private sector, it's not a criminal act to sell violent videogames to a minor. But employees who do this risk losing their job for breaking protocol. Every game shop I've been to that has a kid in the line, or a mom obviously buying the game for the little snot, the employee always says that the game is NOT for minors, and if the kid's alone then he won't sell to him. If the mom is there, the employee always double-checks, and the mom always nods and says "yeah yeah, my son knows right from wrong."

In fact, I worked in retail for the better part of two years, and I sold many a vidya. There is ONE instance in which I can remember that the parent actually gave a shit about what they were buying. It was back when Fallout 3 was released, and the mother I guess didn't understand what "M" meant on the box. All she saw was the cute little drawings on the back of the game with the vault man, and the kid obviously knew what he was getting, instead just telling his mom it was an okay game because of the back of the case. So I told the mother, "You do know that this game is unsuitable for minors, right?" She was confused, asked what I meant, and I mentioned the Power Fist to her and what it did. She thanked me and put the game back, and the kid gave me the dirtiest look. And I felt good.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that.. the government shouldn't parent kids. The parents simply need to be more educated. Maybe a bigger label for the ESRB rating, and throw the content advisories (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, etc) on the front instead of on the back.

I'm personally sick of the shitstorms that continue to occur because of the "think of the children!" campaign that always seems to be against violent videogames, but everything else takes a backseat. Hypocrisy at its finest...

I get a chuckle every time I hear or read one of these articles. Isn't it funny that gov't officials are spending this much time and money on an issue that is already policed by the ESRB. Yet there are many in California getting I.O.U.s from the state for their disability, and workmans comp because the state is broke. The richest state in the union is broke. Why...because they want to be the ones on the news. got to show the rest of the country how things are done. How bout you feed your food stamp recipients and stop worrying how to hurt a thriving video game business.

Speaking on violence and video games. The amount of time children spend on video games and reading grimm's fairy tales does not even compare. Putting the violence of video games into our young peoples heads over and over again in video games can't even compare to grimm's fairy tale. I read Grimm's fairy tales as a child and moved on and played with other toys and read different books etc. Most video games are played hours on hours and very little anything else is exercised in our children, so violent mataerial is a LARGE concern in what is censored for them to access and what's appropriate for age.

The problem is, parents are not taking responsibility for their children. They are buying them these games, and my children have to suffer the consequences of other people's childrens', violence, anger, aggression, immorality and addiction. It is a proven fact that these children are already ignored and thrown in front of these games only to be taught disgusting futile actions that these games portray as "cool". This is an addiction, research it!... These kids are losing so much while being in the murderous worlds of many of these games. These children are acquiring an addiction, that shields them from the real world and from school work.

Wake up people you let your children play these games and society will suffer...

What happened to mario brothers and tetris? these are games that exercise the brain and do not hold attention span so long that the child is couped up and not doing their chores, homework or spending time with friends and family. I agree the government should not have to take on the responsibility of protecting our children.... YOU SHOULD!

Grand Theft Auto looks like a 'driving' game, it does not reveal that it unlocks porn, sex scenes, encourages drivers to run over the pedistrians, shoot, kill other people without remorse. I bought this game with the Atari games in mind, these games are corrupt to the bone. The creators of these games should be thrown in PRISON!

HOW ABOUT THE DAM PARENTS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THERE KIDS AND WHAT THEY SEE. im so sick of reading this BS. take columbine, people blamed game violence for there rampage. but they did dress up like neo when they did the rampage. did the movie industry get any heat NO. again where were the dam parents? the columbine kids owned guns were doing drugs and was being bullied at school. where were the dam parents?

this is just like cigarettes. the government made cigarettes 8 to 10 dollars and kids still get there hands on them. the government could put a skull and cross bones on the cigarette package and kids will still smoke. and this is my point you could put Extreme violence on the game package and kids will still get there hands on it. why you say? because the PARENTS would rather give there kid a video game to keep them out of there hair.

this county needs BETTER PARENTS, not government controlling are video game content.

@cheryllora Yeah! And you also played what these low lives made, even though maybe not the same genre, but buy the same publisher/developer that made disgustingly, horrifying, blood-splattery goodness!
Parents are there for a reason, TO TEACH THEIR OWN KIDS WHAT'S RIGHT AND WRONG! Lazy-ass parents= homicidal maniacs.

@cheryllora The same thing can be said for other media, e.g. movies, songs, TV shows etc. Its the parents that needs to regulate their own children, not some was-actor governor.

@cheryllora STOP SPAMMING YOUR HOLIER-THAN-THOU NONSENSE!

@Cherryllora and JDAlldri

Before your ignorant fear-mongering reaches a greater limit, please stop embarrassing yourselves further. It is up to parents and people to take responsibility for their actions. If you plunk your kid down in front of an M rated, violent, graphic game, you're a bad parent. There are tons of fun, enjoyable, kid-rated games that don't have a drop of blood in them.

If you get so wrapped up in World of Warcraft that your life suffers or you see murder or suicide as reasonable choices, you have far greater issues than playing a game. You need therapy, not a some censorship board.

I don't know how to make this clearer, they aren't children's games. T means teenager, M means Mature 17/18+. Don't start saying "censorship will save the children" cause it wont. The latchkey kids who are raised on games by neglectful parents have far bigger issues than what they see on the screen. Take responsibility for your life and your kids life. Don't start telling me what I, a full grown adult, can and can't play.

@cheryllora

It's ATARI you ignorant twit. You never even played a game in your life. The very fact you said you bought Grand Theft Auto thinking it would be like "ARTARI" speaks to that. You have no clue what you're talking about. You're just going along with the rest of the bitter housewives in your PTA, who are just as ignorant as you, are spouting cause they saw it on Fox News.

@cheryllora
By the way, there were far more pornographic games on ATARI than there are on any of the existing mediums.

Ok, I don't even understand how in 2010 this argument has gone on so long.

Violent films exist, they are rated for adults and therefore if children are parented in a careful enough manner are only viewed by adults. Of course, there are exceptions all the time but violent film is not being banned for those exceptions.

Games, same deal. Yes it requires some form of input BUT (and here's the kicker) surely if your young mind is so warped that it can not comprehend the difference between computer animated violence and the real world and the differences in behaviours that you see demonstrated between the two then you are seriously disturbed and if it's not a violent video game setting you off on a murderous rampage SOMETHING ELSE WILL.

I played violent games when I was young and I saw violent films, I understood they were what they were and my parents knew this. Any child of an age where they might want to play one of these games and/or have access to them whose mind is in such a state that they can not needs serious psychological help. Yes?

@JDAlldri

Are you serious? If you can't limit yourself from a video game, you don't need some government sanctioned censorship, you need to get some goddamned help.

If you try and dispute this, YOU are a moron.

This whole thing is a bunch of BS. This is a PARENTING problem that parents just don't want to admit and just blame something else. Everything, movies, games, music, are rated for a reason, so your dumbass kid doesn't get into things meant for adults.

Obviously if you let your kid have any of these things, especially video games, YOU as the parent are at fault. Be aware of what they play and let them know what they can & cannot play. If they go over to a friends house, tell his/her parents not to let them play anything you don't want them to.

If no parent can do any of these simple things, you are definitely stupid and lazy in my book and have only yourself to blame. They're your children, take some responsibility and stop blaming everyone else.

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: I don't think; is that
answering Justice Kagan's question? One of the studies,
the Anderson study, says that the effect of violence is
the same for a Bugs Bunny episode as it is for a violent
video. So can the legislature now, because it has that
study, say we can outlaw Bugs Bunny?

lolol since when do justices play defense?

@JDAlldri

"Anyone who tries to dispute this is a moron. "

Unwilling to fight for a point and looking down on others that believe differently is childish and comes off as pathetic.

As a parent, I totally agree that the job of raising kids is not the job of the government. More people should take that job seriously. Children are malleable and bringing them up in an age appropriate way makes for healthy minds. Although, it seems that the fact that the first amendment was written before the days of violence, porn, etc. in the media, never gets mentioned. It was written in a time when people were hung for their political views, not for what was in a movie, video game, magazine,etc. As with most things expounded on in media, common sense is out the window.

"GET TO DA CHOPPAAAAAA"!!!