Court: Calif. can't ban violent video game sales

[Totenkopf]

Good news for VG sales anyway. One of the few times the US 9th CCof A isn't overridden by the USSC.

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/court-calif-cant-ban-violent-video-game-sales-143011848.html

[SW01]

I don't really see the problem with restricting their sale to 18s and up. It's the norm here with the likes of Grand Theft Auto, CoD: MW2, Saint's Row/2, Dragon Age. If nothing else its an excellent argument for game developers when someone complains about their content being aimed at kids.

 

And the effect is more or less the same; parents can buy the product for their kids if they want, but if the vendor sells it to an under-age person there are legal penalties under the Video Recordings Act, where there can be a fine up to £5k or allowance for 6 months imprisonment. It doesn't seem to kick up a huge amount of fuss

[Lynk Former]

@ SW01: Yeah, retailers and movie theatres etc can be fined down here too.

 

And it's a problem because as soon as you start to see video games as something that should be restricted more than a movie or a book, it begins to look like something more deviant that shouldn't be a part of normal society.

 

I'm from Australia where a lot of people play video games but are too afraid to admit it because they don't want to be dismissed as some kind of deviant subculture that is perpetuating sex, drugs and violence to children through video games. Every piece of media that is sold in this country HAS to be classified however while there is an R18+ rating for movies in this country, there is no R18+ rating for video games.

 

So yeah, I live in a country that has already made up its mind about video games as something that should be restricted as much as possible. I don't really see that changing any time soon either... and I certainly don't want to see other countries go down the same path.

[HockeyGoalie35]

Some stores like Walmart and Target don't allow minors to buy these games anyway, so it really doesn't matter to the U.S.

[Darth Avlectus]

There may not be any laws clamping down here in CA, but I can assure you stores have their own policies restricting minors from buying games. It's a localized sort of thing in terms of laws. Restriction is done more according to individual communities as opposed to a statewide law. CA might as well be 4 or 5 different mini-countries while we're at it.

 

It isn't unheard of that schools in a given town will also complain about games, mini devices, personal electronics, laser pointers, and the like, to have their local government create ordinances that the stores must follow or they get fined. Sort of like the cliquish, spiteful, home owner associations with vindictive chips on their shoulders.

I digress, schools have a great influence on what laws are passed, though hardly absolute power. The power owes more to the fact that this localized scheme of laws speaks more specifically to the tastes of residents of a given area.

 

For example: In Sacramento where there is more crime related to violence, esp. western Sac, laws may be tightened more for violent games than nearby Napa Valley or Placerville. Or some companies who have faced lawsuits elsewhere may take the initiative within its stores in order to prevent further lawsuits. Radio Shack won't sell laser pointers to anyone under 19.