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Clueless video game bill nears passage in New York

arstechnica.com — Trying to pass legislation that impacts how games can be sold or what has to be put on them is a popular and expensive way of sending the message that you're concerned about the issues that affect the youth of today. Although every law attempted has gone down in flames, and has cost taxpayers at least $1 million through the years, politicians conti

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  • ryanadc, on 06/25/2008, -0/+105Ah politicians...wasting their own time and taxpayer's money, as usual.
    • lordtyros, on 06/25/2008, -0/+11Only the taxpayer's money is being wasted here. They get paid no matter what nonsense they do.
      • TRScheel, on 06/25/2008, -0/+7If only they could get paid based off approval ratings or something...
        • warlokaz2004, on 06/25/2008, -0/+10you think about it, its a cunning, cold math at work here :

          First : You need a target you can 'crusade' against. (Video Games)

          You make sure its embraced by a segment of the public that doesn't vote, have lobbying groups, or PAC money (disinterested young people)

          Then you create a law to combat it -- to appease the Nanny State left and the Moral Mafia right -- both groups being composed of PAC money and voters.

          This isn't about wasting taxpayers money -- its about votes for re-election and political money and claiming you tried to 'do something'

        • Sasquatchxing, on 06/25/2008, -1/+12what most people, including these politicians, don't realize is that the average gamer is over 30 years old.
    • NotOptium, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4"Well, your leaders misspent your hard-earned tax dollars, so you the people, now have to tighten your belts … because we, your leaders, misspent your money."
    • kaelyiesta, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2There, I fixed it to be more complete:

      "Trying to pass legislation that [regulates an industry] is a popular and expensive way of sending the message that you're concerned about the issues that affect [the consumers of said industry]."

      Be wary any time government wants to get its hands on something. Even when the intent is good, the outcome is typically worse than doing nothing at all.
  • jezsik, on 06/25/2008, -0/+47Just another "Think of the children!" theatrical effect.
  • Innisskillin, on 06/25/2008, -14/+2what does "conti" mean?
    • Checkerd, on 06/25/2008, -3/+15Conti - A severe form of E. Coli that has only been found in politicians. If left unchecked, it can cause severe hallucinations and ***** to come pouring out of your mouth. 9 out of 10 politicians in America are currently afflicted with Conti. The only known treatment is to stop voting for the infected.

      /TheMoreYouKnow
    • NotOptium, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2He's the god of black flames.

      Oh, sorry, that was Lord Canti.
  • MariusAgricola, on 06/25/2008, -0/+45Next up, lawmakers vote on a bill to make murder illegal...er.
  • soundsofreason, on 06/25/2008, -1/+81Games already have ESRB ratings on the front of the box. Game systems already have parental lock settings. WTF. What a stupid waste of money.
    When will people open their eyes? When a kid does a violent act, why not make a big deal about what movies they watched or what toilet paper they wiped with? Because, ya know, if you wiped your ass with sandpaper, you'd probably be violent too. Ridiculous.

    If the kid in question is still under parental supervision, they should spend more time looking into the parents, not what kind of television the kid watched. It's everybody else's fault but their own I guess.
    • shirosamurai, on 06/25/2008, -0/+16The people who come up with these sorts of legislation don't care about those arguments - they'll just blindly ignore them. As long as we keep electing old fart technophobes who can't even use a computer into our government, this ***** will continue to go down.

      For once I actually side with the ESRB on this - they don't want this to pass either, because that's THEIR job, and although I don't agree with censorship, they actually do a good job of showing parents how to utilize the parental controls on all new gen consoles.
    • bullhead2007, on 06/25/2008, -0/+9Games are an easy scapegoat that even the most stupid people will eat up.

      It saves them from looking at the real, and complicated, problems that circle around youth violence. Like the parents for example.
      • TRScheel, on 06/25/2008, -0/+8God forbid we hold them responsible...

        How about a bill that sounds a title like "New bill to hold parents responsible for their children's actions"
        • MortVent, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0Are you kidding, no politician would get reelected after bringing up such a bill... much less voting for it...

          It's like the kids that lie and commit fraud to get into the adult grid for second life... "Oh you can't go after him, he's just a kid!" Screw that a kid that commits fraud should face the judge.

          An adult like many who buy the little kids M rated games should be called out on it. I've stopped some at the store and asked "umm you know that is a mature game for 17+"

          Hell I've seen them come in and bitch out the store staff right up till they go "Miss, you were the one at the counter not him. It's not my job to say 'hey you got a little kid, maybe you should read the ***** box' and offering to escort them to the door or have the cops do it.



    • PopcornDave, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2But they're doing something that they can point to and say they did something. That way when they run for re-election they can point to their record on voting for something that was doing something about something.
    • sarge96, on 06/25/2008, -1/+3Why does anyone even care? Rarely do the anti-video game activists do anything so ineffective. Why stop them? Who cares if they want to waste their own time? Let them pretend to do something, and they can claim they won for a change.

      "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" - Napoleon Bonaparte
      • soundsofreason, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Why care? Because they're not just wasting their own time, they're wasting OUR tax money!
  • mentallyinhell, on 06/25/2008, -0/+26We have uninformed people making decisions in areas that don't concern, relate to, or directly affect them personally. I may be crazy but I have to say this is a bad idea.
    • TRScheel, on 06/25/2008, -0/+5Maybe a competency test before they can vote.

      "Go to your start menu then select yes or no"

      That would weed out a good chunk of them
  • TSSaloic, on 06/25/2008, -1/+11In Summery- Lawmaker Cpt. James T. Obvious (Ret.) is wasting government funds on things that are already done.
  • Chassit, on 06/25/2008, -2/+10Let's bloat the government with redundant *****!
  • omnithought, on 06/25/2008, -2/+72When people call for censorship, what they're really saying is "I'm a bad parent."
    • Typhoon2009, on 06/25/2008, -0/+10Agreed 110%. This guy who works at a GameStop would sell M rated games to me if it didn't cost him his job. People seem to fail at realizing it's "M for Mature" not "M for Mseventeen." I'm 3 months away from being 17 years old, yet I can't buy any M rated games. Hell I think in Canada you can join the Canadian Forces at 16!
      • secrity, on 06/25/2008, -0/+8An ESRB M does mean Mseventeen

        From ESRB web site:

        "Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. "

        Now you have something to look forward to when you turn 17.

        • Sasquatchxing, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4It's a suggestion for who might be mature enough to view the content. Some people are more or less mature than others of the same age. It should really be up to the parent to decide who can view the content not the government or a store employee. But that means some parents would have to take responsiblity...
        • KableKiB, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Uhm.. it is up to the parents, if they want to let you play before you're seventeen, they can buy the game for you (duh)
      • redhitman, on 06/25/2008, -2/+6Ha, I turn 17 in TWO DAYS and Gamestop wouldn't sell me CoD 4 today!

        Yet I've seen 3 R rated movies in the past 6 months with every person in my group being 16!
        • cooltom2006, on 06/25/2008, -0/+7Just order it from the internet
        • redhitman, on 06/25/2008, -0/+12 days... Not really worth the cost of shipping, plus I'd probably have to wait until some time next week for it to arrive anyway.
          I'll just wait till Friday.
        • FLarsen, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I played my first fps (Half-Life) at around 12.5 years, when I found out about warez. If anything, I've become more peaceful and friendly.
        • Scrappy1850, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1grow up!!
  • smiley2billion, on 06/25/2008, -2/+44If there was a way we could ban 10 to 15 year olds from playing M-rated games on Live I'd be all for it.
    • leerayIG88, on 06/25/2008, -1/+8Maybe we should start using our Social Security Cards?
      • PopcornDave, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Lifelock FTW... oh wait.
      • zwaldowski, on 06/25/2008, -10/+1I know mine by heart. I have it in my wallet, too. 14, representin'.
        • leerayIG88, on 06/25/2008, -0/+8What's your SS#?
        • Tabris, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Then when leeray muggs you or lose your wallet, you can have your identity stolen!

          You should never have your SSN card on you. Just FYI. If anything were to happen to you (accident, etc), your license/permit and health insurance card are the only important things.
      • pHreaksYcle, on 06/25/2008, -0/+7"I know mine by heart. I have it in my wallet, too. 14, representin'."

        Thanks for making -18 people look like assholes on the internet once again.
        Appreciate it.
        • tcpip4lyfe, on 06/26/2008, -0/+280% of you are. Sorry.
        • pHreaksYcle, on 06/27/2008, -0/+180% of you are. Sorry.

          Maybe I'm fighting a losing battle then.
  • vacax, on 06/25/2008, -1/+13I'll take the law! The law!

    What does the law accomplish? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Stupid! You're so stupid!
  • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -15/+10In the late 1800s, it was romance novels corrupting young girls.
    In the 302 it was gangster movies. The fear was that teenage boys would copy what they saw and dynamite train tracks.
    In the 50s they had hearings to examine the dangers of comic books.
    In the 70s and 80s it was Rock-and Roll music that corrupted kids.
    Today, it is video games.
    That said, there is a study or 2 that shows violent video games can be somewhat harmful to kids.
    • Aturaten, on 06/25/2008, -1/+4Yeah, using criteria as adrenaline increases to be deemed "extremely enhanced agression".
    • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -10/+2Excuse my bad typing - "In the 30s it was gangster movies."
      My kids will not be playing violent video games.
      • Niallgriff, on 06/25/2008, -1/+11Your name is "Truthexposed" and you plan on sheltering your kids? hmm....
        • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -9/+2Restricting video games is not sheltering. I do not shelter them from political/religious, etc ideas, but video games do not contain information of any value. Telling young kids not to play in the road does not amount to sheltering any more than preventing them from drinking pepsi.
        • Sasquatchxing, on 06/25/2008, -0/+8no value? that's kind of a blanket generalization. The industry may be in its infancy at the moment but many games are beginning to include well crafted allegories and representations of human nature. These might be beyond young kids, which doesn't much affect your statement, but I would hesitate before you lump the entirety of video games into a mindless bunch of simple distractions.
      • bullhead2007, on 06/25/2008, -1/+5Will you shelter them from violent movies? What about TV? You know sheltering and being over-protective of kids is probably more psychologically damaging than video games right?
        • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2Graphic violence, yes, they will not see that until they are older. The medium is irrelevant.
          Please do not tell me you allow your preschoolers to watch saw II.
        • pHreaksYcle, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1How old are your kids? Share the whole story.
        • bullhead2007, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I don't have kids yet, but if I did, then of course I wouldn't let them watch Saw II in pre-school. I wouldn't let them play a game like GTA4 if I felt they were not mentally capable of separating fantasy worlds from reality. If they showed interest in it I wouldn't just say no, but I'd explain why and see what their argument is. I played Mortal Kombat in arcades when I was young and I'm fine. I saw Terminator and Horror films (loved those) when I was young.

          Sheltering kids from sex and violence until they're 18 or find it on their own is not healthy.
        • TruthExposed, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1My kids are 4 and 7
      • lutiana, on 06/25/2008, -1/+8As a parent I will tell you banning them from video games is both unreasonable and un-enforceable, and will have the opposite effect. Use the ESRB ratings on the games to tell them what they can and cannot play.

        My daughter is 13, and she knows that she is not allowed to play M for Mature games, but T for Teen and lower are OK. I play the games myself and I have noticed the ESRB ratings are FAR better than the moving Ratings (movie ratings are in actuallity arbitrary and have no real standards, but the MSRB ratings conform to industry standards).

        On another note, video games do actually have some value. They teach hand and eye co-ordination better than anything else can. And for younger kids the educational games can actually trick kids into learning and will foster a love of life long learning in them.
        • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4"As a parent I will tell you banning them from video games is both unreasonable and un-enforceable,"
          Agreed. I said VIOLENT video games.

          I agree perfectly with your 2nd paragraph.
    • SSCrow, on 06/25/2008, -1/+14And there are a half a dozen that show that it reduces stress.
      • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -1/+4Please cite 1 single study that says violent video games, and only violent video games reduce harmful levels of stress.
        Seriously, if you are right I would like to know.
        • Tyrghast, on 06/25/2008, -0/+7I just did a study 5 minutes ago. I jumped in to CS, blew the heads off a few terrorists, left the round with a positive KDR and I feel pretty satisfied. Time for a sandwich.
        • HueytheFreeman, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/videos/21264/Face_Time_L ...

          The study shows that:
          -kids that play violent video games for normal amounts of time are less likely to be violent
          -kids that play ONLY violent video games for excessive amount of times are more likely to be troublesome
          -kids that don't play violent video games AT ALL are more likely to be troublesome
        • pHreaksYcle, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2Honestly, it channels my aggression. When my parents make me angry and go play an FPS (first-person shooter for the noobs), it does calm me down. Does that make me sick? Up to you.
    • giveupsin, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Wow, you choreographed the whole downward spiral of media!
  • leerayIG88, on 06/25/2008, -1/+19I wish they came out with Duke Nukem Forever.
  • Jynx97, on 06/25/2008, -1/+16More of our freedoms given away for a police state. Parents are responsible, not the government!
    These laws are pre-censorship.
    Once we accept that the law is to protect children from nasties, it will be easier to pass laws that protect adults from what the government declares to be nasties for all of us.

    Take control over personal responsibility and family, take away government control.
  • DigitusAnonymus, on 06/25/2008, -9/+11All games should be banned... they cause addiction and infect our youth with violence. I propose legislation against gaming in general or if it can't be banned I propose a very high tax on games. A 25% tax to be exact. $60 dollar games would cost $75. That would at least minimize the problem and would make the acquisition of such games harder for low-income families who are actually the target group which is most negatively influenced by violent and sadistic videogames. My name is Hack Longhorn, Florida Attorney and I approve this post.
    • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -6/+2This cannot be serious.
      If so, would you support banning everything other people decide to do that you deem dangerous to the point where their own judgement cannot be trusted?
      • trademarkhero, on 06/25/2008, -1/+3Dude it's sarcasm? Come on now. Hack Longhorn? Florida Attorney? I wonder who opposes video games that comes from Florida...

        PS: That last sentence is supposed to be a hint, incase you don't pick up on it.
        • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2Just making sure. If you spend any time at all on digg you will know that there are a lot of strange commenter's.
        • Incomp3tnt, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Apostrophe not needed.
    • PopcornDave, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1Wow, did Lionel Hutz do an internship under you?
  • cpsutcliffe, on 06/25/2008, -0/+19My kid knows how to bypass the parental controls... I taught him too well.

    I blame myself for him having too much fun on the kind of games I too love to play.
    • mrburgundy, on 06/25/2008, -0/+8honestly, sharing a father and son experience is always good, even with video games. plus, if you are there with him there is even less of a chance he will take the game too seriously. (which is so slim already).
    • N256, on 06/25/2008, -0/+10Does he run over the hookers after he sexes them?
      • Tyrghast, on 06/25/2008, -0/+10My father didn't teach me properly, I had to learn from various other sources how to properly dispose of a hooker.
      • pHreaksYcle, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3There is a good point to be made here and I hope the activist "Truth Exposed" above reads this post:

        If you do let your kids play video games and you're that worried about them playing the violent ones, pick up a copy of GTA and let them play it through. If it makes them uncomfortable, give them Ratchet and Clank or something. The important part is that when he/she DOES run over the hooker after sexing it up, you make sure they understand that it's just a game, and that the kind of behavior depicted is in no way acceptable in society. That's where the difference between overbearing and loving parents lies.
  • akohut, on 06/25/2008, -0/+6But think about it. Even if all this ***** passes, you're still going to buy games. You'll still find out about them, anticipate them, read about them, and write about them. You'll still play them. ***** the pussies. Try as hard as they can, they're never going to stop people (whatever age they are) from playing the games they want, when they want.
  • BlackJackJester, on 06/25/2008, -0/+9when/if it passes (hopefully not), they will all pat themselves on the back, congratulating themselves on a job well done, while pointing out how successful the law is by how quickly the industry adopted the regulations. I propose a new law. Policy makers must have spent at least 5 years in a given field to have any say in laws or regulations regarding that. read: only those who have spent 5 or more years working in the tech sector recently are allowed to pass legislation on any issue regarding tech. Wait, that won't work, that means there would be nobody to pass stupid laws. Too bad.
  • vikingscool, on 06/25/2008, -9/+1Who cares! If a governor of NY signed the law. I stopped buying video games since next generation comes out. By the way, I don't live in NY. I am adult now.
    Also, I hope they will stop the sales on violence thing to minor. I want
    NY to crush their video game profits.
  • mjfitzge, on 06/25/2008, -0/+21When I first read the title, I saw "Clueless: The Video Game".

    And then I saw the Mature rating in the pic and I started wondering if there was any valley girl nudity....

  • cheezintern, on 06/25/2008, -0/+5Everyone in NY knows that the capital is so dysfunctional and gets almost nothing done, ever. Now as far as nutty legislation goes...
    • pHreaksYcle, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1I love Buffalo.
      • cheezintern, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I went to school there, pretty dirty/crime ridden/politically corrupt city IMO. (Capital is Albany btw)
      • pHreaksYcle, on 08/03/2008, -0/+1Yeah, well, I LIVE here, thank God I don't do the public school thing. This city is ***** up, I was joking, honestly...
  • redhitman, on 06/25/2008, -0/+13Wow... a law that will make game developers do things they already do voluntarily. How retarded are they?
  • TruthExposed, on 06/25/2008, -0/+9We need to declare war on video games, just like the failed war on drugs.
  • vikingscool, on 06/25/2008, -7/+2I hope they would be prohibiting classic video games, because those games
    doesn't have ESRB rating system. Go, NY! I hope ESA lose against the NY!
    God bless NY!
    • ieatpizza, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2Let me guess -- you're a fat, balding, forty year old woman with 6 kids who doesn't want to be a mom anymore so you can fulfill your dream of becoming Orlando Bloom's rape victim
  • giveupsin, on 06/25/2008, -9/+1Wait, liberals are wanting this? I bet Obama is for this, and for once, I'd agree with him on something.
  • aookay, on 06/25/2008, -9/+4I killed a man after a loss in mario kart.

    True Story, I beat him with a blue turtle shell.
    • pHreaksYcle, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3"I killed a man after a loss in mario kart."

      That got my Digg.

      "True Story, I beat him with a blue turtle shell."

      That lost it.
  • crimsonryno, on 06/25/2008, -0/+6Unfortunately, This is typical pandering towards concerned parents that are not familiar with game rating systems. This has always happened and will not stop. It isn't just video games that this happens with. Anything that affects the youth with always be a hot topic for politicians to spread their name to get re-elected. They tend to forget that they are wasting the state's money. This is sad coming from a public "servant". The only way to fix this is to get large groups of people to vote against said politician. Politicians look for the group who can not vote or will not vote and will attack them to further their own goals. This my friends is why voting is important.
    • Atomic1fire, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1the government (and news media) should just publicize the existing ratings system to alert parents
  • Darksaber11, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3The people who support this kind of idiocy should be ashamed of themselves.
  • SoundJudgment, on 06/25/2008, -0/+11:"God Bless the New York State Legislature!"
    --signed, Jack Thompson.
  • rexcom, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1We need to stay away from video games that promote running corrupt organizations and spending time with prostitutes as this is corrupting our society. Instead, I'll go be the Governor of NY. I hate these opportunistic hypocrites!
    • pcore, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1You should really reconsider your statements. I have grown up with almost nothing but violent video games yet I love all living things and respect human rights. Is there something wrong with me!?
  • lutiana, on 06/25/2008, -0/+14As a parent I will tell you banning them from video games is both unreasonable and un-enforceable, and will have the opposite effect. Use the ESRB ratings on the games to tell them what they can and cannot play. My daughter is 13, and she knows that she is not allowed to play M for Mature games, but T for Teen and lower are OK. I play the games myself and I have noticed the ESRB ratings are FAR better than the moving Ratings (movie ratings are in actually arbitrary, but the MSRB ratings conform to industry standards).

    On another note, video games do actually have some value. They teach hand and eye co-ordination better than anything else can. And for younger kids the educational games can actually trick kids into learning and will foster a love of learning in them.
    • lutiana, on 06/25/2008, -0/+6Digg postes this comment at the wrong point on this list. But to add to it:

      It is my resposability to control what my daughter watches/reads and plays, not some government entity that is not in tune with my personal belief situation.

      I have seen parents buy M rated games for their 10 year olds simply because they had no idea of what the M meant, or they did not care. My daughter would be punished severly if we caught her playing the M rated games, and she knows it so she does not do it, even at other peoples houses. She is actually is ok with this since she can play the T for teen games.

      Also playing a violent video game will not make you violent. If this was true then we would all be in serious danger since most games sell more copies that their film counterparts.
    • shadowblade989, on 06/25/2008, -0/+7"It is my resposability to control what my daughter watches/reads and plays"
      Thank you.
  • emkaysmith, on 06/25/2008, -0/+8I've heard parents at the public library complain because their kid had read a library book they didn't approve of -- AND THE LIBRARY LET HIM DO IT. I've heard them demand G, PG, & R labels on the novels in the adult section.
    • Atomic1fire, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1shouldn't a library card be present when they enter the adult section...
      • emkaysmith, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0I've never seen a public library with a fence and a gate guard controlling the adult fiction stacks. In any case, most libraries issue "adult" cards to kids when they hit 13 or 14.
  • sonia1234321, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Sounds like the UN of video games to me.
  • PopcornDave, on 06/25/2008, -2/+2My god what's next? Not allowing the sale of alcohol or pornography to minors? Come on NY legislature. You can do better than this for idiocy.
  • majortom1981, on 06/25/2008, -3/+0Wow why bash a law that says to do things that are already being done? Come on find something else to bash. this is just a law thats being passed that makes sure things continue being done.

    Also if this group is not being paid like the article states then whats the problem?

    This seems like an article written because they had nothing better to write about.
  • Borgcube636, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Though I am against government regulation of video games, I do think more awareness and responsibility needs to take place on part of parents in preventing their children from playing games that they're too young for. A 13 year old shouldn't have his hands on an M rated game. It's just not right - they're just not mature enough to handle it.
    • jellyfishes, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3That's exactly the problem: parents aren't being good, responsible parents.
  • Aurabolt, on 06/25/2008, -0/+8Hey!...
    Politicians!!...
    ...Leave our games alone!
    (/PinkFloyd)


    • Khanvalescent, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2...All and all you're just another Prick on the Hill
  • Owwmykneecap, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2I'd be more worried about Ultra Porn
    • Fritzel, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I never did get this mentality, What is it that causes (and forgive me if I'm wrong here) Americans (like myself) to constantly think that it's worse to have sex with someone than it is to kill someone.

      I know we're talking about a video game but still, the point applies
      • Fritzel, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I correct my judgment after viewing your profile, but whether you're American or not, this sadly seems to be a common opinion over here. One that I personally think is ridiculous
  • Xodius, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0I think the ESRB rating should change over to the terror alert status. Maybe more politicians would get it. :)
  • Barackalypse, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Thank goodness I buy all my games from Bittorrent Inc, where they never enforce any unConstitutional laws or check ID.
  • Tyrghast, on 06/25/2008, -0/+5Daddy ran away and Mommy lets me do what I want, so Uncle Sam is going to start raising me and controlling what I see, hear, read, and think. When I grow up, my goal is be a mindless suburban drone buying crap I don't need and letting the Fed rape myself and my community til we die.
    ***** censorship.
  • petebot, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1On a semi-related note: Why does it take so long for Gaming stories to make it to the front page of tthe gaming section?
  • Omega037, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0To be honest, I didn't realize that games still came in a "hard" format. Must be the box cover art.
  • PhildoVT, on 06/25/2008, -2/+01. $1 million is peanuts when talking about the national budget

    2. I'm not saying I'm for the bill, but isn't the use of the word 'clueless' a little biased? just because you're against it doesn't make it wrong.
    • Sasquatchxing, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3It's refering to the fact that the bill is attempting to put certain regulations in place on the video game industry that the industry has already put upon itself. It appears as though the lawmakers are unaware of thee things and believe they are making a change, thus warranting the "clueless". But seeing as how the article is from a tech news site it is probably expected that there is an inherent bias.
    • ashfish, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Clueless is referring to the fact that they seem to not know that the industry already has all of these procedures in place with the exception of a group to meet on teen violence and video games. And that's still $1 Million that could have gone to something else.
  • DivisibleByZero, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1The only potential problem I see with the parts about labeling things with their ESRB ratings -- is that it might hamper sales of those creepy Japanese rape games, or other imports that might not have been ESRB rated, or might not have followed the US standards.
    But the wording of the legislation makes it seem like they could just slap a "this game is not rated" sticker on the box and be fine.

    The part about the group that meets twice a year to "talk about" video games. They just want to play.
    • MortVent, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0might as well, since walmart now sells non-rated movies

  • tcpip4lyfe, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I think there needs to be more government regulation. Everything else the regulate is working out fine...
  • macfan93, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I wouldn't worry too much about this. The ESA is extremely powerful and has stopped laws like this and more dangerous laws in the past.
    • iceooo3, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Still doesn't help the wasted money factor, but i guess thats what the US is good for, wasting taxpayers money on issues that make good nightly news headlines.


  • Papachabre, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2This burns me because 1. There are already plenty of ways (besides looking at the box) for parents to monitor what their children are playing, 2. I'm paying for these jerkoffs to spend time on this and 3. They are accomplishing absolutely nothing (i.e. they're wasting my money.
  • twarner, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4video games are just a red hearing from the real problems.
  • BonersMilloy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Europeans would laugh at this.
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