Anti-censorship group angered at MA's removal of games from rest stops

I never thought I'll see a photograph of a motorway/speedway on Gamespot. It does come across a bit extreme removing video games from stops, like they're the new items being label as a drug.

I don't see what the big deal is. If people want to play those sort of games, they can get them somewhere else quite easily. If the State doesn't want to be responsible for such content they shouldn't have bought them in the first place.

These are the same parents that don't let their kids watch ANY television at all.

Removed because of parental complaints? Bleh, bunch of dumbass stuck up old people with nothing else better to do. I can picture the type already. They don't have to let little Johnney or little Mary Sue play the stupid games, but i guess just the thought of having those precious little brats SEE the games may cause them to morph into serial killers with no regard for life in the future. Can we please stop treating our kids like they're mindless idiots?? And then we're surprised when they grow up to be mindless idiots who can't make any decisions of their own.

Welcome to the nanny state. You voted for it. Enjoy it!

I totally agree with Joan Bertin. Nuff said... You go girl!! Wuhuu!!!! ... ahem... I mean: Keep up the good work Executive director of The National Coalition Against Censorship; Joan Bertin.

i agree with her.... honestly, i think the idea of singling out videogames is because some backward individuals (probably the old fashioned no brainers ) still think a Rated +18 game was designed for her 10 year old boy....

. i think the world needs to start taking the meaning of age rating seriously

I'm more shocked that there are even arcade machines still out there lol. Seriously though, censorship is pure bs. It should be up to the individual to select what they wish to, or wish not to see. I dunno why people feel they need to extend their own views onto everyone else.

I had no idea there was an anti censorship group. I hate censoring, or any form of control for that matter, so I suppose I can give you some moral support. Stick it to the control freaks.

Ugh.. Parents and politicians using games as scapegoats to explain violence is annoying. The U.S. isn't the only western country where kids play violent games or watch violent movies. You can't attribute the higher occurrence of violent crime in this country relative to other developed countries to video games. Keep trying...

The perfectly sane finally make their stand.

The idiotic parents in Massachusetts: We don't like violent videogames in rest stops so we demand them removed.

The Officials in MA: Okay, done!

Joan Bertin: Hey idiots, if you don't like it, don't play it. Period! We live in a free country, don't try to take that away from us or the ppl otherwise you're not helping.

The Officials in MA: Ummm you're right bring em back.

The idiotic parents in MA: Why? We hate violent videogames, we demand this country to be a videogame-free country.

The Officials in MA: Umm Ms. Bertin, how do we shut them up, they kept yapping about removing videogames.

Bertin: Tell them to either get use to it or moved to China. THE END.

finally someone is taking a stand for video games, the next president.

She gets my vote.

Finally someone fighting for the good guys and not those judgmental so called "do gooders" who think they are righteous. They got their rights and wrongs twisted.

If i said it once I said it a million times while there has been no concrete evidence that supports violent video games leading to violent behavior, this article does point out the real problem in the United States,and that is the one group who absolutly refuses to share any blame or change anything and that is the parents of these children. Parents in the U.S. (i am a U.S. citizen and live in MA)would rather Ban something for everyone so they don't have to tell thier children no,they would rather the government do thier jobs for them. The case in point if the arcade machine was violent and violent video games are bad for children then tell your children they can't play it. After you say that the statement that I have always heard was, I am too busy to monitor him, I should'nt have too, All his friends parents let him I don't want him to hate me. Amazingly every politician has crucified violent video games (even though they are clearly labeled for 17 and up with detailed descriptions of the content inside) not one politician asked why are kids playing these games for hours on end in the first place.

Im glad there's a person like her

So the same government that wants to take our guns and video games away, used our tax payer dollars to put them in rest stops?

This is why I don't vote for liberals.

Good. More people should speak up against this Commie bullshit!

There's a National Coalition Against Censorship? Now that's a group I can get behind!

What is with these New England states? Are they competing to see which of them can be the dumbest?

WTF ?

You dont like ''Violent'' Games ?

Fine dont buy'em ! Go Nintendo ;)

But dont try to stop me from playin those games , i'm not sick or weak or anything !

I played Duke Nukem 3d When i was 6 years old , and i respect women , i ddnt kill anyone.

And the NRA won it again, lol. This shit is pathetic. They are experts in provoking witch hunts, but now in the XXI. And the people falls unto it like blind-dumb cattle.

This is the first article that has named any of the games removed from these gas stations.

And look at that, they don't even come close to anything like GTA or some of the things I saw in Iraq.

I wish I could disagree with this tbh. I really do, but I feel like this is necessary. I know there are bigger problems to worry about, but it's time gamers aim back and fight...although apparently our third party science isnt enough to dissuade people from making needless judgements so I have no idea how to fight back logically... Screw it, what would Jesus do you ask? Play time crisis on his highway pee break!

It's about time we fought back, u go girl u got bigger balls than most of the men u show them how its done:)

I like her already.

While it does suck that these games are gone, I commented on the original article about how much I enjoyed playing Big Buck Hunter on the I-90 Lee Rest Stop, but what Ms. Burton fails to realize is that the machines were owned, operated and maintained by the State. These weren't games that a private company installed, or that the gas station attendant or the McDonald's employees tended too, these were machines the State Government bought (or rented I don't know) and installed themselves. For that reason, they ARE NOT stomping on the First Amendment, rather they are exercising they're rights, as the operators of the establishment, to display (or not display) whatever games they personally wish to display. Violent Arcade Games are still found at Dave and Busters, The Charlie Horse, and other Boston arcades, they haven't been banned. The State simply chose to remove the games from their line up as they felt they didn't fit with the market they were trying to address. This is no different than Chuck E Cheese's not having Uber-Violent games as the Arcade is geared for children not adults, and the owners choose to operate their Arcade that way. State's Arcade - State's Rules.

Standing applause for reason.

Common sense: +1.

Finally. Some sanity.

For once, someone other than gamers in comment sections gets angry about these kinds of things and protests about it. I don't know what they might be able to do, but it sure helps more than us shaking our fists, because no one with the power to change this reads gamer sites' comment sections.

Where's this group on supporting games on the BIG battle field, the one that counts and not just making sissy-slaps at MA and one minor incident? We need some voices against this new anti-game campaign, and lobbyists are better than nothing...

Instead of blaming games, blame yourselves; the parents. Any good parent will know what his or her child plays or watches. It's called parenting, that's what you do when you have kids. To blame video games is quite ridiculous! And why are video games always the center of the "oh it's must be the video games that caused my kid to be a crazy maniac"? Where were video games during WWI and WWII?

Simply put, people are looking for a scapegoat for this issue instead of focusing on the real problem; the lack (or horrible way) of parenting and the lack of appropriate mental health facilities/help in this country.