Hey everyone. So i know i said i was taking a break from GS and I still kinda am. But i haven't been able to tear myself away entirely from the gaming world so i've still been checking in daily for a few minutes. But i just saw this article about the anti-video game law being passed in NY and absolutely had to speak out against this stupidity.

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Just today, in New York, a bill was passed that does two specific things. One: retailers cannot sell video games that contain "depictions of depraved violence and indecent images." (Gamespot news) and two: the law "prohibit[s] the sale of home gaming consoles without parental restriction options and establish[s] an advisory council to appraise the work of the Entertainment Software Rating Board." (Gamespot news)

Let me explain to you what this means in case you don't see the implications. I'll start with the video game systems. Retailers cannot sell systems that do not have parental restriction options if this passes into law. Well, no systems pre-Sega Dreamcast have parental restriction options on them. That means that retailers cannot sell any Nintendo 64's, Playstation's, Super Nintendo's, Sega Genesis's, Sega Saturn's or anything before that either. Also, an advisory council will appraise the work of the ESRB. One of the most annoying and frustrating parts of game developing is getting games through the ESRB. This law will create a SECOND board to approve of the work that the ESRB already does. Now I admit that the ESRB has had some issues in the past few years but is this really necessary? This will simply make the publishing process take longer and will most likely, change nothing as far as rating's go.

Now on to the main point. Retailers cannot sell violent games to minors. Okay, is it just me or has this been around for quite a while anyway? Well, now it's a law apparently but the law really says nothing specifically. The term "depraved violence" is completely up to interpretation. One person could see Halo as not violent at all and another could see it as "depraved violence". The term indecent image's is slightly more specific but still, some people see low-cut shirts as indecent. Technically, you could say any game in history falls under these categories or you could argue that they don't. All in all, this law is entirely interpretation and therefore, puts retailers at risk. Directly, this law does not effect us, the consumers but the game retailers now have to be incredibly careful about what they sell at risk of being classified as a Class E felon! Indirectly, this risk that the law puts on retailers, could mean added security for who buys what games. Depending on how specific this law becomes, we could be carded for buying T rated games! Now, I don't know about you, but being carded for buying a game like Super Smash Bros. Melee is absolutely absurd to me.

I'm not saying that everything is fine, I know that there are problems with the rating systems and who can buy what games but this is not for the government to fix! Right now, minor's cannot buy M rated games. That is far more than is necessary for the game retailers to do. The responsibility is in the hands of the parents who ultimately control what their child does or does not play. If you have a 7 year old kid and buy him/her Halo, that is entirely your fault! People need to step up and admit to this instead of sueing game retailers and the ESRB for their own mistakes. Likewise, the ESRB needs to make sure they check every single file in a game before release (*cough cough* hot coffee *cough*). Sorry parents, but you can't expect the government to do everything for you.

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Well, that's my opinion on the whole issue. Chances are I won't be posting again until summer but if something else like this happens, i might have to make an exception. Peace everyone! Pray that my teachers start winding things down for the summer :P.