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Is it wrong to sell adult-themed entertainment of any kind to children? The answer is, of course, yes, it's very wrong. Children have their own entertainment, not about sex, violence and criminality. The Louisiana House today passed bill HB-1381 making it against the law to sell 'patently offensive' games to anyone under the age of 18, a landslide vote of 102-0.
And it all sounds good to us. The bill basically lets game retails get on with normal business, though will punish them with fines of between $100 - $2,000 or a year in the chokey for selling adult-themed titles to children.
In a move that shows just how greedy and stupid the games industry can be, the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) condemned the legislation, noting that it will have it overturned in Washington and that the very thought of trying to protect children from potentially damaging content is a waste of tax-payers money.
"We believe that a combination of parental choice and parental control is the only legal, sensible, and most importantly, effective way to help parents keep inappropriate video games from children, and we dedicate ourselves to working with all parties to accomplish this goal," said the ESA.
Well, the statement isn't exactly right is it? Parental control simply isn't working, so making it impossible for children to obtain unsuitable content, and punishing anyone who grants them access to it is, without doubt, more effective.
SPOnG would assert that the ESA do something constructive about the situation. Rather than disingenuously claiming there is no problem and hiding behind the First Amendment, it should lay down enforced guidelines at retail and push for retailers to be punished under law for failure to keep adult content out of the hands children.
It's not often we're right moral, but ESA, give us a break.
And it all sounds good to us. The bill basically lets game retails get on with normal business, though will punish them with fines of between $100 - $2,000 or a year in the chokey for selling adult-themed titles to children.
In a move that shows just how greedy and stupid the games industry can be, the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) condemned the legislation, noting that it will have it overturned in Washington and that the very thought of trying to protect children from potentially damaging content is a waste of tax-payers money.
"We believe that a combination of parental choice and parental control is the only legal, sensible, and most importantly, effective way to help parents keep inappropriate video games from children, and we dedicate ourselves to working with all parties to accomplish this goal," said the ESA.
Well, the statement isn't exactly right is it? Parental control simply isn't working, so making it impossible for children to obtain unsuitable content, and punishing anyone who grants them access to it is, without doubt, more effective.
SPOnG would assert that the ESA do something constructive about the situation. Rather than disingenuously claiming there is no problem and hiding behind the First Amendment, it should lay down enforced guidelines at retail and push for retailers to be punished under law for failure to keep adult content out of the hands children.
It's not often we're right moral, but ESA, give us a break.
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Comments
Earl 18 May 2006 12:09
1/6
You can pass as much leislation as you want, but that make very little diffrence to the parent of the 8 years old buying him the latest GTA for his birthday becasue jonny wants it...
I had a customer once say i bought this for my son but it has to much swearing in it.. (GTA 4) i pointed out.... its got a 18 rating what do you expect? its not for kids.
Yes we can stop Shops selling to Minors... but we cant stop idiot parents.
I had a customer once say i bought this for my son but it has to much swearing in it.. (GTA 4) i pointed out.... its got a 18 rating what do you expect? its not for kids.
Yes we can stop Shops selling to Minors... but we cant stop idiot parents.
jwstacey 18 May 2006 13:01
2/6
Earl wrote:
Yes we can stop Shops selling to Minors... but we cant stop idiot parents.
I quite agree with Earl. I haven't worked in a games shop for some 10 years so it might have changed but pointing out the age reccomendations on the box rarely did anything to prevent a parent buying unsuitable games for their children 'it's only a game' seemed to be the common theme. Maybe telling them it was dripping with nekkid laydees and depravity involving gherkins would have stopped them but violence at least is seen as trivial. Is there not some way we can ban idiot parents from buying these games? Enforce a 'mental age limit' on the purchace and validate it with a quick blast of that ninty brain age game... or something.. err
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king skins 18 May 2006 13:47
3/6
James Stacey wrote:
Earl wrote:
Yes we can stop Shops selling to Minors... but we cant stop idiot parents.
I quite agree with Earl. I haven't worked in a games shop for some 10 years so it might have changed but pointing out the age reccomendations on the box rarely did anything to prevent a parent buying unsuitable games for their children 'it's only a game' seemed to be the common theme. Maybe telling them it was dripping with nekkid laydees and depravity involving gherkins would have stopped them but violence at least is seen as trivial. Is there not some way we can ban idiot parents from buying these games? Enforce a 'mental age limit' on the purchace and validate it with a quick blast of that ninty brain age game... or something.. err
You could make supplying them to minors illegal. much like buying beer for 16year olds in the local off licence is against the law in the UK.
Johnhl 18 May 2006 21:05
4/6
Laws like this bother me greatly. Although I suppose its not the law its self that bothers me the most but that its retarded people who rate the games that this law is based on. I mean really who thinks a 16 year old shouldn't be able to play Oblivion. That they rate games off inaccessable content and just overall fail to see the artistic value in them is why I think this law and the current rating system is are bad ideas.
tg0006 19 May 2006 03:57
5/6
prity soon, all games are going to be filled with flowers and staring loveable furry animals that go around collecting fruit, all the while jumping on boxes. hell, at this rait, i think that games like crash bandicoot will be shuned for being politically incorrect. i miss the old days before esrb and stupid parents ruined games for everyone.
king skins 19 May 2006 09:35
6/6
tg0006 wrote:
prity soon, all games are going to be filled with flowers and staring loveable furry animals that go around collecting fruit, all the while jumping on boxes. hell, at this rait, i think that games like crash bandicoot will be shuned for being politically incorrect. i miss the old days before esrb and stupid parents ruined games for everyone.
Don't be so stupid, most other countries have similar laws and we still get to play games like manhunt.
Not that these laws will make that much difference, kids in the UK still play GTA cos there parents will buy it for them. But at least these laws will get the conservatives off there back and put the onus on the parents rather than the games industry.
It just makes the games industry look exploitative, as if the only reason they don't want these laws is so they can continue selling there mature games to kids.