Shocking news (to me) from DC. Certiorari was granted in the case regarding a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors. This is by far the biggest thing to happen to video game law. Period. This is the first time any video game law has gone to the US Supreme Court. Considering that this marks the combination of two of my favorite topics (video games and the law). This may be the most interesting thing to happened in the year so far. Certainly more important things have happened (Haiti, Chile, Iceland, Poland) but nothing that affects me more. Will the Supreme Court declare this law (and by extension, other laws like it) unconstitutional?
This would be a big boost to the video game industry. The ESRB is the video game industry's self regulation process and in my opinion a very good one. Unfortunately, unlike the MPAA ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.) the ESRB's ratings have been misunderstood. Hence, games like Bully (a T-rated game) get lumped in with more violent fare like Grand Theft Auto (an M-rated game). To make this more clear, imagine if people thought that E.T. and Saving Private Ryan were equally violent because they were directed by the same person (Steven Spielberg).
More News upcoming when I finish reading the writ of certiorari (filed by the State of California) and in the fall when this case is presented and decided.
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