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[CarlosX360]

Taken from the Game Politics community on Live Journal:

BREAKING NEWS: Clinton & Lieberman Annouce Game Legislation

A bad day for the video game business just got quite a bit worse. With the industry still reeling from the shabby grades assigned this morning by the MediaWise Annual Video and Computer Game Report Card another, perhaps far heavier, blow has landed.

Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) announced moments ago that they will introduce federal legislation aimed at protecting children from inappropriate video game content. The bill, to be called "The Family Entertainment Protection Act," will prohibit the sale of adult-themed games to minors. The senators plan to introduce the bill when Congress reconvenes in two weeks.

A press release from Sen. Clinton's office said she was motivated to take action on the issue by July's Hot Coffee revelations. Readers may recall that the Senator ordered up an FCC investigation of the incident. That probe is ongoing.

"I have developed legislation that will empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content," said Senator Clinton.

According to her press release, she acknowledges that video games are "fun and entertaining" and does not support any limitations on the production or sale of games to adults. "This is about protecting children."

Senator Lieberman, who stood with Dr. David Walsh of NIMF this morning during the release of the video game report card, added, "There is a growing body of evidence that points to a link between violent videos and aggressive behavior in children. We are not interested in censoring videos meant for adult entertainment but we do want to ensure that these videos are not purchased by minors. Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors," Senator Lieberman said.

Speaking of the report card, Sen. Clinton said, "Today's report is yet further proof that we need to make sure parents have the tools and support they need to make informed decisions for their children."


The following is from Sen. Clinton's press release:

Summary of the Family Entertainment Protection Act

Video game content is getting more and more violent and sexually explicit, yet young people are able to purchase these games with relative ease. In its 2005, 10th Annual MediaWise Video and Computer Game Report Card, The National Institute on Media and the Family found that retailers were more lenient in their selling practices this year compared to last. Boys as young as nine were able to purchase Mature-rated games 42 percent of the time. At the same time, a majority of parents are feeling increasingly victimized by a culture of violence that makes it difficult to protect their children against influences they find to be inappropriate. This bill would help empower parents by putting them back in the driver's seat. It would ensure that children can't buy games the video game industry itself has determined to be inappropriate for them.


I. Prohibition on Selling Mature and Adults Only video games to minors

The centerpiece of this bill is a prohibition against any business for selling or renting a Mature, Adults-Only, or Ratings Pending game to a person who is younger than seventeen. This provision is not aimed at punishing retailers who act in good faith to enforce the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) system. That's why retailers would have an affirmative defense if they were shown an identification they believed to be valid or have a system in place to display and enforce the ESRB system. Similar prohibitions have become law in the last several months in California, Michigan, and Illinois.


II. Annual Analysis of the Ratings System

Since the bill relies on the video game industry to continue rating the appropriateness of games for minors, this bill requires an annual, independent analysis of game ratings. This analysis will help ensure that the ESRB ratings system accurately reflects the content in each game and that the ratings system does not change significantly over time.


III. Authority for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to Investigate Misleading Ratings

Part of the genesis of this bill was the revelation that the makers of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had included, through embedded code that was discovered and made accessible to the public, sexually explicit content inconsistent with the game's Mature rating. This bill requires the FTC to conduct an investigation to determine whether what happened with GTA: San Andreas is a pervasive problem. It also includes a Sense of Congress that the Commission shall take appropriate action if it determines that there is a pervasive problem.


IV. Authority to Register Complaints

This bill requires the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) of the FTC to ensure that consumers can file complaints if they find content to be misleading or deceptive and requires the BCP to report on the number of such complaints to Congress.


V. Annual Retailer Audit

This bill authorizes the FTC to conduct an annual, random audit of retailers - sometimes referred to as a secret shopper survey – to determine how easy it is for young people to purchase Mature and Adults Only video games and report the findings to Congress.

> Nintendo X's Response <

Okay, I'm getting furious....I'm getting angry....

This is getting ridiculous.

 

[Gahiggidy]

I blame Rock Star.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

no big deal.

 

[Meantime]

So they're going to stop kids from buying games that they shouldn't be allowed to buy. Where's the problem?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

So they're going to stop kids from buying games that they shouldn't be allowed to buy. Where's the problem?

Nintendo X and Gahgiddiy=little kids.

personally, i can't wait for the next time i go to EB's, to see a group of kiddies approach me and be like "Hey man, buy us some GTA. C'mon man please!""

 

[Barry Lightning]

kid's shouldnt be buying that shit. sorry, young ones...what's worse are the commercials for popular videogams such as True Life, et al: brandishing guns, smacking people around...it's inapropriate and makes games look dumb and ignorant. we need to pull our pants up and tighten our belts as an industry. for serious, already.

 

[CarlosX360]

So they're going to stop kids from buying games that they shouldn't be allowed to buy. Where's the problem?

You.

As a gamer.

Approve this!?

*Slams head onto desk*

Ugh. I mean, Do you think this is logical?

Don't you think the blame is on the parents? Hypocrisy all over.

 

[monchi-kun]

So they're going to stop kids from buying games that they shouldn't be allowed to buy. Where's the problem?

that's mom and dad's job...not the government

 

[CarlosX360]

that's mom and dad's job...not the government

THANK YOU!

This case in my head is saying....

"ESRB, and senators, please I implore you to do the job for us, because we are lazy fucking little bitches."

"ESRB and senators, please help us, our parenting sucks!"

I swear.

 

[Zilch]

Why isn't it the government's job? Surely this will HELP parents control what their kids do (which is a pretty monumental task anyhow!).

 

[Ninja Scooter]

that's mom and dad's job...not the government

so lets let kids buy beer, cigarettes and guns! WOOHOO GO AMERICA!

Not only is this nothing new (plenty of places have been doing it for music cds and dvds, theatres for R rated movies for years) but its completely irrelavent unless you're like 12.

 

[CarlosX360]

Why isn't it the government's job? Surely this will HELP parents control what their kids do (which is a pretty monumental task anyhow!).

The parents don't need jack shit. They don't need no fucking help, they need to get up from their lazy asses, and start parenting their own fucking children the right fucking way.

Not kissing the senators asses, and the goverement's asses to do the job for them.

Damn pussies.

 

[Zilch]

The parents don't need jack shit. They don't need no fucking help, they need to get up from their lazy asses, and start parenting their own fucking children the right fucking way.

Not kissing the senators asses, and the goverement's asses to do the job for them.

Damn pussies.

Wow. How old are you? Seriously?

Ninja Scooter is right. There are plenty of government-enforced restrictions on children/teens/young adults already. Do you have a problem with that?

edit: I love the irony of someone who cursed 7 times in one post telling me that parents don't need any help raising their children properly.

 

[TheDuce22]

Kids cant buy rated R movies can they?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

The parents don't need jack shit. They don't need no fucking help, they need to get up from their lazy asses, and start parenting their own fucking children the right fucking way.

Not kissing the senators asses, and the goverement's asses to do the job for them.

Damn pussies.

:lol You need something important to vent all that anger towards.

 

[CarlosX360]

:lol You need something important to vent all that anger towards.

:-/ I know. I .....as a gamer hate... this.

Its absurd.

Nintendo X and Gahgiddiy=little kids.

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

I'm 23, and I've hated this case since I was 15. I have a lot of hate for Liberman since that time.

I love the irony of someone who cursed 7 times in one post telling me that parents don't need any help raising their children properly.

That isn't an irony, the irony, is that you gamers don't give a shit about this case.

 

[Zilch]

If you're 23, this doesn't affect you at all. And if it does, it'll be in a good way: your future children can't buy GTA 20 even if they want to!

 

[Ninja Scooter]

:-/ I know. I .....as a gamer hate... this.

Its absurd.

I'm 23, and I've hated this case since I was 15. I have a lot of hate for Liberman since that time.

its not absurd at all. Explain to me what is so bad about it? Because the government might actually look out a little for kids with shitty parents?

 

[Zilch]

That isn't an irony, the irony, is that you gamers don't give a shit about this case.

Uh, yeah... you're going to have to explain that one to me.

 

[Diffense]

So they're going to stop kids from buying games that they shouldn't be allowed to buy. Where's the problem?

Yeah, what's the biggie?

It's already being done for movies and games are becoming more mainstream and more violent and sexually explicit.

 

[CarlosX360]

its not absurd at all. Explain to me what is so bad about it? Because the government might actually look out a little for kids with shitty parents?

This is why.

 

[gblues]

Why isn't it the government's job? Surely this will HELP parents control what their kids do (which is a pretty monumental task anyhow!).

Spoken like a true Democrat. Maybe some of us want the government to stay the fuck out of our personal lives?

The problem is, who gets to decide what is "obscene" and what is not? In reality, legislation is only going to increase development costs (what, you think passing the government sniff test is going to be free? Hah!) and result in the same type of "how far can we go" line-pushing we see in PG-13 movies. We'd still have GTA, except you'd have no blood, the swear words would be bleeped out, and your hooker liasons would be done Golgo 13 style--hell that shit made it past the Nintendo censors, the same people that turned the "Holy" spell in Final Fantasy 2 into "White."

Nathan

 

[Shamrock7r]

Nintendo X you make no goddamn sense shut up.

 

[The Faceless Master]

I blame Rock Star.

QFT

 

[Zilch]

Spoken like a true Democrat. Maybe some of us want the government to stay the fuck out of our personal lives?

The problem is, who gets to decide what is "obscene" and what is not? In reality, legislation is only going to increase development costs (what, you think passing the government sniff test is going to be free? Hah!) and result in the same type of "how far can we go" line-pushing we see in PG-13 movies. We'd still have GTA, except you'd have no blood, the swear words would be bleeped out, and your hooker liasons would be done Golgo 13 style--hell that shit made it past the Nintendo censors, the same people that turned the "Holy" spell in Final Fantasy 2 into "White."

Nathan

Well if these proposed restrictions did indeed end up making developers censor their games or put in just enough to get away with a lower rating, I'd be against it. However, I think it's too soon to make the assumption that that will happen. And I think kids shouldn't be buying games that CLEARLY have mature content (GTA, etc.).

edit: I honestly don't think we'll ever see the petty/nonsensical censorship of the NES/Nintendo era again.

 

[CarlosX360]

Nintendo X you make no goddamn sense shut up.

:lol

No sense? Okay, you want to argue what doesn't make sense?

Okay, fine with me.

The movie industry has worse content, yet most of the movies are on shelves, most of them are already in the hands of kids, REGARDLESS of the rating system.

Now, contrast this with the fact that retailers are CARDING younger gamers (we see this often in movie theaters, but I don't see it a lot in CD sales), and some retailers took off GTA (Coffee Table/Original version) from shelves. Do you see where I'm going here?

The movie industry has a mature rating-like rating....which is rated R.....Now, in this genre, we see all kinds of levels of explict content....Everything from blood, to naked babes, naked women....We have that in the game industry, but we also have AO...Why is M rated games being targeted, when there's a AO label in the system?

I could go on, and on....but I'm not gonna waste my time on idiots like yourself.

 

[Zilch]

Why is M rated games being targeted, when there's a AO label in the system?

I suppose it's because M stands for 'Mature' which is something young children are not.

 

[Wafflecopter]

I blame Rock Star.

How surprising from a Ninty fan.

 

[Meantime]

You.

As a gamer.

Approve this!?

Yes.

I don't.

See a problem.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Dunno why this is a big deal. Seems like another worthless, practically unenforceable cog in the system, IMO. Though, if anything, I'm sure this is good for Clinton's political image.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Why DO kids need to play M-rated games?

 

[Rhindle]

This is why.

The difference is that the movie industry, by and large, does a decent job of self-policing. Theaters, Blockbuster stores etc., will actually ID kiddies most of the time.

On the other hand, it seems like every time I walk into an EB or Gamestop, some lunkhead sales jock is selling a 12-year old on all the cool shit you can do in GTA, Halo or whatever. It's probably even worse at independent stores.

The industry still has some growing up to do.

They need to hire better lobbyists too.

 

[Cold-Steel]

I think this is a great idea.

Quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of games, developers, and publishers getting all the blame for parents who, quite frankly, are fucking morons.

Today's parents aren't responsible enough for their kids.

It's about time the federal government stepped in. Definitely will help in preventing lawsuits from happening and less bad press towards videogame developers and publishers.

 

[Shamrock7r]

Jesus this should be a damn non issue. Stop drinking the damn hatorade and think rationally. You know what rationally means? I hope it is a term you are familiar with because it is the basis for these laws. As much as you seem to want to believe, most children are not capable yet of making a rational decision when deciding what games are appropriate for them to play. Furthermore, you seem to believe that we live in some damn Pleasantville esque world where all parents are upstanding individuals that are alwyas there for their children whom eat their vegetables, say their prayers, and follow every single rule their parents give them to the point.

Pull your head out of your ass that's stinking up your brain with some sort of noble rage against the videogame hating machine and realize that this is no different from other laws that put bans on products that can have a negative affect on child growth. By your dimwitted logic we should allow children to buy cigarettes, alcohol, guns. That way they can develop into some piece of shit unethical chav that will end up robbing you down the line. I mean, it isn't the Government's problem that they had neglectful drugged up parents who didn't have enough money for an abortion and was stuck with their new son Ned. Why not let them vote for the next president. Hell, why not let them go ahead and run for office too. How dare we put restrictions on when a person can or can't run for presidency based on age.

I hope you realize how stupid you sound. Take a deep breath, and stop looking to be some videogame rebel looking "for great justice."

 

[Letter to Elise]

I don't really see any hell breaking loose myself. Except for the mad rantings of Nintendo X which has been quite amusing.

~l2e

 

[aerofx]

I guess these politicians have nothing better to do.

 

[chaostrophy]

It's already being done for movies and games are becoming more mainstream and more violent and sexually explicit.

Why is this myth still being perpetuated? It is NOT TRUE.

There is NO FEDERAL LAW currently extant in the US that fines retailers for selling R rated movies or Explicit Lyrics CDs to minors, or theaters for admitting unaccompanied minors to R films or minors period to NC-17 films. These restrictions are maintained by BUSINESS to AVOID GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION. Belief that this sort of censorship is equivalent to the self-regulation done by other entertainment industries is WRONG.

If anyone thinks I'm wrong here, feel free to post a link that proves it.

Seems all the people who support this legislation, or the general belief that M-rated games are bad for kids, must fall into one of two categories. a- those who never encountered any kind of media violence or sex prior to their 17th birthdays and consider themselves better for it. Or b- those who did see such things, and consider themselves mentally and emotionally damaged because of it.

 

[CarlosX360]

Uh, yeah... you're going to have to explain that one to me.

What's there to explain? I mean, you're acting like you really don't give a fuck about this..

You probably think that this is great...and that its cool that these two are teaming up to destroy the gaming industry and run it down its throat.

The restrictions only mean that there'll be censored games, not utilizing its full potential....Only pushing for the limits of games. Only trying to limit our games by a large margin...Think about it, why do you think a lot of movies suck? Because they need to cater to a crowd. This is going to change the gaming industry as we gamers know it.

Now Nintendo can benefit from this entire case next gen.....Meaning next gen will be isolated for mature games. Very isolated.

Thanks for supporting limited games. THANK YOU.

We might as well see TWO versions of the same freakin' game.....Just like the DVD/Movie industry: Original version would have to be considered "uncut" or "unrated" versions...Or "full versions" "ultimate" etc. etc. etc.

Oh, who knows, this will even be hard on publishers, because it will drain their resources of cutting content, here and there...And they probbably have to make TWO versions instead of one.

And who knows, the developers will have to put out crappy games, because they have to cut game content....to cater to a crowd...To cater to ESRB....To sidetrack the whole bullshit...Who knows...that large budget companies will have to cut their spending to a minmum to keep the content mild...And worse is that they will have to keep the advertising to a clean level...Its been like that for years, yes, but then...no more blood in screenshots/trailers.

I'm furious, because this will reduce the quality of games next gen...and this also means that we have to make the most of what we got right now.

 

[Zilch]

OH NO NOT THE GAMES INDUSTRY!

 

[GDJustin]

So they're going to stop kids from buying games that they shouldn't be allowed to buy. Where's the problem?

There isn't one. Most reasonable gamers feel that same way.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

stupid families

 

[ronito]

this coming from the people that voted to shelter gun manufacturers from lawsuits. I can understand keeping mature games out of kid's hands but the stench of irony is in the air.

 

[Reilly]

Oh, who knows, this will even be hard on publishers, because it will drain their resources of cutting content, here and there...And they probbably have to make TWO versions instead of one.

I see what you're saying, but I'd be curious to know how many kids 17 and under play GTA (for example) and account for its sales. Find that information first, then you can complain.

 

[chaostrophy]

Why DO kids need to play M-rated games?

Catharsis.

 

[CarlosX360]

I see what you're saying, but I'd be curious to know how many kids 17 and under play GTA (for example) and account for its sales. Find that information first, then you can complain.

Dude. You don't need the information.

I KNOW people who played GTA under the age of 17...

I have a brother, and I happen to be a friend of his best friend....

They both were 15/16 when I brought in GTASA to my home on launch day...Now, before that...GTAIII, and Vice City were both in the hands of my brother since the games came out, since I bought both at launch.

Now, both are 16/17.

 

[Reilly]

I KNOW people who played GTA under the age of 17...

That's something I wouldn't go around admitting.

 

[Amir0x]

LOL @ ad "Should Hilary Run in 2008"

Anyway, I find no objection to this. Lieberman and Clinton's fear of the industry is largely unfounded, but this specific thing would be fine. Give parents less ability to bitch about gaming, because then it'd be against the fuckin' law for your kids to have it. Which is a good thing, 'cause kids shouldn't be having the M rated games anyhow.

 

[CarlosX360]

That's something I wouldn't go around admitting.

Why?

Oh wait, because you actually think I'm 16....?

I just stated I'm 23 a few posts ago.

 

[Shamrock7r]

Nintendo X, you change your reasoning for hating this with every other post. First you hate it because all decisions on a person's well-being should be left up to the parents, then you claim that makes videogames look worse then movies (how I don't know), then you spout out some garbage about it stunting videogame potential. What will be your reasoning next? Are you going to claim that we should protest this act to help free the Iraqi people?

 

[Striek]

Such a non-issue.
Anyone who finds offense with the government regulating sales to minors of adult material (like GTA) must be a fucking alarmist douche. This stuff isn't meant to be sold to minors at all. Actually enforcing age restrictions isn't going to mean games are censored, or worse off. It'll mean they'll get played by their intended audiences or parents will buy the games for them. No big changeup.