Digital Cream

Australia does not have a category for videogames on a par with the USA’s “M” rating, for games which are for those 17/18 years or older. This means such games are barely shaved down to squeeze into the M15 rating, advised for 15 years of age, similar to the USA’s “T” rating. Or the games are kept out altogether, though this is more rare. There is a revived debate about whether to allow games to be classified as R18. In doing so, they would match the ratings for movies, which have the same distinction between M15 and R18. (continued »)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth District has ruled that a California Law that would require stiffer penalties for minors purchasing violent video games and more stringent labeling requirements is unconstitutional.

“We hold that the Act violates rights protected by the First Amendment.” - The Honorable Judge Callahan.

Once again another court joins to rule that games are a form of protected speech. Read more about it here at the Video Game Voters Network.

Though this only affects Australia, I still want to highlight the issue as a global one and urge people to take action. I wrote about this in a previous post and unfortunately, nearly three years later, this beast lurches on. In a nutshell, the current coalition (led by the Labor party, the main left party here in Oz) wants to impose two layers of ISP-level net filtering. I fully oppose one and partially oppose the other. They are discussed well at the EFA and the blog Somebody Think Of The Children; I will summarize here. (continued »)

Results Show Need for Continued Improvement by Movie, Music, and Some Game Retailers

I read this report by the FTC with interest. It supports my general argument that it should be up to parents to enforce age ratings and pressure retailers to do the same, voting with their dollars as they do so. I expect many retailers will continue to improve. Those that don’t will be all the easier for parents to keep their kids from frequenting. (continued »)

Gday me heartys! So it be that on Talk Like A Pirate Day a story swings upon me decks. Though ‘t be a sore burden t’speak o’ video game laws in this gamesome tone, the laws o’ the sea be the laws o’ the sea, and speak like a landlubber may I not.

Grab yer tankard and roll a barrel to the foredeck as I give ye the news from Oklahoma, far over the rollin’ waves in the New World. It just so happens that a right wise wig-wearin’ man o’ the law there, deemed he a stop t’a law forbiddin’ young scalawags from buyin’ certain video games. (continued »)

I previously vowed to discuss and link to studies on both sides of the games and violence issue, and I’m now making good on it. An AMA report summarizes and has links to resources; I have read a few of these articles. In short, the report finds some apparent causal relationship between consumption of violent games and aggressive behavior immediately afterward.

Given my review, I now concede that some amount (perhaps large, perhaps small) of consumption increases aggressive affect and behavior in the immediate period following play of violent games. (continued »)

I support the industry’s voluntary ratings system, which in the USA is run by the ESRB, an independent ratings board. Game makers must pay the ESRB to rate their games. It’s pretty similar to the movie rating system in the USA.

A report by the FCC, not one to look the other way as naughty (and, sometimes, wobbly) things are being shown to impressionable youth, finds that the rating system is working very well. This proves that there is no basis for legislation which enforces such ratings and age restrictions. Such legislation has already wasted millions of taxpayer dollars as grandstanding politicians make showy bills which fail court challenges on First Amendment grounds, and act as a placebo for the illness of antisocial behavior and violence in society.

Sites which cover this general issue are:

• http://www.igda.org/censorship/
• http://www.videogamevoters.org/action/

At the latter site you can take action to inform your representatives and affect the legislative process.

Video Game Voters called on developers to write a testimonial for lawmakers to read, so I posted a response. (continued »)