Supreme Court rules videogames protected by 1st amendment

[Bobdog]

The Supreme Court has today released its decision in the Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association case and has ruled that videogames are protected speech

Article:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...video-game-law-on-first-amendment-grounds.ars

Ruling:
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/08-1448.pdf

 

[tofupunk]

That's great! Next up: Germany and Australia.

 

[NoxNoctum]

Wait... so does this mean anyone will be able to buy mature games now (if their parents don't stop them).... or does this just mean that Mature games won't be "hidden away" or something....?

Anyways nice to see this... like the US really needs any MORE stupid nanny state laws right now .

 

[Bobdog]

Wait... so does this mean anyone will be able to buy mature games now (if their parents don't stop them).... or does this just mean that Mature games won't be "hidden away" or something....?

It means that the states can't make laws restricting the sale of videogames, in the same way they can't restrict the sales of books, movies, music, etc.

 

[fiftyone]

Authors Rights, I guess.

That a warning to state that blah, blah, blah, is bad for your heath points, will do the trick.

Should have been implemented about the same time Wolf3D was was released.

 

[Xendance]

Congrats USA, few more baby steps and I might actually consider it a first world country again

 

[Vintage]

A great big **** you to everyone who ever attempted to ban my beloved violent video games. **** you.

 

[slavek]

lol Loads of nonsense. Trying to sensor games because they could make children act much more aggressive in life due to a deluded psyche. I played GTA4 when I was a little kid and I'm fine now. Well, I'll be back later, I'm gonna go hijack from one of the local farms' crop harvester and drive it into a crowded airport terminal.

 

[Mormegil]

I'd like to see the industry do a better job at helping parents know which video games are appropriate. My friend's 5 year old nephew was playing GTA (badly I assume), which might not be age appropriate.

Of course restricting sales to minors wouldn't necessarily be in the best interest for a company's bottom line.

 

[Nicholas]

lol Loads of nonsense. Trying to sensor games because they could make children act much more aggressive in life due to a deluded psyche. I played GTA4 when I was a little kid and I'm fine now. Well, I'll be back later, I'm gonna go hijack from one of the local farms' crop harvester and drive it into a crowded airport terminal.

Red Orchestra makes me want to go out and call artillery strikes on people.

 

[Bobdog]

I'd like to see the industry do a better job at helping parents know which video games are appropriate. My friend's 5 year old nephew was playing GTA (badly I assume), which might not be age appropriate.

Of course restricting sales to minors wouldn't necessarily be in the best interest for a company's bottom line.

Well all games sold in stores have to have ESRB ratings; all the GTA games (with a couple of exceptions on gameboy versions) have been rated M (17 and older), and many stores have their own policies about not selling games rated M to minors.

 

[Peter.Steele]

Red Orchestra makes me want to go out and call artillery strikes on people.

Hell, I've been wanting to do that to the stupid people in my world since I was old enough to know what artillery was.

 

[Shadrach]

Hell, Gay marriage in NY, and now this, what's going on over there guys, waking up from the bad dream?

 

[Alexander Ostmann]

Hell, Gay marriage in NY, and now this, what's going on over there guys, waking up from the bad dream?

Tell me about it. At least video games prevailed.

It means that the states can't make laws restricting the sale of videogames, in the same way they can't restrict the sales of books, movies, music, etc.

I think the only time I've seen a book restricted for purchase is one this sick f**k wrote about how to have proper man-boy love or some bull@#$%. Saw it on the BBC.

 

[Bobdog]

IIRC that was voluntarily taken off amazon's store, I don't think that had any government intervention.

 

[Floyd]

Haven't you heard?

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is banned in some school districts. (And some well meaning soul has even re-written the book and replaced the offensive word.)

It OK to do that but not allow individual states to restrict the sales of video games?

 

[Bobdog]

That doesn't mean it is illegal for children to buy though, just that the district decided that it doesn't want to teach it.

 

[Fedorov]

I just want to know if this will translate in allowing Skyrim to have killable children.

 

[Harb]

Games aren't made for just children, they can be advanced and well written games made by adults for adults. It's about time people realised this.

Also the amount of misrepresented reporting on games from news outlets is shocking. This is from Fox, the woman who is criticising Mass Effect for it's sexual scenes and nudity is asked if she has played it. Her answer, no, yet she is willing to attack and discredit the game. It's damaging and irresponsible journalism creating a moral panic over something that doesn't exist.

YouTube - ‪FOX NEWS Mass Effect Sex Debate‬‏

There has been a relatively recent drive in the UK looking into game classification and the effects on children and the result was the Byron Review. The outcome is that the BBFC will play a larger role in classifying games and how games are sold in outlets. There should be no difference between an 18 rated game and an 18 rated film in terms of social awareness. So when a parent picks up an 18 rated game they should immediately know it's not suitable for their child. This can only be a good thing.

Also this blog by UK film critic Mark Kermode likens the moral panic over MW2 (it was raised in Parliament) to the moral panic surrounding 'video nasties' in the 1980s. It's worth a watch

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2010/01/game_overand_over.html

 

[Oldih]

That ME controversy makes me wonder what they would say about The Witcher(s).

[insert PC-exclusive joke here and soccermoms\moral guardians going crazy because of consoles and kiddies, it would make sense here]