Supreme Court Strikes Rule Banning Violent Video Game Sale to Kids

[maddogx 13]

Knowing the family friendly policies of companies like Walmart and Toys R Us who are amoung the largest sellers of videogames in the US, I would see them shying away from those game titles labled as 'detrimental to children', and if the difference in violence rating is say, some dismembership, then why wouldn't a publisher just remove it, they have to answer to stockholders?

Well, from experience here in Germany, the publishers only remove gore when the game would not recieve a rating otherwise, meaning it couldn't be sold at all. They basically tone down the violence just enough for the game to recieve an 18+ rating. (Or they don't even make the effort and ignore the german market entirely, as has happened in a few recent cases.)

In the U.S. the situation would be somewhat different, because banning the sale of violent games to minors wouldn't stop anyone from selling them to adults. And I'm not so sure that even the family friendly retailers would suddenly take these games off their shelves because of that. They are mostly rated 17+ already after all, and they already ask young teenagers for ID before selling them M rated games anyway. I don't see them taking such drastic measures simply because they would now be required to ask for ID even for older teenagers.

Instead, as indicated before, I expect the situation would become more similar to what we have here.

[ryguy 10]

OK I'm TL;DR'ing the 10 pages of this thread, but you couldn't buy violent video games until you were 17 anyway so I don't get what this law does, just raises it up one year?

[st_dux 26]

OK I'm TL;DR'ing the 10 pages of this thread, but you couldn't buy violent video games until you were 17 anyway so I don't get what this law does, just raises it up one year?

There is no law that says you can't. The restrictions are all voluntarily enforced, as it should be.

[MrBump 10]

Well, from experience here in Germany, the publishers only remove gore when the game would not recieve a rating otherwise, meaning it couldn't be sold at all. They basically tone down the violence just enough for the game to recieve an 18+ rating. (Or they don't even make the effort and ignore the german market entirely, as has happened in a few recent cases.)

In the U.S. the situation would be somewhat different, because banning the sale of violent games to minors wouldn't stop anyone from selling them to adults. And I'm not so sure that even the family friendly retailers would suddenly take these games off their shelves because of that. They are mostly rated 17+ already after all, and they already ask young teenagers for ID before selling them M rated games anyway. I don't see them taking such drastic measures simply because they would now be required to ask for ID even for older teenagers.

Instead, as indicated before, I expect the situation would become more similar to what we have here.

Of course you are talking about companies like Walmart that won't even sell a CD with a 'Parental Advisory Label' on it, but who knows maybe you're right.

Maybe you're right that the law on violence which the court found was 'too broad as written and couldn't satisfy the "strict scrutiny" legal principle' is somehow the same as the age based rating system that is currently employed voluntarily, and that the broadness of the law wouldn't create any issues.

Maybe Germany actually does have enough of a similar political, economic and legal structure to the US, allowing us to use it as a model, economically can you imagine for instance, MS declaring they are not going to release Gears of War in the US, like Germany, because it's too much trouble.

Maybe the industry guys (and the judges) who said this could have a chilling effect are wrong...

We'll never find out. Hopefully.

Edited June 29, 2011 by MrBump

[maddogx 13]

We'll never find out. Hopefully.

For your sake, I hope so too. ;)

It's bad enough over here, where we have to live with castrated games and - almost even worse - bad german translations with no english language option. :rolleyes:

[MrBump 10]

For your sake, I hope so too. ;)

It's bad enough over here, where we have to live with castrated games and - almost even worse - bad german translations with no english language option. :rolleyes:

Actually I live in Australia, another country that outright bans or requires censoring of certain games, mainly because we don't have a 'adult' or +17 rating for games as our government thinks that they can only be for children. I do however buy my games from international sites to get round this nonsense, it worries me though, that these games might be censored at the source. :(

[Nicholas 5]

What people are saying:

Those over 17 - Nooooooooo!!!!!

Those under 17 - Yeeeeeesss!!!!!

[dmarkwick 261]

There is no law that says you can't. The restrictions are all voluntarily enforced, as it should be.

Ah, I see. Well here in the UK it is NOT voluntary, those certifications are enforced.

And, game stores still stock 18 rated games. In fact almost every FPS that comes out seems to be rated 18. ArmA2:OA for example is rated 18, and that age limit for store sales is enforced by law.

Of course, there's no law that says under 18s cannot play it, they just cannot buy it.

[vilas 477]

and thus in UK or Germany you have lower problem (as seller) with unfair competition (cause law is written, not just voluntary , voluntary law makes honest sellers to bankrupt, cause 1000 kids go to buy product to his competitor which not obey age-limit and later you must make clans with password because a lot of non-serious kids want to join MP and play it like CS)

such law enforcement make competition easier

maybe US Walmart won't sell to 6y.o. kid game or movie rated +18, bigest Polish shops will sell it (cause there is no big chance to sue and ticket would so small comparing to milion sales becuse of lack of good strict law like UK, Germany have )

Edited June 30, 2011 by vilas