The Entertainment Software Association and the Video Software Dealers Association, two video game trade groups, are suing the state of California in an effort to overturn a new law banning the sale of violent video games to minors.
The law, signed by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a little over a week ago, bans the sake or rental of violent video games to minors under the age of 17, and required retailers label violent games. Factors the law uses to determine whether the content of a game is violent include “infliction of gratuitous violence upon the victim beyond that necessary to commit the killing, needless mutilation of the victim’s body, and the helplessness of the victim.” Violators would be subject to a $1,000 fine.
Similar laws passed this year in Illinois and Michigan and have been proposed in nearly every state; however, a federal district court recent overturned a Washington state law which restricted the sale of violent video games to minors as a violation of the game-makers’ first amendment rights. Similar laws in Indianapolis and Missouri’s St. Louis county were also struck down.
California’s new law would take effect January 1, 2006. Currently, video game retailers in California are under no legal obligation to restrict the sales of violent or mature-themed video games rated for adults; compliance with ratings guidelines is purely voluntary, and some businesses exercise no limits on who can purchase or rent material.
The video game industry has historically argued it is parents’ responsibility to set standards and limits for children, rather than the role of industry or government. However, the industry has fallen out of political favor in recent months following the controversy surrounding Take-Two Interactive’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which was pulled from distribution following the discovering of hidden sex scenes within the game.
