A copy of the next “Grand Theft Auto” will cost gamers upward of $50, but it could cost the guy who sells the game much more.
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer recently announced a plan to propose legislation that would punish retailers who sell violent or sexual video games to underage customers.
Such a law would take the next step in enforcing the rating system employed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) since 1994. As children stared at arcade and TV screens in search of the then-novel sight of fatalities and blood in “Mortal Kombat,” Congress took notice. Senators Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., suggested the video game industry create its own rating system, or else Congress would take on the task itself.
Games are now given one of six ratings: Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Teen, Mature and Adults Only. Also attached to each rating are any appropriate content descriptors such as blood, drug reference and sexual themes.
The ESRB system shows a parent precisely what they're getting in a game, but New York retailers who sell “Manhunt 2” to underage gamers shopping solo are free from any enforcement by the ESRB.
Game stores can choose not to sell such games to minors, but the majority seems to do so. A December 2003 study by the New York City Council Investigation Division found that minors could purchase mature-rated games in 34 out of 35 game retailers in New York City. Spitzer's law would likely subject such retailers to stiff fines.
This push to enforce the ESRB rating system is not new. When the unlockable “Hot Coffee” mini-game of “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” was found and players could wiggle their thumb-sticks in rhythm with its on-screen sex, the game made an enemy in Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Clinton later joined with Senators Lieberman, Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind., in November 2005 to introduce the Family Entertainment Protection Act, which would punish first-time offenders with either a $1,000 fine or 100 hours of community service. Repeat offenders could receive $5,000 fines or 500 hours of service. The bill has not passed through the Senate.
Past laws targeting sales of inappropriate games to underage customers have also failed at the state level, having been flagged as unconstitutional by federal judges in Michigan, Louisiana and California. In 2005, the Illinois State Legislature enacted the Safe Games Illinois Act, which made a crime of selling explicit games to minors.
The Entertainment Software Association filed suit on the grounds that the law violated the First Amendment, and judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed. They specifically found the law's scope too wide and cited the game “God of War's” redeeming value as a Homeric epic despite showing a few bare breasts.
As Spitzer readies his video game legislation to take action against game retailers who sell mature games to minors, he adds to a lengthy history of legislative mediating in the area. It remains to be seen whether he succeeds where past efforts have failed.
Staff writer David Wilcox reviews video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
Ratings breakdown
These rating abbreviations appear on the front of video games:
EC (early childhood): Suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate.
E (everyone): Suitable for ages 6 and older. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
E10+ (everyone 10+): Suitable for ages 10 and older. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.
T (teen): Suitable for 13 and older. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.
M (mature): Suitable for persons ages 17 and older. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.
AO (adult only): Should only be played by persons 18 and older. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.
RP (rating pending): Have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (Appears only in advertising prior to a game's release.)
- Source: www.esrb.org
Such a law would take the next step in enforcing the rating system employed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) since 1994. As children stared at arcade and TV screens in search of the then-novel sight of fatalities and blood in “Mortal Kombat,” Congress took notice. Senators Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., suggested the video game industry create its own rating system, or else Congress would take on the task itself.
Games are now given one of six ratings: Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Teen, Mature and Adults Only. Also attached to each rating are any appropriate content descriptors such as blood, drug reference and sexual themes.
The ESRB system shows a parent precisely what they're getting in a game, but New York retailers who sell “Manhunt 2” to underage gamers shopping solo are free from any enforcement by the ESRB.
Game stores can choose not to sell such games to minors, but the majority seems to do so. A December 2003 study by the New York City Council Investigation Division found that minors could purchase mature-rated games in 34 out of 35 game retailers in New York City. Spitzer's law would likely subject such retailers to stiff fines.
This push to enforce the ESRB rating system is not new. When the unlockable “Hot Coffee” mini-game of “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” was found and players could wiggle their thumb-sticks in rhythm with its on-screen sex, the game made an enemy in Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Clinton later joined with Senators Lieberman, Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind., in November 2005 to introduce the Family Entertainment Protection Act, which would punish first-time offenders with either a $1,000 fine or 100 hours of community service. Repeat offenders could receive $5,000 fines or 500 hours of service. The bill has not passed through the Senate.
Past laws targeting sales of inappropriate games to underage customers have also failed at the state level, having been flagged as unconstitutional by federal judges in Michigan, Louisiana and California. In 2005, the Illinois State Legislature enacted the Safe Games Illinois Act, which made a crime of selling explicit games to minors.
The Entertainment Software Association filed suit on the grounds that the law violated the First Amendment, and judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed. They specifically found the law's scope too wide and cited the game “God of War's” redeeming value as a Homeric epic despite showing a few bare breasts.
As Spitzer readies his video game legislation to take action against game retailers who sell mature games to minors, he adds to a lengthy history of legislative mediating in the area. It remains to be seen whether he succeeds where past efforts have failed.
Staff writer David Wilcox reviews video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
Ratings breakdown
These rating abbreviations appear on the front of video games:
EC (early childhood): Suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate.
E (everyone): Suitable for ages 6 and older. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
E10+ (everyone 10+): Suitable for ages 10 and older. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.
T (teen): Suitable for 13 and older. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.
M (mature): Suitable for persons ages 17 and older. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.
AO (adult only): Should only be played by persons 18 and older. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.
RP (rating pending): Have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (Appears only in advertising prior to a game's release.)
- Source: www.esrb.org
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