California moves to ban violent game sales to children

News - Other states may follow

A bill currently making its way through the California state legislature would fine those who sold violent games to minors up to $1000. The same bill would also create a legal requirement for games to be labelled with the nature of their content.

The current system is a voluntary code where 'Mature' rated games are meant to be unavailable for youngsters. The bill has been passed through California Assembly's arts committee after a 6 to 4 vote. Similar proposals are expected to reach the statute books in Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina.

Game developers and console makers are against any law restricting the sale of their products, saying it is unnecessary and that the current voluntary system is more then adequate. Two federal appellate courts have also sided with the game-makers, stating that such restrictive laws violate the free-speech rules enshrined in the First Amendment.

On the other hand, the industry continues to suffer as the media and other parties continue in their attempts to create a direct casual relationship between the infrequent acts of unbalanced youngsters with the virtual violence enjoyed by millions upon millions of people from all age ranges, who do not go on to commit anything so dangerous as a misdemeanour.

The desire of retailers to sell as many products as possible has also been working against the voluntary code, with stores suffering no financial penalties for selling a GTA game to a three year old. The attitude of far too many parents towards what is suitable material for their children has not helped matters much either.