U.S. Bill H.R.287 Aims to Make ESRB Ratings Legally Binding

Just caught this, http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...287-aims-to-make-esrb-ratings-legally-binding
Can someone find out more? That last part about banning sales of non ESRB rated games has me worried, being a collector of both old stuff and imports. Depending on how this is worded anything prior to the late 16-bit era, all imports, most shareware and most homebrew games could be banned. I worried about a repeat of the mid 90s fiasco on 'roids. For those who may not follow USA news, there were 20 6-7 year old kids killed at a school last month along with 6 adults. This is fallout from that.

 

That was my thought, but given the political climate here I'm worried about Video Games being scapegoated
by these morons. My question is why they think that the mandatory ESRB part is needed, all 3 console manufacturers require it and most major PC games have it, it would only serve to ban those categories of games I mentioned.

 

So that kid was mentally ill

Had a gun nutcase mom that trained him for years

And had assault weapons that are banned in many other countries

............but videogames get the shit for what happened, not his crazy-ass mom, not weapon companies that promote this military-grade shit, or the state for not keeping track of lunatics

Scapegoat much? I think YES

 

I don't even know where to begin...it is really getting scary where the United States is headed...

 

In the UK we have PEGI, which is legally enforceable. However I haven't found anything that says it's illegal to sell a game that isn't classified. As you say it's rare to have a game that isn't rated, the console manufacturers require it and so do most shops (in the UK anyway).

The only reason they would try to ban games not rated by ESRB is if they thought that someone would take advantage of not having their game rated, to sell games to people that wouldn't be able to buy it if they did.

Now that most games are bought on line it becomes a much different problem.

 

What's wrong with having legal enforcement on game ratings? Bring it on I say. It may save us having to put up with little shits while playing on-line as much. Retro games should be exempt of course since they were produced before ratings for games ever existed.

 

What is worse is that in the past few massacres there has been little to no evidence of a video game influence as tenuous as that evidence tends to be in the first place. It used to be that you had that idiot-now-disbarred-trial-lawyer stir up Fox News for a day or 2 but what is troubling is that it has been too quiet for too long for this to be anything other than the sharks gathering. Video games are the one thing that politicians can point to and not offend too many voters unlike the real issue and that is guns. Unfortunately the few video game lobbyists are too focused on the copyright debate to see that they have screwed the pooch on this one.

 

So much for the land of the free. There seems to be shit loads you can't do in the states these days. I don't see why 18+ rated games is any different than to stocking 18+ movies and selling them to kids. Should be the same rules. It did actually happen in the UK with one game that was given the BBFC 15 rating, the same rating as a movie. I think it may have been Night trap. This is before the whole PEGI thing they have now and the ESRB or what ever it was before that.

Come to think of it, none of my US Bluray discs have any age rating on them. Does this mean anyone can buy them?

 

You're overreacting. It means all NEW games must be rated and it is illegal to sell a rated game to someone under that age. It would have NOTHING to do with old games at all.

We've had BBFC ratings for years, and it works just fine. And we sell old games legally, too. It's just like pre-cert videos - they're perfectly legal because they were never certified.

 

The states has always had plenty of things you're not allowed to do, that's not what land of the free means.

It's not worth rating anything if you're not actually going to make it legally enforceable.

Ratings are there to protect people, without them someone could depict all manner of violence and depravity and sell it to whoever they want.

 

In my experience, most self-respecting game shops (well, Gamestop does) already do not sell mature rated games to children, and will ask any adult (or at least parent-looking adult) "Did you know that this game is rated Mature and may contain explicit violence (etc) and is not suitable for children under [17]?"

 

The problem you have in the US is just like in China. People just love to fuck others over for money. Sue for this, sue for that. Honestly, its pathetic. If you sold a M rated game on Ebay to a kid, how are you to know? You can't see them. Same if a kid buys a M rated game from say Amazon. That is not the fault of the seller but of the buyer and its parents for allowing it. If the parents of that kid tried to sue they should be fined themselves for being immature pricks and letting their kid bug such a game. The US really does need to step back and look at how stupid things are. Like I said, China is just the same, no actually worse. If you're in an accident there no one will help in case you try to sue them by accusing them if causing the accident. That is true. Its been mentioned on TV here many a time.

 

VERY WELL PUT! THANKS, AS ALWAYS, ASSEMBLER!

 

You don't do anything without being an authorized video game reseller, obviously.

 

I'm not worried about this. Several states have tried to do this and they always get struck down (quickly) for being unconstitutional.

 

That was before the Aurora theater and Sandy Hook shootings. People are emotional, upset, and just plain stupid in general. They need something to take the blame that doesn't involve them. Can't be the people, can't be the guns, can't be because America is at it's lowest point since the Great Depression. No, must be them vidya games. Since books, music, and movies have been done before, that leaves the next rising form of entertainment.

Will it pass? Maybe, maybe not. But don't think it won't happen just because it hasn't before.