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

Fair criticism, but this isn't the first, nor will it be the last (afterall, this isn't a problem that can be fixed, contrary to what politicians might think) incident that people will pin on video games. The game industry is huge with plenty of legal power behind it.

 

People making a big deal out of nothing. Plenty of bad things happened before Aurora theater and Sandy Hook shootings. Anyone recall Columbine's Trench Coat Mafia? People tried to push the blame on violent video games and the musician Marilyn Mason. Guess what both are still around just as successful as ever.

Nobody in the States pays attention to ratings anyway because I watched countless M rated games and R rated movies sold/rented to parents knowing they were just going to hand it over to their their 10 year old once leaving the store.

TL;DR: Hey, Chicken Little, the sky is not falling!

 

They shouldn't but that doesn't doesn't mean they won't.

I personally don't think it will pass either, but I don't believe for a second that it's guaranteed 100% to get shot down. Not with the way our country currently is.

EDIT: To clarify, I don't mean that I think that our constitutional rights will be thrown out the window just because of an increase in mass shootings. Just that the possibility of new, more restrictive laws being added is still there. Like you would still technically have the right under the second amendment to own a gun, but they make it a pain in the ass to do so. With video games, they wouldn't be making it illegal to make or sell M rated games to adults, just illegal to sell them to minors. M rated games themselves wouldn't be illegal so nobody is being prevented from expressing themselves through video games, thus the first amendment wouldn't technically be violated. At least that's how they would see it.

 

This is America. We do not believe in accountability and self-responsibility.

 

I imagine they would all have similar implications to doing the same thing with a rated blu-ray film currently?

As Yakumo mentioned it's a system that's worked perfectly fine in the UK for a decent number of years now!

 

SCOTUS has ruled on this so they can try all they want but the chances of getting anything by them is slim at best.
Even if it did pass though, Do you really think whatever cash-strapped agency tasked with enforcing it is really going to waste resources on something as mundane as this? Nothing would really change except for the occasional headline bust to show they are "doing something".

 

Simple and vague. You can take some solace in knowing it could never pass as-is; a bill without pork is a dead bill.

If it did pass doesn't that slightly complicate the now ballooning online distribution of games? For that matter, one has to wonder how that would apply to the homebrew coder.

 

You don't see ages on the movies, because we don't use ages (well there are two exception to this). They are:

G - General Audience: (All ages)
PG - Prenatal Guidance: (some of the movie may not be suited for all ages)
PG13 - Not for viewers under the age of 13: (may contain: brief nudely, higher violence then what's in a PG movie, type of language that is used)
R - Restricted; Not for viewers under the age of 18 but if person under 18 is with an adult they can see the movie too. (strong language, nudely, strong scene of violence, may contain sex acts (not porn) or drug use.)
NC-17 (I forgot what the NC stands for) No one under the age of 18 can see this movie, unlike R you can't bring a minor with you to watch together: basically it is close to having pron scenes and or very strong language (example having 'fuck' said so many times.)
X - X rated No one under the age of 18 can't watch and it can't be sold to minors: This is porn

I think I missed one there but that's all the rated movies.

This is been really shot down from the SCOTUS, California tried to make it a law that only 'M-Mature' could only be sold to the 18 and older and it detected that the person buying the game was a parent then the store was require explain in detail of the game.

We'll this made it SCOTUS and they rules it was unconstitutional. So it was struck down.








=hugh

 

Aren't your DVDs already rated? It will be EXACTLY THE SAME SITUATION.

Can you sell DVDs on eBay? Of course you can. Can you sell them at a boot fair? Yup. As always, it's something we do over here with no problems and we have to tell you guys CALM THE FUCK DOWN, IT'S FINE! We've had ratings on videos since 1984 with no problems. Likewise - tight gun control, shootings are rare. National Health Service - great thing, the poor get treatment - quit listening to 50s bullshit propaganda created by the Government and health insurance companies, America!

eBay was a poor example, though - you have to be 18 to use eBay: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/identity-underage-users.html

Anyway, our games have been rated by the BBFC under the same classification system for a few years now (now the VSC use PEGI) and it works fine. Yes, we still ask in shops for proof of age for second hand games. Buying online isn't really an issue, though as you need a credit card to buy online and you have to be 18 to get one (well, a debit card I think you can get at 16). And as for old NES games and the likes, well they're not rated so it doesn't bloody matter who buys it! That said, video games didn't really feature such adult content back then.

No, as I said above, you'd be covered if you sold a game to a minor and if his parents tried to sue, your simple reply would be:

"eBay's terms state nobody under 18 may have an account on eBay."

Same on eBay USA:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/identity-underage-users.html

eBay's policy is clear. Anyone under 18 may not have their account and if they use their parents account, it is the parents' responsibility. You would win that case every single time.

 

NOW YOU'RE GETTING HOW AMERICAN POLITICS WORK.

 

This is technically unconstitutional as video games have been classified as art and to put these restrictions and regulations would damage how that art is expressed and bar others from it. Although it won't pass, you guys need to make sure it doesn't pass.
If it does, here's what goes down the drain:
-Indie games
-unrated content such as interactive movies and text based games
-gaming apps on the iphone/android
-all forms of gaming previous to the super nintendo and sega genesis as these do not carry the esrb

 

Uhh, what?! No!

Indie games will be fine. I repeat - RATINGS ARE THE LAW HERE AND IT WORKS FINE.

I also repeat - ANYTHING OLD THAT IS NOT RATED AND SECOND HAND MAY BE SOLD LEGALLY. Go look up pre cert videos on eBay. Likewise, any car that was made prior to I think 1982 that doesn't have rear seatbelts is not obligated to have them fitted, but it is the law for all cars made since 1982 to have rear seatbelts fitted. Or the ban on new items made from ivory. Items made of ivory before a particular date are STILL legal.

Gaming apps on Google Play, iTunes etc. will be FINE. Once again, I state that you need a credit card to purchase apps on these services and you have to be 18 to have a credit card! And the T&C state what age you must be (and that a parent must read the T&C with you if they allow under 18s to use the service and be responsible for their child's actions) - and you know damn well they'll change those T&C to specifically state it's the parents' responsibility if their child downloads inappropriately rated content.

Google Play

Apple App Store

Blackberry App World

Windows Phone Apps+Game Store

Now, once again, for all the Americans... and I'll make it big since it doesn't seem to sink in.....

• We have had firearm controls in the UK since 1824 and sales restrictions since 1903 and everything is FINE.
• We have had a publicly funded National Health Service in the UK since 1948 and everything is FINE.
• We have had a legal age rating on videos, DVDs and other such media in the UK since 1984 and everything is FINE.
• We have had a voluntary age rating on video games in the UK since 2003 that later became a legal rating and everything is FINE.

In 2009, there were 0.07 recorded gun murders in the UK per 100,000 people. The US equivalent was 3 - over 40 times higher. If that were the same last year, for the 63 million population of the UK, that would make 44 gun murders in 2012. It was actually 58 in 2011 (out of 638 murders), so pretty close. In 2010, there were 8,775 gun murders in the USA (out of 12,996 murders). That shows you that THE MAJORITY of your murders are using a gun, whereas A MINORITY of ours are. Go on, tell me gun control doesn't work (and if you think you NEED an assault rifle and high capacity mag in your house, you're crazy).

The NHS may not be perfect, but it WORKS. The poor get health treatment, which is as it should be. Not just in hospitals, but with their GPs, too. The amount of times friends of mine in America have told me they've been in pain for weeks but when I tell them to see their doctor, their response is "I don't have insurance and can't afford it", is unbelievable. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE TREATED WHEN YOU ARE ILL! All this bullshit propaganda thanks to Nixon and the insurance companies he was in bed with has brainwashed the vast majority of the American public for WAY too long.

Before the whole video nasties thing in the early eighties, kids were able to get their hands on any film, and there were films that were extremely violent, to a needless level. The introduction of a mandatory rating system helped control that. IT WORKED. You should know that because you have it, too. And it's just like the cinema ratings. You don't look old enough? You're not getting to see this film.

The video game ratings are the same. We ran them voluntarily for ages and they WORKED. If a salesperson in a game shop is caught selling an inappropriate film to a minor, THEY will get fined personally. Again - IT WORKS. And yes, it's necessary, because video games have content that is really unsuitable for children. No, not just violence, there's a lot of sexual content in there now, too - and bad language. We then had BBFC (legal) ratings, now taken over by a legal rating using the PEGI ratings, which we've had for 6 months. IT WORKS.

As for mobiles and online shopping, we're not some Third World country. We have eBay. We have Amazon. We have smartphones. And as we have ratings for games, we have to account for that - or not, as the case may be, via those platforms. Once again - IT WORKS!