Judge blocks California video game law

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The 'Rents

Allow me to share an anecdote which really makes this whole legal battle a pointless waste of dollars and resources:

A close, personal friend of mine used to work in a video store. He's since quit, gone to college, graduated, etc.

A boy, no older than 10 years old, walked into the store, chose a video to buy, brought it up to the counter and wanted to pay for it. My friend observed that the video was "Ninja Scroll", as in the one with two explicit rape scenes, and famous as one of the goriest anime series with any mainstream presence.

Of course, my friend didn't allow the sale.

Upset, the kid left the store emptihanded, only to return minutes later with furious parent. This _ADULT_ could not be reasoned with, would not hear a word about why the sale was not allowed, demanded to see the manager, bought the video for the child, and left declaring that they would never shop there again. (Hindsight being 20/20, this is a laughably rediculous response to something as otherwise reasonable as denying a child the purchase of a good)

The next day, the parent came storming back in. They had dropped in on their child watching the video, and was extremely disturbed at what they had seen. How could my friend possibly sell this video to their child? They demanded to see the managed, demanded action against my friend.

Rather than be fired, my friend quit.

On a related note, studies show that the ESRB rating system (the industry-backed, industry-designed, industry-regulated, industry-initiated, etc, system that rates video games by their content) was understood by over 75% of all parents out there as of 2002. And, even if there is a causal relationship between violence, sex, and gore in video games and long-term psychological disorders (the former causing the latter, not the latter fueling the former), the most common reason parents gave when buying games rated for ages higher than their child's was "my child is mature enough".

No legal actions, no regulations, no anything by anybody is going to stop the parents. They are their childrens' worst nightmare, not the video games, cable TV, or movie industries.

Posted by: IndigoDarkwolf   Posted on: 12/22/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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