The Supreme Court struck down a California law banning video game retailers from selling “ultra-violent” video games to children. Why is this important and what does it mean for parents? Read on! The law seemed so simple and so common sense. Retail stores should not be allowed to sell ultra-violent video games to children. Well yeah, who wants their child to be able to walk into a retail store and buy the latest version of Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty without their parents knowing? So why did the Supreme Court decide that this law was unconstitutional? It comes down to one main flaw. What is “ultra-violent”? Those of you who played video games “back in the day” may remember a few titles that cause some serious uproar. I’m specifically referring to Doom. Doom was famous for putting players into a realistic first-person shooter setting where the player’s character had to make his way through a martian colony that had been overrun by the forces of Hell. It was made infamous by the amount of violence, blood, and gore included in the game. It was one of the first games to give the player a realistic looking weapon, which included a chainsaw, and let the player tear through angry, vicious, scary enemies. At one time it was even blamed for the Columbine shootings. Yet if you take a look at the graphics of Doom compared to the graphics and realism of modern video games and Doom seems laughable in comparison. There are few teens or preteens that would believe that the pixilated monsters and two-dimensional environments were real, let alone be genuinely frightened by them. Compare the violence to games like Call of Duty: Black Ops or compare the horror to games like Silent Hill and tell me that they’re even in the same universe. Which leads to the primary problem, what is “ultra-violent” today will almost certainly seem laughably unrealistic in the near future. Take a look at the blood in Fallout: New Vegas. It almost looks like red ketchup when it spurts out of a dying enemy. Or take a look at the “gibs” in Gears of War 2 or 3 that look like chunks of steak-colored jello flopping about. Just because you make a leg out of meat jello doesn’t make it scary or gross. It’s all relative. On Twitter I mentioned that we have mixed emotions, so let me explain. The law’s intentions were good. Children shouldn’t be allowed to get their hands on mature video games. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be making this site. But here’s the kicker: children can’t buy mature games from retailers already. The vast majority of retailers, especially the major chains like Gamestop and Best Buy, tightly regulate the sales of M rated video games to minors. Why? Because they know that every parenting league would be on their front door protesting if word got out that they were selling Manhunt 2 to children. When I bought Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a teen I had to have my dad come in with me and pay for it. Gamestop wouldn’t sell it to me otherwise. When I bought The Punisher I was told I had to wait until I was 17 even though my birthday was in three months. So the law would have added an extra redundancy (and extra costs for regulation) to a system that was already self-regulating. But most importantly, the law would take away the very thing our site works hard to achieve. We want parents to make informed decisions. The government shouldn’t be making decisions for you; you should be making them for yourself. So don’t be angry that the law was struck down. We’re not. We already make informed decisions, and so are you.
2 Comments
Pop
7/3/2011 05:21:59 am
Yup. You're right, though if you don't have it yet, maybe refer to it on the home page. Bring back Doom!!!
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Jonah Mann
3/21/2013 05:28:14 am
I fire my red legos at your brown legos and it makes more red legos! ROFLCOPTER! LMAO!
Reply
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The Legendary Carmine
Andrew Clayton (a.k.a. The Legendary Carmine) is SSG's Executive Editor. He toils at the stone to make sure this site brings its readers valuable content on a daily basis. Like what we do? Want to see more? Donate to the site using the button below!
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