Missouri Looks To Put Tax on Violent Games

On Thursday it hit the news that a Missouri state rep by the name of Diane Franklin is looking to take some measures to curb exposure to violent video games. Under the bill, games rated T or higher by the ESRB would get an additional one-percent tax increase to help fund treatment for those that have had too much exposure to such content. Obviously this legislation comes hot off the heels of the Sandy Hook tragedy so odds are such bills are likely to be taken seriously.

While I certainly think violent games is an issue, I don't necessarily think that this is the right way to go about solving the problem. When it comes to figuring out what to do with this kind of graphic material, I think the solution comes from two main sources: game retailers and parents. Forget taxing M rated games, and pose more strict regulations against minors getting ahold of content they shouldn't be allowed to see. Obviously if a parent buys the game, then they have made the choice to expose their child to whatever the game contains. Regardless IDs should be checked for any title higher than a T-rating and a refusal of purchase should happen if one is not present. While we're at it, why not have ESRB start an ad-campaign to educate parents on ratings? Pass out flyers at retailers to make sure they know the deal.

As far as I'm concerned, taxing content we are legally allowed to purchase is a silly notion. Parents and retailers just need to learn to regulate.

Finally, we round out the week with a marketing blunder by developer Deep Silver!

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