New Congress bill wants 'cigarette-like' warnings on game boxes |
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Feels like a bucket of bricks just fell on my forehead. Heard via GamePolitics, a new bill is being passed in Congress which would have some staggering effects on how our video games look all nice and fun-like on the retail shelf.The bill, H.R. 231, was thrown in by representative Joe Baca. Once approved, it'll require Teen-rated (or higher) video game boxes to have a warning label on it, much like what they have on cigarette boxes.
To quote part of the bill itself, the warning label:
shall be placed in a clear and conspicuous location on the packaging of the applicable video game and shall state: `WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.'.
Egads. That just totally sucks for all the artists' efforts in making a snazzy boxart... well, that, aside from the obvious fact that it's just too damn obtrusive! Ugh.
Related articles:
- U.S. Senator Roger Wicker introduces videogame rating legislation
- Ted Price says video game legislation "has no place in America"
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Comments [refresh]
But all these possible chemicals in every day things that "may" be linked to cancer doesn't nee any big obvious warning sign on it.
is they write on condoms: warning, Condoms maybe bad for your back, excessive use will result in back aches ":S
No clue why but that just gave me flash backs of LSL1 in the liquor store...
What a Pervert!
This is one of the lamest things i've ever heard of.
Did you know there's a correlaton between ice cream sales and murder rates?
We've all read the studies!
And Yes, I do mean the Bible too. Everyone I know who reads that thing gets either paranoid or psychotic.
WARNING:Excessi ve use of Congress has been shown to hinder freedom.
That is all plain BS, just because Video games are the most popular thing right now they are always attacked, if you put this warning on you need to do it for everything, Books. Music, Videos, cars (Because there is a link to killing) pretty much anything that can result in harm, hell put a mark on my dic* that shows WARNING unintended use may lead to Rape.
Oh my god, I play Halo and now I want to kill you! This is all BS just like rowedahelicon said. What about the kid who killed himself after listening to Ozzy? Where are the warning labels on Ozzy's, Slipknot's, etc etc's albums, "Warning: Listening to this will make you kill yourself. Have a nice day. :)"
I find violent video games as a stress release. I go on GTA 4 and jack a few cars and crash them and I feel great, it is also a good way to not be bored. We can't all play Hello Kitty Island Adventure like Butters, yes I refered to South Park.
What about movies and TV??? It is all with the fad of the time. And of course games have been the main target ever since the Doom and Quake days.
What makes me even think about killing someone is things like this. Of course if I did it the head lines would read, "Person kills congress, and this boy has played "Violent" video games."
I WANT GAMERS IN THE GOVERNMENT!!!!! ! That would solve all of this. The gamers would at least be on the real issues.
Think about pr0n. Everyone says that is bad and can lead to violent rapes. The news is a HUGE part to blame. They throw everything out of proportion in the quest to get ratings. They say screw integrety, lets make MONEY!!!!!
I am sorry for the long comment. Dang, I should have put a warning at the beginning. "Warning: You may learn something and your brain might fry and cause you to go on a murderous rampage and kill hundreds of gerbils." XD
I just looked at the bill and in the first few lines I found a loop hole. It says for games rated by the ESRB. All the game makers have to do is create another rating system or just don't get your games rated. Ratings are not legally required, unless that bill passed witch I am not sure of.
Very true But stores wont carry unrated games
They can always come up with a new rating system. They can still be done in a similiar way, and they are free from the bill, if it gets passed.
oh what a lame...if thts the case thn they should also put tht warning label on foods and all those kinda *****s..saying over eating can be harmful to yo health.
How stupid can some people be, I've played violent games and I'm a nice guy (honest). Theres got to be something broken in people to be *that* violent in the first place, and games certainly don't trigger that, they are just an easy scapegoat as always. Governments should tackle the cause of the problem and not just look for easy targets. I'm thinking Columbine and music here, not going to get into the bands assosiated but they were blamed, and it was proven that the 2 who did it didn't even like said bands music - easy scapegoat.
As for the Bible warning... some beat ya' to it -> http://neil.franklin.ch/Jokes_and_Fun/BibleWarning.jpg
Does everything require a warning label nowadays? This case doesn't even warrant one. What about big warning labels on movies? After watching The Fast and Furious, I wanted to go out and drive really fast.
You can thank the democrats for this. As much good social change that the democrats might bring, we in this country will get world class censorship from it. I'm not talking about Obama because his record on censorship is less clear but about the democrat party as a whole.
Cigarettes were around for an extremely long time before they finally were forced to put warning labels on them, and they only did that because it was proved beyond a doubt that through large scale properly done studies that cigarettes are linked to cancer and other diseases. Video games have not gone through such studies. A measly couple thousand people is no where near a large enough study to say without a doubt that video games are linked to violence. I'm sorry but until they can prove without a doubt that video games are linked to violence then this should never even be considered, and in order to do that they need to perform a massive study that will look at a significant number of all people who play violent video games to determine if there is a link. Of course they won't do it because it costs money, and could prove them completely wrong. Instead they would rather spend their time looking at it the wrong way by seeing how many violent criminals played violent video games. If you do that then you could prove that anyone who buys a big white van has a significant chance of being a pedophile. That doesn't quite work does it? Well neither does linking violent criminals to video games, and saying the games made them violent.
You make good points.
Some studies say, "We think there may be a link," while some say, "There is no link." They really are cheap jokers. They waste money in all the wrong places.
Parents should try to teach there children how to deal with anger and aggression. In fact I think I know what is wrong. What happened to getting the belt and giving a good whoopin??? I remember those days, I regreted every thing I did when the belt came out. That is why I can deal with my anger, I know that anger only makes things worse.
Look at the case where the kid killed his parents over Halo 3, it is on the front page right now if you don't know what I am talking about. Halo 3 did not make him kill his parents, something in his brain wasn't working quit right. That is not an excuse for what he did, but it does mean that you should look at all the facts before you jump into something. Don't go hog whiled over nothing but a biased opinion.
Haha, I can see white vans now having a sign plastered on them "possible pedophile operating this vehicle, keep children away"!
what a ****ed up society we live in!
Joe Baca (more liek baka, mirite?) served in Vietnam and there have been a hell of a lot more cases of Nam vets going haywire than gamers, so maybe he should wear a label on his forehead stating "WARNING: May occasionally have violent flashbacks." Next I suppose tear jerking media will carry a label stating "Warning: This media may make the consumer cry and crying has been linked to depression and suicide."
Next are all vehicles, sunlight, debate, relationships, politics, thought, instinct, existence and lack thereof, etc....
LOL...
Lubber.
I don't see any problems with putting on the box. I mean, seriously, people do get seizures and other health related problems. Whoever says that things like tv and video games doesn't contribute to obesity is lying.
Besides, the health warning hasn't stopped people from buying cigarettes. Would it stop people from buying video games?
No it wouldn't.
Also, I bet half of these people don't even notice the seizure warning they put in these games. So if its already there, it shouldn't cause any problem if its on the box.
Make the publishers switch from ESRB to PEGI and the problem is solved.
Only a phscyo ***** would kill over something they saw in a game. Some random little kid WILL NOT BECOME A FRIKKIN TERRORIST FROM PLAYING A VIDEO GAME
In this case, I WANT LABELS ON DVDs and BLU-RAYs
"Warning: Watching too many scary movies may make you feel scared *****less"
This is seriously getting out of hand.
That's what rated M is for
What more warning do people really require. If it is rated M there is a reason, and if the parent or person buying the game ignores that then it is his/her own fault for doing so. If we keep this up then we are going to end up having warnings on everything just like Galduke and Nathanias say above.
another utterly bulls hit law make up by utterly bulls hit old men in suits that have no idea what goes on in games except for what they read in the news. Video games harmful for my health? pffsshh...Yeah why don't they have big warning posters on the walls of every fast food chain in America... since y'know, that is ACTUALLY harmful for my health. idiots.
It should say "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior IN PEOPLE WHO ALREADY HAVE UNDERLYING MENTAL ILLNESS."
You have to already be crazy to play GTA and then go on a murder spree. You have to already be crazy to watch a movie and then go lay down in the middle of the road (Trainspotting) .
There is not ONE SINGLE STUDY which can doubtlessly PROOVE that exposure to violent games is "linked" to agressive behaviour!!
There are mere correlations- but most of the people in congress wont understand the difference, I bet.
What is so sad is that even there is no scientific proof in hundreds of studies conducted on video games they are considering to make an official law which requires companies to write lies on their boxes. Sick.
Cigarette use in the US has fallen by half since the 1950s, when cigarette smoking was linked to cancer
But warning people that they could die from smoking is a good thing, this is pointless. No study has linked and no study ever will definitively link games to violence. Obviously playing a difficult game that frustrates you will make you angry for a short while, and killing people in sick ways in a game will alter your mindset, but again, only for a short while. If you ever go as far as killing someone because of a game, there is something wrong with you, not the game.
Fortunately the generation that first grew up playing games will control the government soon, and hopefully all this nonsense will end.