New York Senate passes mandatory game ratings bill |
Ó
For a place that once deemed September 26 as Guitar Hero Day and allows Wii Fit launch events at Central Park, you'd think most people are pretty cool about games. We've got news that might startle you though, as the New York State Senate
recently voted 61-1 to approve a bill that would make game ratings
mandatory in the state of New York.The bill essentially turns the voluntary act of submitting a game for rating to the ESRB into a mandatory requirement for games to be sold in the state of New York.
Perhaps the best explanation for the side of the 61 who voted for the bill to be passed was explained by Senator Andrew Lanza, pictured above:
This simply says that every video game sold in the state of New York simply should have a rating consistent with what the ESRB does presently in a voluntary way... it does work. But the problem with "voluntary" is that tomorrow someone can change their mind. Someone could decide tomorrow to no longer place ratings on these games. So this is not about prohibiting the sale, this is simply about providing information to parents...
While there is a certain logic to what Lanza is saying, don't expect the videogame industry to take it lying down, as they will probably sue, citing that the bill is unconstitutional. In any event, this bill will now go to Gov. David Paterson for consideration. If signed by Paterson, the bill will become law in 2010.
Via GamePolitics
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Comments [refresh]
if the major console manufacturers would allow AO titles, i could see this being a good thing... otherwise it sounds like a waste of time and money when there are more important issues to be addressed.
kinda reminds me of that issue of spiderman that was published without the seal of the comics code authority, they didn't allow ANY mention of drugs. it was an anti-drug issue...
the ability for the community and the industry to define what is acceptable is eliminated by legislation.
Except...WE ARE the legislation.
Let the majority vote decide.
There's nothing wrong with hitting a situation before it becomes a problem. After all we ARE able to learn from the past.
There's so many more important issues here and THIS is what my tax dollars are being wasted on? Jesus tap dancing christ I can't wait to get the hell out of here.
if only parents actually paid some goddamn attention.
too many times have i seen articles about child+violent video games... when it's the PARENTS that bought the game for the child... and these games ARE RATED M.
i'm in favor of "Ratings"... so long as it's properly rated. i don't want to see something rated AO, if in reality it barely qualifies as a "T." and i definitely don't want to see something rated G if its supposed to be "M/MA"
as for AO titles... meh, there are plenty of sources for that if you want it.
How could they require game companies to rate their games, that ain't right. Even though no legit retailer will sell an unrated Ps3, Wii, 360 game. (cpu may be different, don't know) With game companies leaving the ESA, who says they will keep following the ESRB?
Why are people acting angry, they're not making the rating more stringent, just mandatory.
This could be a problem for me and my fellow independent game developers.
The article doesn't state exactly what type of rating has to be applied for a game to be sold in New York, and I'm curious about this. Does the law require ESRB, specifically that organization, to rate a title before it can be sold? Or do similar, smaller organizations suffice? Can we designate ratings ourselves?
Obviously, major publishers like EA will have no problem retrieving a rating from ESRB whatsoever.
If it's an ESRB-only matter, that could put us independent developers in a tough spot if ESRB is reluctant (or perhaps too busy) to take the time to play through our entire libraries and designate ratings to each title. Even then, I haven't looked into it, but I have to wonder how much ESRB charges for their time; perhaps nothing, but I wouldn't get my hopes up before researching it.. is this something we're all going to be able to afford?
aka josh1billion
you must not be a very good dev, if you can't find out a simple thing as the ESRB rating process.
are you in reality a 13 year old that wants to play M/AO games when you're afraid are sensible enough to know you aren't mature enough to play said games?
btw... http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_process.jsp
as for the cost... i'm quite certain it won't break the bank with actual indie houses.
I don't know if anyone thought of this or not, but I import a lot of games, and there's lots of places in New York City I go to pick them up. They're saying this bill is for games SOLD in New York State. European games and Japanese games have a rating system of their own, yes, but it's kind of different from the one used in the US. I'd hate to see them crack down on Japanese or European imports for having a different rating system, or one that most people can't understand. Not to mention, the rating system in Japan started recently, and I'm not positive every game gets rated. Also, what about older games? I'm sure there's got to be some sort of clause about games published before the law was put into effect (if it actually gets passed), but if they didn't think that far ahead...or back...I could just see someone throwing a fit because Super Mario Bros 3 isn't rated. I used to work in a video game store a few years back, and I'd have parents complain to me about nonsense like that, so the idea isn't completely unheard of to me.
This whole thing seems like another case of govornment officials trying to do a job that parents should be doing.
Nice English skills, bro.
They aren't always as accurate as they should be. I was reading an article from a previous game rater that said the rating doesn't necessarily get based on the game alone and if a previous game in a series had a higher rating that the following games' ratings were going to be at least the same or higher. I've seen a lot of games that got higher ratings than they should have had and some that didn't even make sense so I wouldn't doubt if this were true. It always gets me when a game for kids is pushed up a level due to 'comic mischief' or 'cartoon violence'. But their system isn't as jacked up as the MPAA ratings system (yet) so that's a good thing.
I have to agree with you whole heatedly on this. The ESRB has become, as I'm sure it was meant to be, the video game industry version of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Submissions may be voluntary, but I can't remember the last time I saw a game that didn't have an ESRB rating on it.
It may surprise you to know that it is not currently a requirement to submit material to the MPAA either. The reason every movie does it is because theaters wouldn't play the movie if they didn't. I see the ESRB in the same light, having a rating on the box tells me exactly what age range the title is meant for. As an adult gamer it can help me avoid childish titles when I'm looking for something with deeper, more mature, and possibly dark or violent content. So in my opinion, having an ESRB rating adds value to the title no matter what age group it's meant for.
Fair is fair though, if they are going to -require- one industry to submit its material for ratings then then they need to do the same for movies as well.