Madara XIII said:
indiana_104 said:
What's the big deal about the whole Schwarzenegger vs EMA case? I mean, I know that everyone has been saying that it will destroy the game industry if it's passed and all, but what is the actual law going to do? Stop people under 18 from buying M rated video games, right? Isn't that what retailers do already?
Could someone please clarify?
Yeah, that's basically it....I just kinda think the escapist blew it out of proportion there.
But what the case is really about is whether games are protected by the 1st amendment.
I mean where I'm at you still have to show your ID to buy an M rated game.
The escapist aaand...the entire gaming industry?
Yeah. When the entire industry puts on it's game face it's really not a big deal. Silly us. We should have just patted California on the back and wished them well on their journey to -the supreme court-
Taking away the first amendment rights of a medium is a -huge- deal. Imagine games like porn. You'll have special hidden away sections in stores, major retailers wont carry you, and in many states your small shops cannot be in public view on a street that sees X amount of traffic per day/month.
But unlike porn, it doesn't tap into our biological drives as human beings so we tend to buy lots of it, and -find- how to get it...
The gaming industry's net income will faceplant as they won't be allowed to advertise, or generally be seen by anyone except those that know where to look.
It really -isn't- a "feh, so what?" kind of threat. It's a major shit your pants kind of threat.
....Right up till they brought up Vulcans anyway...then it sort of became a jo-erm.. >.> I mean, it's a big deal. Sure it won't pass, but the idea behind it is a major one, even the supreme court mentions that. It could potentially be a catalyst for so much more.
