Why are people so against games in the US being regulated

[Agayek]

i just don't understand why people are so against video game regulation helps make people take things more serious people get really angry at news shows saying their favorite matured rated game is childish and for five year olds. I think if america has a regulation system like the UK games can be taken seriously and treated more like a medium.

Regulation of any form of expression is inherently invalid. That's the foundation of the very first item in our Bill of Rights. Regulating video games is precisely that, hence why it's aggravating.

Also, no amount of government regulation will change how the people at large react to it. If anything, encouraging government regulation at the beginning will just make it impossible to grow beyond that, forever limiting what games are produced and played.

 

[RaNDM G]

If games are an art form (which they are), then it is illegal and morally unjustifiable to regulate, because of the first amendment's freedom of expression. You may not agree with Mein Kampf (I don't agree with it), but to prevent its publication is both illegal and wrong. That's exactly what would happen, is that any game someone objected to, on any grounds, could be banned.

Same with movies. You don't see the government regulating pornography or NC-17 films. But you also don't see them playing in most theaters. The industry regulates itself.

 

[Easton Dark]

Who defines whats art and whats not? The government? OH SHIT DEY IS TAKIN AWAY OUR FREEDOMS!

Doesn't the supreme court define what's art, and congress passes the legislation for regulation? That's not really taking away freedom.

Fucking hell, it really pisses me off when I see some guy banging on about the fucking constitution. Not to shit all over those good old american values, but for fucks sake, shit that violates some amendment happens everyday and no one takes a stand.

It's not surprising on a site about gaming that people choose this issue to look at.

 

[Scow2]

But technically the underage kids shouldn't be part of the group buying the game anyway, so the developers shouldn't be factoring them in, since the game is not designed to be sold to them.

I don't know all that much about the constitution, but surely it doesn't say anything about people being able to buy material that isn't age-appropriate? If that was the case, then why aren't children allowed to buy alcohol?

The ESRB is just a suggestion. If the kids can handle it, I see no reason to keep them from purchasing a game. Parents can take that responsibility.

1st amendment's freedom of speech and expression applies to art. Video games are art, so the government can't interfere with it, and neither can the states. So no, nothing about 'age appropriateness', alcohol isn't art so much

Who defines whats art and whats not? The government? OH SHIT DEY IS TAKIN AWAY OUR FREEDOMS!

Fucking hell, it really pisses me off when I see some guy banging on about the fucking constitution. Not to shit all over those good old american values, but for fucks sake, shit that violates some amendment happens everyday and no one takes a stand. Then, when someone has the wonderful fucking idea of making sure a violent game doesnt get sold to a 5 year old everyone pisses themselves in shock and the whole country goes up in flames. Jesus Christ, just let the motherfuckers slap some regulation on it, its not like theyre trying to ban games altogether.

The U.S. constitution was originally written without the Bill of Rights (First Ten Amendments). The reason: They were believed to be understood, and that writing them down would give the government tacit approval to violate any rights not mentioned in the Constitution. Also, there's a reason the Tea Party's become such powerful force in the U.S.: people are sick of the gradual encroachment on our rights.

Also... the first and second articles in the Bill of Rights are completely inherent rights: There is absolutely nothing that anyone can do to stop someone from saying, writing, or believing whatever the hell they want. You can persecute them for it, but you cannot stop them. And everyone in the world is armed at all times. Whether it's manufactured weaponry, or the body's natural death-dealing instruments.

Same with movies. You don't see the government regulating pornography or NC-17 films. But you also don't see them playing in most theaters. The industry regulates itself.

Actually, pornography is regulated pretty strictly in the U.S., as anyone who's now registered as a Sex Offender for possessing the wrong kind of Manga, or sent a nude photo of their fifteen/sixteen-year-old body to their equally young boy/girlfriend.


Can this thread please be moved to the Religion and Politics forum? I'd rather not have it befouling the Gaming Discussion since it's only tangentially related to gaming.

 

[StarCecil]

Don't know about Britain. I have not seen the ESRB be well-enforced, anywhere.

I myself, a 24 yr old male with plenty of facial hair, was carded when buying Gears of War 3 @ the midnight release of it.

Most retailers I've seen enforce the ESRB. But I'm sure it varies by location.

And I, a 20 year old, was also carded when buying Modern Warfare 2.

 

[renegade7]

Because it's an insult to gamers, implying that they cause the things people claim they do. No other media (besides porno, but that's another story) is regulated.

 

[RoonMian]

Which leads me on to my final point, which is your reference to literature: You said that you'd even include it, which suggests you think it may have a lesser effect. I disagree. I think literature may have a stronger effect. To bring up Mein Kampf again, I think that would have a much more damaging effect than, say killing zombies or hookers. The way literature can promote a meaningful message is still more powerful than games or films.

Slight misunderstanding. I put it that way because as far as I know no one blamed school shootings in the last 20 years on kids reading to many books. I wrote that I'd even include literature because I'm under the impression that in most cases books are a medium neglected by young people anyway. Having been an exception to that rule myself I fully agree with you that books can be more significant in shaping a character.

I will be one of the first people to get The Human Centipede game if it ever gets made, those poor Germans and Australians will only get to hear me brag about it too because their versions will involve Nyan cat

Yeah, Germany sucks in having a national system instead of adopting the PEGI system the rest of Europe uses and as some games are cut in Germany. But even as the German system sucks you will hardly find anyone who won't tell you that it is totally the right thing to do to prevent by law that a human centipede game will be sold to minors. Just as the movie was only for 18 years an up.

 

[Tselis]

...
If games are an art form (which they are), then it is illegal and morally unjustifiable to regulate, because of the first amendment's freedom of expression. You may not agree with Mein Kampf (I don't agree with it), but to prevent its publication is both illegal and wrong. That's exactly what would happen, is that any game someone objected to, on any grounds, could be banned

Pretty much. Games have been declared protected speech under the First Amendment, like books, movies, art, actual speech, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_the_United_States

You can read up about it here. Things are a bit different in the United States. =)

 

[The Good Doctor]

One of the biggest issues I have with regulation of video games in the US is that it could open up legal loopholes and make it easier to impose even greater restrictions and censorship on games.

Also, "regulation" (a.k.a. censorship) furthers the anti-video game agendas of religious shitheads like the people on FOX. Y'know, all them goddamn Jesus freaks. And those old fucks who can't tell a d-pad from a dildo.