The Law on Games

"[The] proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretation and enforcement problems inherent in the proposal's design."

That's Frank Zappa testifying before Congress in 1985 during hearings instigated by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). He's talking about the PMRC's proposal to regulate music sales, but could just as easily be talking about the movement in several states to protect children from violent and sexually suggestive game content by criminalizing the sale of certain titles to minors. Despite a hefty legal precedent suggesting that legislation to control entertainment does not work, state legislatures across the nation are seeking -- perhaps with the best of intentions -- to shield minors from violent and sexual content in games.

The Problem: Growing Pains

As both a business and form of entertainment, video games are growing and diversifying. As happened during the 1950s with comic books and the 1980s with music, games have begun to feature a breadth of content not always suitable for children. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board, the industry's primary self-regulating body, has refined a detailed rating system to warn parents that a game contains inappropriate content. (Every parent should read the board's ratings guide.) Games bearing the 'AO' or 'M' rating, like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, are emphatically not made for children.

But unlike movie ratings, which are based on MPAA committee viewings, game ratings are based only on content lists submitted to the ESRB by publishers. That industry-only system may not be enough for lawmakers, who in several states since 2001 have moved for measures to regulate game sales. Initial legislation was passed at the civic and county level, but broader bills with non-specific language forbidding "violent games" have begun to proliferate in state legislatures. And a federal bill to regulate game sales has been proposed in the United States Senate by Hilary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman.

The urge to legislate is understandable. Many parents feel alienated from gaming culture, while others don't understand that the content in games is as variable as that of television and movies. Critics like Jack Thompson, a Florida lawyer, allege that video games such as Halo and Unreal leverage tactics identical to those used by the military to train soldiers. Thompson frequently uses the term "murder simulator" to represent violent games.

Games have also been a lightning rod used to direct attention to other stories. Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold famously enjoyed the game Doom. In March of 2005, after teenager Devin Moore likened his murder of three people to a video game, Thompson filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, GameStop, Sony and Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive.

GTA: San Andreas Jack Thompson

In addition to painting certain games as harmful, accusations have been levied against the industry for serving only its own interests, rather than thinking of families and their children. Led by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the games industry has been quick to respond to almost every law regulating gaming. In many cases the ESA has contended legislation on constitutional grounds. Indeed, several laws have been written in unconstitutionally vague language.

We contacted Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), to ask what the industry can do to meet legislators halfway, and to discuss whether the industry rating system might be forced to become more independent. The ESA had no comment on the question.

To many, however, legislation is not the result of a vocal outcry by parents, but of electioneering based on a press over-reaction to "Hot Coffee," the scandal which erupted when sexually explicit code was uncovered in the best-selling San Andreas. Industry defenders are quick to point out the results of controversies over comic books and music, both of which were resolved when each industry self-regulated, as the games industry has been quick to do.

At the center of the controversy, then, is one question: can a self-regulating industry raise parental awareness enough to keep questionable games out of the hands of children, or must government, at a state or federal level, take steps to reign in gaming?

The Solution: Oklahoma and Louisiana >>