New York state considers two bills banning sale of violent games to minors

***wraggster*** · January 18th, 2007, 18:15

via engadget

It's about time. We're just sick and tired of all those whipper snappers, running amok in our deatmatches and stealing all our kills. Rep. Aurelia Greene (D) and Rep. Keith Wright (D), patron saints of mature gamers, have both proposed laws which ban the sale of violent video games to minors in the state of New York, and hide them away in an adults only section of the store. Rep. Wright's law concentrates on more scandalous forms of violence and racism, while Rep. Greene seems generally down on the whole general of video game violence. Keith Wright's law would require an ID check for anyone appearing under the age of 30 attempting to buy a violent video game, which seems to work so well at keeping alcohol and cigarettes out of the hands of minors.

**felonyr301** · January 18th, 2007, 18:17

under the age of 30 wtf??

**darthhaze420** · January 18th, 2007, 18:32

30 is to much but 21 is just fine but it will not work because most parents are stupid when it comes to video games most of them don't look at the esrb rating and out of the ones that do most don't care and will buy it just to shut up there brat i hated battlefield 2 MC and cod3 on the xbox 360 just for that reason someway somehow they will still blame all the worlds violence on video games

**gr42178** · January 18th, 2007, 18:33

Originally Posted by felonyr301

under the age of 30 wtf??

They will just check your ID if you look under 30. The legal age to buy the game will be 18 most likely.

**F9zDark** · January 18th, 2007, 18:48

Well if it becomes a law where you walk into a game store and it says: "We ID for anyone appearing under 30, wishing to buy M rated games" then I think parents may realize what exactly they are doing and will stop to think about it.

Really, like that one grandmother that sued Rockstar because she bought GTA San Andreas for her 12 year old grandson, and was pissed off at the content.

Even a sign like that may have made the grandmother realize that an M rated game is bad enough to be illegal to sell to minors and that maybe she should have picked up her grandson something a little more kid friendly.

I grew up with violent video games and I turned out just fine. But my point is, is that if its illegal and the parents buy it for the children anyway, they have no recourse; meaning they can't sue the game company because they circumvented the law. This law aims to protect kids, but at the same time it protects the game companies as well.

Imagine a parent trying to sue a cigarette company because it gave their child cancer, yet they purchased the cigarettes for their kids... Needless to say, that suit wouldn't take flight.

**Hungry Horace** · January 18th, 2007, 20:20

there's nothing wrong with having game rated like films. the problem is, that the law is never enforced.

i think looking under 30 and asking for ID is a bit steep, but at least it might finally make the rating mean something and actually work to an extent. you'll never stop the problem, but it's better than some of the suggestions that have gone before.

**homebrew1973** · January 18th, 2007, 22:36

You must be 30 years of age to buy a "mature" game where you physically harm no-one but be in your late teens and you`re eligible to be a mind-controlled robot (namely the armed forces) and can kill for real.

What an upside-down world we live in...

**Broadus** · January 19th, 2007, 00:15

Y'know, I grew up on Mortal Kombat and DOOM and I'm not any more violent than the next guy. My dad and stepmom let my little brother and sister play the most violent games in existance, as long as there are no "bad" words. Which I can understand, because though they'll likely never go out and steal a car or kill someone, curse words are easier to pick up for small children.
Anyway, making an "adults only" section for games that simply contain XTREME violence is much too extreme. Yes, more extreme than the XTREME violence itself! Every time I've bought or rented an M game (had to have my parents around, of course), the employee would be like, "You're aware that this game is rated M for blood and violence, correct?"