Illinois Senate Give Thumbs Up to Video Game Restrictions

[Justin_McElroy]

Here's a fun game. Read this story on Yahoo! News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050520/ap_on_hi_te/video_games

...and count how many times you want to punch stuff.

Here's my personal favorite from the article:

The sponsor, Sen. Deanna Demuzio, denied the measure would interfere with free speech rights.

"Video games are not art or media," she said. "They are simulations, not all that different from the simulations used by the U.S. military in preparation for war."

Absolutely brilliant.

[chechenepiphany]

wow, they dont even qualify as media? i never knew.

[Vjornaxx]

Wow, I didn't know they weren't art or media. I'm so glad that someone is here to tell me these things otherwise I would have gone around in an ignorant stupor thinking that games are an artistic medium.

[Heretic Machine]

Speaking isn't a form of art or media either, speach is just constructed soundwaves formed into a language, much like that of a dogs bark. Her logic just destroyed Free Speech, OH noooooo!

Seriously though, America is becoming one of the most ridiculous nations in the world.

[Justin_McElroy]

Just ahh....throwing this out there:

Sen. Deanna Demuzio
Springfield Office:
Senator 49th District
M106 Capitol Building
Springfield, IL **62706
(217) 782-8206

Anyone want to mail her a copy of Mario Sunshine? Which, as we all know, is just a simulator for firemen who want to use their hoses like jetpacks.

[bKangy]

Actually, I'm going to try giving her a call. I wonder if she's ever played a video game, or if she's just talking out of her arse.

[Smithersnz]

I still don't get it. How is not selling a game with an R18 sticker on it to a 12 year old a bad thing?

Of course, the senator does sound like a bit of a retard.

[dr_qwandry]

Didn't the army actually come out with a game?
so does that mean that if I was 12 and played the game I could get charged, yet if I don't I wouldn't be patriotic? (assuming that I lived in said state in said country)

[Goronmon]

"I'm going to vote for this bill, but I'm voting for it for one reason — because this is a political bill," said Sen. Mike Jacobs. "If I vote against it, it will show up in a campaign mail piece."

Man do I hate politics...

[DiBiddilyBop]

First of all, I think this is a good thing.

Second of all, I think it's being passed for all the wrong reasons.

[bobbler]

I can't wait till most of the old ignorant politicians (I say ignorant because they should know, its a major part of the world we live in today) get replaced by people who at least know what the game industry is -- how completely opposite it is in reality than how it's portrayed in the media.

This rule is okay, but the reasons behind it are counterproductive to our society today.

[ElectricMonk]

the only way somebody could think that "video games are just simulations" is if they never played a video game in theirlife. and just think about how fucked that logic is. no wonder they are so opposed to video games when they think of them as 'murder simulations'.

[AbeLincoln]

First of all, I think this is a good thing.

Second of all, I think it's being passed for all the wrong reasons.

Seconded. Free speech isn't absolute it can and is restricted, the classic example that you can't yell "Fire" in a movie theater to incite panic and get away with it. It would be better if they argued from that point rather than saying it isn't an expressive medium.

[Wyrm]

So what the hell are people even making games for? Why do they get paid to make them?

If ART didnt exist in games as a form of VISUAL MEDIA, then there wouldnt be any point in playing them.

I play games to have fun, be enthralled by a story (like a MOVIE/BOOK), and marvel at the GRAPHICS.

Fuck the government, fuck them in their stupid conservative asses.

[LilAbner]

I still don't get it. How is not selling a game with an R18 sticker on it to a 12 year old a bad thing?

Of course, the senator does sound like a bit of a retard.

I'm right there with you, Smithersnz. Why in the world would anyone be opposed to a law banning sales of R18/M-rated games to minors?

And yes, the senator who said games are not art or media is retarded.

[Thenetcase]

Personally I think that it's time to get some people into office that have an inkling of what the hell they are talking about before they open their damn mouths.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

My senate embarrases me :(

[nein89]

Man do I hate politics...

Yeah. I mean, it's not especially surprising at this point, but I still almost choked when I read that bit. Hope the spineless twit has his blood replaced by acid.

[cppcrusader]

This is why the only branch of government I still have faith in is the courts. Because as soon as the courts review this they'll slap it down as unconstitutional, just like every other one.

[swiftdraw]

I can see how games like katamari damacy and Final Fantasy are like military sims... Riiiiight... I love how these politicians can say they are doing the moral thing by regulating these games and turn around and take favors/cash from special intrest groups. Are politicians the right people to tell us what morals we should have?

[RMan]

The statement made about games being simulations seems poorly stated, likely taken out of context, but still poorly stated. I think the point that she was trying to make is that many games are simulations, which applies to every game that's claiming to create a "realistic" experience. If realism is touted as a game's feature, then they are clearly trying to be a simulation, and if they pull it off, then they are a simulation. In the end it really matters little, simulation or not, the restriction of potentially harmful material to minors is not what most people would think of as censorship, and IMO if you oppose such things you should get over it and find a real cause to get upset about.

[WileE.Coyte]

"Video games are not art or media," she said. "They are simulations, not all that different from the simulations used by the U.S. military in preparation for war."[/I]

What She said

What she meant

We polotician's will continue to bash violent video games and make restrictive laws, until we get a piece of the 5-6 billion dollar videogame pie.

[kid cabelgo]

"I'm going to vote for this bill, but I'm voting for it for one reason — because this is a political bill," said Sen. Mike Jacobs. "If I vote against it, it will show up in a campaign mail piece."

at least this guy is admitting he's a fucktard

[vornskr]

On a side note:

If you get upset about the way politicians think and act, and repond to it by say "Politics suck; fuck the government, etc" you're not going to change anything, and you certainly aren't going to lend any credibility to the gaming community in their eyes.

Bobbler said it best with:
I can't wait till most of the old ignorant politicians (I say ignorant because they should know, its a major part of the world we live in today) get replaced by people who at least know what the game industry is -- how completely opposite it is in reality than how it's portrayed in the media.


Give it 30 years folks. Video games as we know them will not only be an accepted part of life, they'll be a fully incorporated part of it for those of us fortunately to live in 1st world countries. Hollywood had the same growing pains once upon a time, and the gaming industry is rapidly eclipsing it.

[net7runner]

I don't think you guys aren't giving the esteemed Senator the credit she deserves: I think she knows perfectly well that video games are valid forms of expression and that this bill will get shot down in the courts--she just doesn't care. As Sen. Jacobs noted, this is really just a ploy to be able to say "look! I'm hard on giving violent games to kids! And hey, if the judicial system shot it down, that's not my fault, right? I'm still out there trying to protect your kids."

It's still despicable, but that's another issue.

[mister_slim]

The only real problem is that the store is supposed to determine what can be sold to a minor. Hopefully it will just result in bumping up the age to buy a Mature game a year. Or maybe Wal-Mart will stop selling games in Illinois.

[jeffool]

Man do I hate politics...

I love politics! I hate politicians!

Ah well. Lemme go back to playing my "Defending-Earth-From-Aliens-And-Big-Brother-While-Helping-The-Good-Aliens" Sim.

[Furious Wang]

...and count how many times you want to punch stuff.


See? Video games do make you more violent.

I think limiting accessibility of mature video games to children is a wonderful idea. Just as long as adults can still purchase it.

[Kelegacy]

I'm a Democrat, yet it hurts me deeply when one of my fellow "liberals" goes all pussy and tries to do this shit. That's one aspect of politics that I dont agree with: censorship. Or at least, the effects of censorship. I understand that some kids shouldnt be listening to 50 cent albums but bleeping out the swears doesnt remove the context. How fucking numb is the Wal-Mart crowd anyway? So my censored cd says "MOO" instead of "FUCK". I want to Moo you in the ass.

As always, censorship starts in the home. I am not against restrictions, per se, but smearing the industry for NOT being art or media is ignorant and that bitch should be shot, flayed, and dropped in a vat of vinegar.

Videogames dont make you violent. ;)

[aversion2k]

I gotta admit. I'd be pretty annoyed if I was 17 and wasnt allowed to buy gta.

[Blue]

Ohio pwns. At least we haven't tried anything like this yet. Of course, our Governor has the lowest rating out of any other Governor in the U.S., so at least we have something to celebrate.

If video games are simulators, I'm going to be overly prepared when all the zombies finally arrive.

[aversion2k]

Plays are simulations.
Therefore Shakespeare is not art :P

[RMan]

I gotta admit. I'd be pretty annoyed if I was 17 and wasnt allowed to buy gta.
Hehe, teenagers need a reason for that now, I sure didn't :). Well, welcome to the world of not being an adult yet, if your parents didn't mind, they could buy it for you, like any other restricted materials.

This is not censorship, at least not what most people would term so. Although by the purest definition it would be censorship, by the same standards freedom is synonymous with anarchy, but by most people’s definition would not agree with that, and one clearly has a more negative connotation than the other.