Violence in Video Games

In 2011 the Supreme Court ruled out a ban in California on violent video games. The case was started because violent video games were getting into the hands of minors. There was a seven to two vote between the Justices on the case. The California Ban was thrown out because it was protected by the 1st Amendment. Another reason the case was thrown out was that the new law didn’t clearly state what games would be in violation of it. I believe that the Justices did the right thing. There are already ways to keep minors from getting violent games such as the ESRB and PEGI. Many stores and retailers also have regulations about selling to minors. Other forms of media have ways to stop younger viewers from seeing inappropriate material.

In 1994 the ESRB or Entertainment Software Rating Board formed after games like Night Trap and Mortal Kombat. The ESRB has created six forms of ratings to put on games. They range from Early Childhood (EC) to Adults Only (AO). These rating are in place to keep games from getting into the hands of minors. The Pan European Game Information or PEGI for short is the European equivalent to the ESRB. The ESRB has prevented the sale of mature rated games to minors 87% of the time. Its not law for games to have a ESRB rating or PEGI rating but store will not accept the games if they didn’t have a rating. I believe the ESRB should be law for all video games. Retailers follow the ESRB and help prevent the sales to minors.

I have been to Walmart and was refused the sale of an mature rated game even with my parents buying it. I think all stores should do this. When you go to a Gamestop you can buy a mature rated game with the presents of your parent or guardian but they will let them know why the game is rated that way. Now there are no laws putting this in place, it is only store policy. All stores should have this policy that way there won’t be any laws creating bans on video games. Comics are another source of media that has been brought to the attention of the courts for their violence.

Just like the ESRB, comics had a similar rating/censored systems, the Comic Code Authority. The Comic Code censored what readers read. The code censored more than what the ESRB did. But in the early 2000s the Comic Code was dropped by companies like Marvel and DC comics who created their own rating to tell the reader what is in the book. Manga, Japanese comics have their own rating system just like American comic books. Its called the Yen Press Rating System. This is very similar to the ESRB with rating ranging from “A” for all readers to “M” for mature. So video games aren’t the only source of media that tries to keep younger for seeing what they shouldn’t see.

In the end the Supreme Court made the smart choice of stopping this California ban law. If one form gets banned for violence what would happen to other forms such as comics. Video games and comics already police themselves with ratings to keep younger viewers away. I think it should be up to the parent if they want to expose their kids to the violence in video games.