Michigan governor signs gaming bill into law

Well I live in Michigan and I'm 17 so this really has little effect on me. Its good that they are protecting kids but I still think that censorship is a parents job not the lawmakers.
 
[quote name='dtarasev']Well I live in Michigan and I'm 17 so this really has little effect on me. Its good that they are protecting kids but I still think that censorship is a parents job not the lawmakers.[/QUOTE]


I agree. I'm also a Michigan resident as well.
 
Any law regulating the sale of any form of media is misguided. It is up to the parents to make sure that their children are playing games that are rated for their age. It's sad that lawmakers feel the need to placate idiots like Jack Thompson with pointless legislation. The ESRB does its job, it's up to parents from that point.
 
I agree 100%. I am a Michigan resident and even wrote a letter (email) to my state representative. I got a response that asked me for my name and address. I have no doubt I am now on a government watch list.
 
I don't really see a problem with this. Government already acts as the parent in the case of movies and alcohol. As long as the government doesn't start deciding what is mature, we shouldn't have too much of a problem.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I don't really see a problem with this. Government already acts as the parent in the case of movies and alcohol. As long as the government doesn't start deciding what is mature, we shouldn't have too much of a problem.[/QUOTE]

Government doesn't regulate movies IIRC, and alcohol is a potential harmful substance, not a form of media. In fact the major problem I often have with people and legislation like this is they make video games out to be this great evil that kids need protecting from. In this case, she puts video games along side child pornography, date rape drugs, and sex offenders. Also from the vague wording it seems like the Michigan government can interpret whatever they deem too violent and seemingly prevent the sale of it without relying on the ratings system. To quote the article:

"Though it doesn't use a game's rating to determine if the proposed law applies to it, SB 416 prohibits the distribution of "ultra-violent explicit video games" to minors."

Also I think these fines are crazy, many places don't even have fines for selling cigarettes and alcohol to minors that high. In fact, after doing a quick google it seems like the max fine for selling alcohol to minors in MI is $1000, one-fifth the fine of selling them a video game. Things like this may not be a big problem now, but more and more people in government appear to be trying to make it one.
 
The governor should sign a bill outlawing crime in the city of Detroit...

Wait, crimes are alreay illegal, by definition.

Then how come there's still so much crime in the city of Detroit ?



The people we elect in Michigan obviously have nothing better to do. But, thank god, they've outlawed violent videogames from the hands of minors. Since that was the root of all our problems, now all the other bad things will magically disappear.

This is actually a good thing for us gamers. Now, people can't sue the videogame makers for violent acts committed by morons since it's state regulated. They'll only be able to sue the person who illegally provided it to the minor. Or, perhaps, sue the state for lax enforcement.
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']Any law regulating the sale of any form of media is misguided. It is up to the parents to make sure that their children are playing games that are rated for their age. It's sad that lawmakers feel the need to placate idiots like Jack Thompson with pointless legislation. The ESRB does its job, it's up to parents from that point.[/QUOTE]

Seconded 100%.
 
way I see it laws like this will get the goverment off the backs of game developers.
Now it puts the blame squarely on the re-sellers and parents.
If a re-seller sells the game to a kid, the re-seller is in deep shit.
If a parent buys the game for the kid, its the parents own stupid fault.
 
I don't care if they regulate who can own what in terms of age. Now, if they were to step in and edit or remove violence from games, I'd have a problem -- which would be the other option, in relation to this bill.

So, oddly, I am for this bill.
 
[quote name='CapAmerica']way I see it laws like this will get the goverment off the backs of game developers.
Now it puts the blame squarely on the re-sellers and parents.
If a re-seller sells the game to a kid, the re-seller is in deep shit.
If a parent buys the game for the kid, its the parents own stupid fault.[/QUOTE]

Not really, game developers get money by selling their products. Should the sale of mature games be massively regulated or decline because of legislation, game developers will simply stop making more mature games. While they can't be held exactly at fault (nor should be anyways), it can affect them and what their product is.
 
[quote name='Duo_Maxwell']Not really, game developers get money by selling their products. Should the sale of mature games be massively regulated or decline because of legislation, game developers will simply stop making more mature games. While they can't be held exactly at fault (nor should be anyways), it can affect them and what their product is.[/QUOTE]

The only sales they will be loseing are the sales to kids who shouldn't be buying the game in the first place.
 
Kids will get the games anyway with the exception of a few cases. It's ultimately parents' faults. They should be more involved with their children, and if it's really that important to them, then they should be monitoring what goes on.
 
[quote name='CapAmerica']The only sales they will be loseing are the sales to kids who shouldn't be buying the game in the first place.[/QUOTE]

Um, no. It's not about lost sales anyway... well, it is but not in the way you are thinking about it. Once retailers are accountable for what they sell, M rated games will be pulled from the shelves altogether because it is a lot easier to not sell the game than trust your $6/hour moron employee to card everyone and uphold the (very poorly drafted) law. Now that the games are no longer sold at major retailers (hence the lost sales), the game designers will stop making them altogether because at the end of the day it comes down to making money and the developers have to earn a living, right? It's an unconstitutional infringement of free speech due to the secondary effects of the law.

It's like banning porn shops from being anywhere within a 500 ft. radius of a school or church when you can't go 500 ft. in the entire city without coming across a school or church. The law looks good on it's face - keep the porn away from God and school kids but in practice it bans porn altogether - that's unconstitutional - and so is this.
 
[quote name='javeryh']Um, no. It's not about lost sales anyway... well, it is but not in the way you are thinking about it. Once retailers are accountable for what they sell, M rated games will be pulled from the shelves altogether because it is a lot easier to not sell the game than trust your $6/hour moron employee to card everyone and uphold the (very poorly drafted) law. Now that the games are no longer sold at major retailers (hence the lost sales), the game designers will stop making them altogether because at the end of the day it comes down to making money and the developers have to earn a living, right? It's an unconstitutional infringement of free speech due to the secondary effects of the law.
[/QUOTE]

Exactly, you'd have to think about a place like Wal-Mart or Target not selling M-rated games because of all the restrictions, laws, fines, and negative press tossed about. If stores like that drop out you lose half the market, probably more and making M-rated games would not be worth it anymore and it would pretty much wipe out development of mature games.
 
I really don't like Granholm. I will refrain from further comments as they would probably really belong in the vs. forum. But I really don't like her. And I really don't like the Republicans, so that's saying something.

It's the fad these days. Look good to your constituency by making laws against video games. They don't even really understand video games, it's sad. :sad:
 
[quote name='GreenMonkey']I really don't like Granholm. I will refrain from further comments as they would probably really belong in the vs. forum. But I really don't like her. And I really don't like the Republicans, so that's saying something.

It's the fad these days. Look good to your constituency by making laws against video games. They don't even really understand video games, it's sad. :sad:[/QUOTE]


i agree with u, all the way
 
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