Minnesota Pays Video Game Industry $65K In Fees

I Said More Ham writes "Minnesota's attorney general will drop the state's efforts to fine underage buyers of violent videogames after a high court struck down a state law as unconstitutional. The Entertainment Software Association, one of the plaintiffs in the case, announced Monday that the state paid $65,000 in attorney's fees and expenses."

Does this mean minors can now buy porno, too?

[BobMcD]

I mean, there's no provable, causal link between violence and porno either. AND porno has been found, time and time again, to BE protected.

There's something schizophrenic going on here...

Re:So what's the point of having ratings?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, I don't want you in my society either?

So who's going to leave?

Re:So what's the point of having ratings?

[xstonedogx]

The ratings are a very convenient first step. If it is rated M, I know it is not okay for my daughter; no need to look into it. If it is rated E, I know it is probably okay. I'll still look into it, but being able to "eyeball" and rule out an entire class of games makes life easier. On top of that, once the games are home, it's easier to set clear boundaries. My kid knows that any games rated E that I've allowed in our house are fair game, but that games rated M or whatever are daddy's games.

Correct...

[Firethorn]

Most people don't realize this, but the whole movie rating system is contractual in nature.

Though the cynics like me will point out that it was done to AVOID stuff like this where the government tries to make it mandatory. Laws and court battles are expensive. Criminal charges are outright crazy, but look at alcohol laws - they didn't want a situation where allowing a minor to see an R rated movie would be a felony.

So they regulate themselves a bit. Besides which, I think that most stores do the same thing with 'adult' video games, so why the big deal?

Then again, we STILL have people who think that prohibition is a good thing, who think that violent video games create violent kids*. Heck, kinda like the hoopla about dungeons & dragons back in the day.

Of course, my parents generally didn't care about the rating system. I was allowed to rent whatever I liked from the rental store, to the point of getting a permission slip from my parents to allow me to rent R rated movies as a young teen. I just had a verbal warning to not get anything from the horror section. Wasn't interested in them anyways.

My opinion, formed from my experiences and those of my friends is that adults under estimate what kids can handle, and over estimate any 'damages'. A kid coming upon a body IRL is probably going to need some counseling. A body on the boob tube isn't the same thing. Especially in a movie, as long as the parent has first verified that the kid knows it's a piece of fiction.

*Statistics, if anything, point out the opposite when it comes to real violence, of the sort that garners criminal charges.

Re:Money well spent

[dbmasters]

yes, we are indeed very pleased with out gov't in the last year voting for tax hikes for pet projects, voting themselves a 62% raise in "daily spending allowance" (they now get about $100 a day for lunch and parking expenses) and now they take kids to court and fine them for buying violent games... Yep, we Minnesotans are popping buttons with pride.

Re:So what's the point of having ratings?

[chemisus]

They are one of the main reasons why I quit playing halo on xbox live. That and the obvious hacking.