US bill wants cigarette-style warnings on game cases

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/us-bill-wants-cigarette-style-warnings-on-game-cases/093134

An astonishing new bill proposed in the US argues that video games should carry similar warning labels to those found on cigarettes.

TheHill.com reports that The Violence in Video Games Labelling Act “is a reaction to what the two members say is increasing evidence that playing violent games can have a serious, long-lasting impact on children, which should require a health warning to consumers.”

Representative Joe Baca stated: "The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers — to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products.

"They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. The proposed labelling system would apply to all games, regardless of their age rating, with the exception of EC (Early Childhood) titles.

US trade body The Entertainment Software Association responded to the moves in a statement to Game Informer: “The ESA supports providing parents with complete and useful information so they can make informed purchasing decisions. The current video game rating system does so and has been lauded as the leading rating system in the entertainment industry.

“Unfortunately, Representative Baca’s facially [sic] unconstitutional bill—which has been introduced to no avail in each of six successive Congressional sessions, beginning in 2002—needlessly concerns parents with flawed research and junk science.

“Numerous medical experts, research authorities, and courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court, exhaustively reviewed the research Representative Baca uses to base his bill and found it lacking and unpersuasive. Independent scientific researchers found no causal connection between video games and real life violence.”

shit, they cause cancer... time to go cold turkey!

So they want something on the case that tells parents what game are suitable for their children to be playing?

Damn, I thought those things existed and were called ''ratings''.

Why stop at video games? What about movies, youtube, the internet?

As the ESA said, this guy has proposed this bill multiple times over the years, failing every time, and the courts have already ruled against the studies he is using to support it. It is flimsier than ever.

There's no reason to give this more concern or attention than it deserves. aka. None.

Games are addictive and fun, not sure if that's a warning or an endorsement.

a) There is no medical evidence that violent video games affect people's chemistry.  The fact that he uses the word 'medical' completely annihilates that argument.
 
b) Violent video games are rated M, which means kids aren't playing them, which means his warnings are for adults which is ridiculous.  Adults can take care of themselves, that's what being an adult is.
 
c) He wants this applied to non-violent video games as well.  That's not a reasonable argument, that's being politically strident.

It's true though. I mean, the other day I was playing Mario Kart and then went for a drive and through a banana skin out of the car expecting the car behind me to crash ........ next it will be a toroise shell and then what? I need their help to stop me from a life of crime.

@Contrarian said:

It's true though. I mean, the other day I was playing Mario Kart and then went for a drive and through a banana skin out of the car expecting the car behind me to crash ........ next it will be a toroise shell and then what? I need their help to stop me from a life of crime.

That reminds me of this amazing comic.

(Open in New Window the image at the bottom to see the whole thing or just click this link):

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/070/c/2/gamesrbad4u__mario_kart_by_pirrip-d4sgyd5.jpg

The guy makes some hilarious comics about a kid taking games too far.

http://gamesrbad4u.tumblr.com/

@Marz said:

shit, they cause cancer... time to go cold turkey!

I saw a mother playing Bejewelled right in her child's face yesterday, it's like she'd never heard of the dangers of second-hand videogames.

they should also have warnings on KFC chicken buckets. with a pic of a big fat sweaty guy saying this will be you if you eat to many of these.

Not gonna happen.

I just wish people could be okay with the notion of parenting. Of actually keeping tabs on what your children do and adjusting according to their maturity level. That's all that should be necessary. Of fucking course you don't give your pre-teen kid a game that received an M rating for a reason. No one could and should police parents who shouldn't be parents.

And yet, here I am, the kind of kid who watched R rated movies and played M rated games in my pre-teens, and I'm one of the biggest advocates for peace and shunners of senseless violence you'll probably meet.

Still, putting such a warning on a video game box will do literally nothing. It's not some kind of federal anti-gaming mandate, it's a stupid warning; the same kind people who smoke completely ignore.

They should have labels. The labels should read "Hey parents, raise your own children and stop asking the government to do your jobs. For more info, please see ratings label"

What makes him think it'll make a difference? The problem is people who don't read the rating. All this does is add another thing to ignore.

These dusty old fossil politicians need to die already.

I think this will go away as generations change. Since a large portion of the population already knows a fair bit about video games now, I think when these folks are hitting offices in politics and being parents, they'll be informed already. Nah mean?

@sungahymn said:

Not gonna happen.

Yeah. Ain't gonna happen.

Cue more laughable games-related legislation!

The problem with ratings is that no on looks at them. Just look at steam, can you even tell me, without looking, where the raiting is located on steams interface.

• Playing video games when pregnant harms your baby.
• Video games kill!
• Video games contain benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.

Tobacco warnings are already lame and ignored by all, including myself, the idea of something similar on a video game case cracks me the hell up. I'd be so, so, so shocked if anything like this came to pass.

All genetically modified (GMO) foods should be labeled, so families can make informed decisions...

Give solid proof it does that and I'll agree. Ooooh right, there is no proof. Well if we don't base it on facts how about just putting the warning "This game will molest your kids"? Who knows?! It might, right? Gotta put a warning on it!

The US has the ESRB for this already. :/

Warning, may cause severe hissy fits - on the Mass Effect 3 box.

I could see them saying that rating labels have to be x% of the package. But thats not whats going on

This is what you get when you stretch the commerce clause beyond reason.

People should have warning labels.

Get over it, im Australian, you try and put up with games be censored or banned!

I'm all for it, it's going to look hilarious

@BeachThunder said:

People should have warning labels.

Dude, I hope this is where we going in the future.

I hate election years. Every desperate politician comes up with or recycles some crackpot cause and then pushes over-legislation in order to grab some headlines. I think I remember one bill where parents had to sign a release at the game store if they bought an M-rated game for their child.

First world problems.

It's important to remember that second-hand exposure to video games is just as dangerous as actually playing them yourself.

@TruthTellah said:

@Contrarian said:

It's true though. I mean, the other day I was playing Mario Kart and then went for a drive and through a banana skin out of the car expecting the car behind me to crash ........ next it will be a toroise shell and then what? I need their help to stop me from a life of crime.

That reminds me of this amazing comic.

(Open in New Window the image at the bottom to see the whole thing or just click this link):

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/070/c/2/gamesrbad4u__mario_kart_by_pirrip-d4sgyd5.jpg

The guy makes some hilarious comics about a kid taking games too far.

http://gamesrbad4u.tumblr.com/

Thanks for linking that, it's pretty awesome.

@Bleeble said:

No apparently the games' industry is supposed to parent the parents.

And have it cover up half of the package like cigarette packages in Europe.

Don't people know about the Internet, it's incredible. You can find anything you wanna know about the game your child wants. Parents need to stop being lazy

Just give me a list of sponsors and I'll make sure something happens.

Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that, I swear!

It's ok. Once our generation is in power we'll be raging against the evils of "Space Chems" and "Holodecks" and try to pass legislation that bans those things.

From the title I thought this would be recommending placing large, graphic pictures of shooting rampage victims over the front cover of the game.

tax dollars at work people

@ArbitraryWater said:

It's ok. Once our generation is in power we'll be raging against the evils of "Space Chems" and "Holodecks" and try to pass legislation that bans those things.

Yo, why you carrying a Gamespot avatar? You gonna get stabbed round these parts...

Do we need more labels to tell us that video games can give you eye strains, anti-social behaviours, anger, unstable emotions, GTA-syndrome and diarrhea? Are people and parents really that uncertain about themselves? That they need other people to help them form opinions? Isn't the age rating enough?

And why only video games? What about movies? books? Music? Hell, even what's being displayed on the news every day every hour can have as much impact on children. And while we're at it why not just put a blind fold on them.

@AssInAss said:

@ArbitraryWater said:

It's ok. Once our generation is in power we'll be raging against the evils of "Space Chems" and "Holodecks" and try to pass legislation that bans those things.

Yo, why you carrying a Gamespot avatar? You gonna get stabbed round these parts...

It's my ironic hipster way of making fun of how much people overreacted with the merger. Give me a few days and I'll be back to my old one.

@NekuSakuraba said:

So they want something on the case that tells parents what game are suitable for their children to be playing?

Damn, I thought those things existed and were called ''ratings''.

This.

If a parent/s are too fucking dumb or don't their child enough to make an informed decision whether they can handle material intended for an older audience then those people shouldn't have children.