Video Game Bill Passes

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A video game bill that wanted, among other things, to create an advisory council on interactive media and youth violence has passed the NY state assembly. The bill requires video game consoles to be equipped with a device or control to permit owners to prevent the display of violent or indecent video games.

Though efforts to put the force of law behind voluntary content regulation in video games have been ruled unconstitutional over and over again, state-level lawmakers continue to endeavor to pass such laws. The state of New York is the latest to level its administrative eye on video games, passing almost unanimously a bill in the State Assembly at the beginning of this week that proposes an "advisory council" for video games.
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Between this and the online tax it seems like a great time to not be a resident of New York.
 
Steve said:
. The bill requires video game consoles to be equipped with a device or control to permit owners to prevent the display of violent or indecent video games.
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Video game consoles are equipped with a device or control to permit owners to prevent the display of violent or indecent video games already -- or at least they should be -- It's called responsible adult supervision and checking the rating label on a game before letting a child acquire it.

When did it become too difficult to monitor your kids?
 
hasnt an "advisory council" been established since the mid 90's, the ESRB.
 
SilverSliver said:
Video game consoles are equipped with a device or control to permit owners to prevent the display of violent or indecent video games already -- or at least they should be -- It's called responsible adult supervision and checking the rating label on a game before letting a child acquire it.

When did it become too difficult to monitor your kids?
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It's too much work when both parents are working FT to spoil them. :rolleyes:
 
Bomber18 said:
Between this and the online tax it seems like a great time to not be a resident of New York.
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Forgive me but I dont understand what is wrong with having an addition to a consoles function that allows you to control what your kids get access to.
Not only does it seem like a good idea but it shouldnt impact normal use if you own the console and turn the feature off.

Whats bad about it?
 
Not looking to start flaming but my country that I LOVE was founded on the basis of freedom, why the hell are people trying so hard to change that?
 
So...this means that NY consoles will have the content govenor, but nowhere else?
 
How are they going to force consoles to have a video game equivalent of a v-chip? Are they going to ban the sale of consoles until Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo decide to bend over to appease a single state?

Plus, this 'v-chip' won't be effective without the games supporting it.

It's not practical or possible to implement this feature in existing and current generation consoles. Forget about PCs too. Maybe the next generation of consoles will have something like it?
 
The bill requires video game consoles to be equipped with a device or control to permit owners to prevent the display of violent or indecent video games.
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They already have one ... it's called "parental controls" and I know that the 360 and Wii both have them, and I'm sure the PS3 does as well, based on the ESRB rating of the game encoded into the game disk itself. If I understand how it works correctly.

Of course, which political appointees are going to determine what is "indecent" in a game? Does that mean no more raspberries because some find it "indecent" and "not for the children"? I suppose these are the same people who find severed heads less offencive than two people making love in a completely non-explicit TV-PG rated way (or maybe they aren't, it all depends who is appointed I suppose).
 
OAB said:
They already have one ... it's called "parental controls" and I know that the 360 and Wii both have them, and I'm sure the PS3 does as well, based on the ESRB rating of the game encoded into the game disk itself. If I understand how it works correctly.

Of course, which political appointees are going to determine what is "indecent" in a game? Does that mean no more raspberries because some find it "indecent" and "not for the children"? I suppose these are the same people who find severed heads less offencive than two people making love in a completely non-explicit TV-PG rated way (or maybe they aren't, it all depends who is appointed I suppose).
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Yep the 360, Wii and PS3 all have Parental Controls built in you can limit what games that can be played on your child's profile. I mean it's right there when you setup the Gamertag, Mii and whatever they call it on the PS3. I mean seriously this new bill is like looking up the word redundant in the dictionary and it says see redundant. Parents have to open their eyes and be parents plain and simple.
 
Since they already have this feature doesn' it mean that they already meet the new requirement thus there is nothing to be done?
 
Steve said:
The bill requires video game consoles to be equipped with a device or control to permit owners to prevent the display of violent or indecent video games.
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its called disconnect it from the tv. fucking goddamn lazy ass parents.
 
Nenu said:
Forgive me but I dont understand what is wrong with having an addition to a consoles function that allows you to control what your kids get access to.
Not only does it seem like a good idea but it shouldnt impact normal use if you own the console and turn the feature off.

Whats bad about it?
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Because it's another attempt to legitimize government sanctions or control in consumer affairs when there doesn't appear to be a demonstrable need to do so. Parental controls already exist for most consoles and the ESRB publishes ratings for games. The sad fact is that most people (primarily parents, but retailers too) can't be bothered to show due diligence and restrict violent content getting into the hands of minors. Instead, these same rocket scientists will let talking heads and government pundits create lame policies that do little to justify their existence.
 
Surrealistic said:
can we get a chip to install into parents to force them to actually be parents?
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They already have one. Its call a boot2ass chip. However few parents are willing to get one installed as it takes away from their more important activities.
 
So they want to set up an 'advisory council that'll just do the same thing as the ESRB? Or mandate what the ESRB voluntarily does to almost all video games anyway? WTF?

From what limited details are given, I'm willing to bet that this will accomplish nothing except waste taxpayer money.
 
I already posted earlier but I came across a George Carlin qoute that fits well:

Censorship that comes from the outside assumes about people an inability to make reasoned choices.

Sadly this is the type of world we live in.
 
Nothing like spending taxpayer money discussing and passing something that all modern consoles already have. Way to go New York.

Since some seem to not know exactly how the PS3 or PSP does it, the game does not use the ESRB directly. Both consoles work the same, and use a numbering scheme from 1 to 9 for the game being played.

I imagine it's more difficult for less technically savvy parents, but it would also allow parents to fine tune their childs experience better as it allows more shades of gray as opposed to 'Everything in M is bad!' although you could set it up that way since M begins at a number and ends at 9.
 
stealthy123 said:
Not looking to start flaming but my country that I LOVE was founded on the basis of freedom, why the hell are people trying so hard to change that?
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I might be misreading something here (please point it out if I am) but the censorship is voluntary, isn't it?

As you say, you enjoy freedom. Well how about the freedom to choose whether to watch violence or not?

My understanding is that it enables those concerned about violent content in console media to disable such aspects. It suggests that it does not interfere with those who do want to watch violent content.

How is this a loss of civil liberties, or freedom?
 
MrSteel74 said:
I already posted earlier but I came across a George Carlin qoute that fits well:

Censorship that comes from the outside assumes about people an inability to make reasoned choices.

Sadly this is the type of world we live in.
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Smart man. RIP George.
 
MrMike said:
Nothing like spending taxpayer money discussing and passing something that all modern consoles already have. Way to go New York.

Since some seem to not know exactly how the PS3 or PSP does it, the game does not use the ESRB directly. Both consoles work the same, and use a numbering scheme from 1 to 9 for the game being played.

I imagine it's more difficult for less technically savvy parents, but it would also allow parents to fine tune their childs experience better as it allows more shades of gray as opposed to 'Everything in M is bad!' although you could set it up that way since M begins at a number and ends at 9.
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The PS2 has this as well, and you have to enter a code in order to enable it to play. Its on by default.

Of course, some parents are fricking MORONS and let their kid set up their consoles, which explains why they have the password. DUH-HUURRR HURR!!
 
When are they going to create an advisory council for the NY state assembly?? Freakin idiots.

I'm glad this passed, because I was sure society would crumble if our game consoles didn't have some kind of advisory chip in it. ;\
 
BloodyIron said:
I might be misreading something here (please point it out if I am) but the censorship is voluntary, isn't it?

As you say, you enjoy freedom. Well how about the freedom to choose whether to watch violence or not?

My understanding is that it enables those concerned about violent content in console media to disable such aspects. It suggests that it does not interfere with those who do want to watch violent content.

How is this a loss of civil liberties, or freedom?
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I agree with you having asked almost the same question earlier and got no answers.
It looks like the only people who are bothered are either kids who will lose the ability to play certain things or those fighting a larger battle against loss of Civil Liberties.

I dont think this has anything to do with Civil Liberties, its to help parents have more control over what their kids see/do and if anything was ever needed in this age...
 
ajira99 said:
Because it's another attempt to legitimize government sanctions or control in consumer affairs when there doesn't appear to be a demonstrable need to do so. Parental controls already exist for most consoles and the ESRB publishes ratings for games. The sad fact is that most people (primarily parents, but retailers too) can't be bothered to show due diligence and restrict violent content getting into the hands of minors. Instead, these same rocket scientists will let talking heads and government pundits create lame policies that do little to justify their existence.
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Sorry, I missed this reply earlier.

As far as I can see, this has nothing to do with government sanctions, its allowing parents to choose what their kids can see/do on a console.
The current methods of restriction are too easily circumvented so there "is" a demonstrable need for tougher parental controls.
Its really that simple and tbh it should be applauded, after all its not going to affect your normal use of the console (assuming you are of age :))

Do you watch your kids every moment while they use their console?
Are you at home when they return from school every day to observe what they and their friends use the console for?
Do you think that everyone else is able to exert the necessary control to keep their kids safe?

For those times that you arent able to constantly supervise them, here is a much easier option that doesnt require as much supervision.
Surely that makes you happy?
 
We need a v-chip for people having kids they don't have the time to supervise, spend time with, or love. Let alone teach basic human decency, the meaning of freedom, and social skills.
 
Nenu:
I completely agree with what you've said, except maybe the "too easily circumvented" part. It's a password: what more do you want? Two factor encryption issued by a trusted certificate authority, requiring hourly internet updates with manufacturer to insure said authority?

And assuming password protected, ESRB rated parental controls are enough, why does that necessitate passing a law requiring parental controls that already exist in every currently released console?

In my opinion, saying "I don't have enough time to parent my children" is not a good enough reason to further regulate an already open industry. Maybe parents should try playing the games with their children, just like they do watching movies, so they can hide the bad parts. That's what my wife and I are doing and we both work 40 hours a week with at least 8 hours a week of responsibilities at church.

Granted we grew up with the gaming generation, so we find video games fun, not "evil terrorist training simulations."

And kudos to gcomm for summarizing that idea for me.
 
Optimus said:
Nenu:
I completely agree with what you've said, except maybe the "too easily circumvented" part. It's a password: what more do you want? Two factor encryption issued by a trusted certificate authority, requiring hourly internet updates with manufacturer to insure said authority?

And assuming password protected, ESRB rated parental controls are enough, why does that necessitate passing a law requiring parental controls that already exist in every currently released console?

In my opinion, saying "I don't have enough time to parent my children" is not a good enough reason to further regulate an already open industry. Maybe parents should try playing the games with their children, just like they do watching movies, so they can hide the bad parts. That's what my wife and I are doing and we both work 40 hours a week with at least 8 hours a week of responsibilities at church.

Granted we grew up with the gaming generation, so we find video games fun, not "evil terrorist training simulations."

And kudos to gcomm for summarizing that idea for me.
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Many parents dont know to password protect the console and for those that do, kids are damn resourceful. Many will find a way to get hold of the password.
This leaves the machine wide open.
Restricting what kids can buy and rent will help.

The ESRB ratings are voluntarily applied so there are cases where they are not used.
Improving this will allow parents/shopkeepers to trust the ratings system as a reliable guide to what the kids are buying/using and restrict accordingly.

I'm not sure what they have in mind to enhance the parental controls.
Perhaps mandatory registration of the console so that the settings can be saved and automatically applied to the console when online.
Of course not going online or hacking of the account provide limitations to its effectiveness but as part of a complete schema, it could work well.
Just an example, I dont know what they have planned.
I wouldnt be heavily in favour of the above either but maybe elements like this will be necessary?
My feelings are that if any fight is necessary, its to make sure that the controls that are used are agreeable and not draconian.

Parental control is not an easy task for many parents.
The easier it is and the more trustworthy it is, the better.
 
There is no substitute for good parenting. This will only increase the cost of games.
 
I got to wonder, how is Junior getting ahold of the offensive games in the first place? Most likely the parents is the enabler!

Got to love useless legislation that would be very difficult to enforce. Plus you could always buy your PS3 in New Jersey anyway?
 
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