Supreme Court Expected to Give Gaming Verdict Monday

[John Funk]

Supreme Court Expected to Give Gaming Verdict Monday

The legal fate of the gaming industry could be decided at the beginning of next week.

More than half a year ago, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) via Twitter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/misc/8290-Games-on-Trial]), the court is expected to give its verdict on this coming Monday.

The case has been referred to as gaming's "single most important challenge [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100643-Gaming-Faces-Its-Single-Most-Important-Challenge-at-the-Supreme-Court]" in this country, as a SCOTUS ruling in the favor of the state of California could spur states from the Pacific to the Atlantic to enact anti-game laws of their own.

Though initial impressions from observers were positive [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/8299-Critical-Miss-Trolling-for-Justice], it's worth noting that the Schwarzenegger case is the only case from that Supreme Court session that has not yet been decided. This could be because it's more hotly debated than the others, or it could be because one of the justices is taking his or her sweet time in writing what could be a landmark decision.

Fingers crossed, everyone. We all know that gaming should have all the rights to free speech as any other medium, and let's hope that the Supreme Court recognizes that as well.

(@HalHalpin on Twitter [http://twitter.com/#!/HalHalpin/statuses/83947252602769408])

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[King Toasty]

Been waiting a long time for this, and also the Extra Credits video on the verdict.

Gonna be a good week.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Nervous...little excited. Monday can't get here fast enough.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

Good thing its on a monday, that gives Extra Credits some time to write an episode on it.

 

[Angel Molina]

Well, I usually don't post very often and I also try not to let my emotions get the better (logical) side of me.... But:

OH GOD!!! YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!! For all things just and true, may the verdict be in our favor!!! Screw you Schawn-shineagger (that's right, I misspelled your name on purpose, you jerk!) Whoever you are, your logic is flawed and hinges on nothing more than on the ignorance of the masses!!!!

....That is all...

Edit: Thanks Eri

 

[Eri]

Well, I usually don't post very often and I also try not to let my emotions get the better (logical) side of me.... But:

OH GOD!!! YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!! For all things just and true, may the verdict be in our favor!!! Screw you Schawn-shineagger (that's right, I misspelled your name on purpose, you jerk!), your logical is flawed and hinges on nothing more than on the ignorance of the masses!!!!

....That is all...

Actually, Arnold has nothing to do with this case. His name is only on the dockett because he is the governor. If anyone else had been governor, their name would have been on it.

 

[DanDeFool]

Fingers crossed, everyone. We all know that gaming should have all the rights to free speech as any other medium, and let's hope that the Supreme Court recognizes that as well.

True, but then again, after the prohibition of the 1920s we were supposed to understand that criminalizing intoxicating substances accomplishes nothing besides funneling massive amounts of taxpayer money to criminal organizations and filling up our prisons with addicts who really haven't done anything else wrong.

Amirite?

 

[Baldry]

Oh I thought this had already been dealt with and I missed it...Well...Shit just got real kids.

 

[sir.rutthed]

Here's hoping, folks. Monday's gonna be huge.

 

[xXAsherahXx]

You forgot one thing though, the American justice system is broken to the point where we need an entirely new one. I've seen it in action first hand and as an observer. The antagonist always wins.

 

[Leonhart321]

If we win, video games become an established art form platform with a greater scope of possibilities open to designers as to what they can create for us to experience (I'm looking at you Six Days To Fallujah) without people saying "You will NOT trivalise this for "kids" to play and disrespect people or the subject matter" where books, films and T.V can do so

If we lose, EVERYONE LOSES, designers, companies, gamers, publishers. WE WILL ALL LOSE due to the knock-on effect that publishers will have to consider in lieu of this.

Do the right thing for the world Supreme Court, not just for California, not just for the publishers, not just for parents and kids.

 

[Formica Archonis]

Fingers crossed. Here's hoping for some sanity from the Court!

 

[Whoracle]

While I can see where this'll have a great impact on the US, I am seeing a potential upside to games loosing this one: Quite a lot of Devs will then leave the states, and with them gone their impact on US economy will be made clear(er), which could maybe lead to a wider acceptance of video games as an actual INDUSTRY all over the world. Also, If the devs move to europe, I may finally get a jab at working in the industry without having to move to a country that does not interest me in the slightest...

Edit: Not saying it'll be good if this was lost, just that there may be something salvagable _in spite of_ loosing.

 

[FalloutJack]

Question: If games are already considered art in the U.S., why are we worried or even arguing over this?

 

[KiqJaq]

Good thing its on a monday, that gives Extra Credits some time to write an episode on it.

You think so? I feel like they spend more than a couple days throwing each episode together.

 

[Kapol]

I had felt pretty confident about this at first, but now... this isn't a good sign. Since the Supreme Court is supposed to rule on every law during June, this means that this must be a fairly contested law to be taking so long. There's always the hope the reason it's so contested is to decide if it's unlawful due to how it's worded or due to first amendment rights. But even if it loses on how it's worded, that could still lead to stronger laws popping up in the future with even more regulation.

Not much we can do for now, but each passing week makes me feel worse and worse about the whole thing.

 

[Jabberwock King]

With Scalia and Thomas on the court, as well as the other conservatives, I simply cannot be hopeful about this. The total butchering of decades of legal precedent that they have accomplished so far is astounding in it's audacity. So much damage has been done that I think all of the decisions they've made should be declared invalid and taken up by a new court. I don't know how the fuck someone would go about doing that, and I definitely doubt anything like it exists.

 

[Chamale]

Question: If games are already considered art in the U.S., why are we worried or even arguing over this?

They don't have the legal status of art. On Monday, the Supreme Court will rule whether video games have the same First Amendment protections as movies, books, and music.

This is a very important decision, even to non-Americans, because the United States is such a big market that it will definitely influence the decisions of most game developers. I hope the Supreme Court makes the right ruling.

With Scalia and Thomas on the court, as well as the other conservatives, I simply cannot be hopeful about this.

To my surprise (I don't like Scalia either), it seems that Scalia definitely wants free speech protection for video games. The conservative members of the Supreme Court see this as a matter of freedom, and so do the more liberal ones. I'm more concerned about the justices with the following ideology:

Spoiler

<youtube=Qh2sWSVRrmo>

 

[Leonhart321]

Good thing its on a monday, that gives Extra Credits some time to write an episode on it.

You think so? I feel like they spend more than a couple days throwing each episode together.

If we get an episode on this, it'll be 2 weeks from the announcement at least. Since they'll have episodes already in the pipeline and produced beforehand