Jack Thompson's bill approved

[Talendra]

Really there is nothing wrong with this. People under 15 should not be buying games rated M15, same as nobody under 18 should be buying R rated games. All the complaining about this is just stupid and in my experience most places will not sell them to you anyway if you don't meet the age requirements.

 

[Graustein]

I...What?

What does this do, exactly? Stores are already not supposed to sell those things to minors, what does passing a bill about it do?

The difference is that, in America, the ESRB ratings are completely optional. That is to say, there is nothing legally preventing a shopkeeper from selling an MA15+ game to an underage child.

I think the issues with this are:
1.) It's Jack Thompson, and gamers, like everyone else, like to hate things on principle.
2.) It's unconstitutional to restrict the distribution of games like this - in order to legally restrict their sale, you would have to classify it under the same category as pornography, or similar. Or something like that.

Keep in mind that I'm not American, this information came second-hand to me from an American, and there's at least a few details that I don't recall, especially the finer points of issue number two. Take all this with a grain of salt until someone more knowledgeable can back me up on this or correct me.

 

[Casual Matt]

"Retailers and movie theaters which advertise that they don't sell M-rated games or R-rated movie tickets to underage buyers and then do so would be liable for fines of $2,000 per incident."

Okay, does anybody really have a problem with this. I'm no fan of Jack Thompson's incessant bitching at the games industry, but the knee jerk reaction towards the mention of his name in the gaming community is really getting just as bad. I mean there's a reason this bill was "overwhelmingly approved".

Frankly this is one thing I can get behind Whacky Jack on. I kinda hope it catches on just so businesses that say they're not going to do something and then do it anyway get a nice slap for it. Plus it amuses me to go on the Gamespot forums or wherever and see the 12 year olds bitching about EB Games (or GameStop depending on where you live) not selling them Manhunt.

 

[L33tsauce_Marty]

It's only Utah. They're not a state.

God, Moromons must praise him like a saint.

 

[likalaruku]

I've lived in Utah before. Like Hawaii, it's like a small country unto istelf apart from the rest of the states. sure you can have multiple spouces, but be damned if you sell little Johnny a ticket to see the latest remake of House on Haunted Hill.

 

[Xaozano]

They already have this in RI, aside from the R-Rated movies bit. And I'm 17, so I can buy them anyways. I don't care.

 

[Mr. Valentine]

Its really a trap. Jack Thompson but a loophole somewhere in the bill so that he would eventually outrank the ESRB in Utah. He would ban all the video games and then he would conquer other states with his law and eventually evoke a civil war. Hes like Emperor Palpatine in star wars, we turned the whole system on its head and took control of a whole government right under peoples noses.

and now we need to drop him into the death stars reactor core......NOW!!!!!!

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Eh, doesn't affect me, and we already have something like this in Dubai. You see, the difference between Emiratis and Americans, is that Emirati's can actually teach their kids good morals and manners, and assume responsibility for their kids.

 

[Spartan Bannana]

I honestly don't see a problem with this. Unless I read it wrong, all they are doing is fining places that sell tickets to R-rated movies or M-rated games to minors. Isn't this just stopping the influx of children in games like Halo or Gears or CoD? Don't people always complain about how kids are the most annoying part of online play? With this law, the kid actually has to have their parent with them, and even then the store clerk will have to let the parent know exactly what it is they are buying. I see this as a good thing.

That's how it's always been here...

IMO, this is bullshit, what ever happened to freedom? We should be able to buy what we want, when we want, unless it is illegal.

 

[GuerrillaClock]

Hang on, is it just me or does this bill change nothing at all? I don't know about the US, but in the UK I assumed selling games to underage kids was a punishable offence.

All this does is get Thompson's face all over the media, which is all he ever wanted to do anyway.

 

[Zenode]

Theatres are not allowed to sell MA15+ tickets to people under 15 or R18 tickets to people under 18 and risk fines doing so, so why cant this apply to video games

All to often have i seen 12 years olds playing the likes of Left 4 Dead (i heard a kids voice over VOIP and asked his age and he said he was 8!!!!!!wtf)and Call of Duty: World At War games in my opinion which are targeted at an older age demographic.

Im not gonna go as far as say Video Game make people murder other but if games that are targeted at older gamers are sold to younger people it certainly cant help there mentality. Ever since the Columbine murders people have started blaming video games even the recent virginia tech incident started the same old OMGWTF IT WAS VIDEOGAMES!!1!!11! argument.
But unless you do highly involved study on the mentalities of these kids from a young age that are playing these games then you cant blame videogames.

To me this is a step forward in a wierd kinda way but if he takes this any further say....trying to influence getting any games involving some sort of killing abolished then i think he gets whats coming to him. Cencorship has always existed and some say OMG this impedes my freedom of speech then why not argue that to someone who tells you to shutup because you are interrupting him!

 

[Gestapo Hunter]

This is great, that means less whiny kids at the theaters and less spoiled kids on x-box live

 

[sorry user name taken.]

I don't have a problem with this. I think that they should be fined for selling M rated games to minors.

they do in the UK also

- gets put on a crimal record
- £5000 fine (i think?)

 

[Gestapo Hunter]

I don't have a problem with this. I think that they should be fined for selling M rated games to minors.

they do in the UK also

- gets put on a crimal record
- £5000 fine (i think?)

thats how it should be i mean whats the logic in selling games like GTA to a 9 or 10 year old kid. hell might as well sell them a carton of cig to go with that game

 

[sorry user name taken.]

I don't have a problem with this. I think that they should be fined for selling M rated games to minors.

they do in the UK also

- gets put on a crimal record
- £5000 fine (i think?)

thats how it should be i mean whats the logic in selling games like GTA to a 9 or 10 year old kid. hell might as well sell them a carton of cig to go with that game

O__O @avatar


you'll always get parents buying it for them sadly...i told a mum once about what GTA was about and she just shrugged and bought it any way...~sighs~

 

[robinkom]

On the one hand, I'd sooner wish to see Jack Thompson get mauled by a pack of hyenas than ever open his God-forsaken noise hole again. On the other hand, this law makes some sense but not by much though, Jack-O, since this only applies to people like you trapped in your own delusions. The necessity for this law is further proof of supposedly responsible adults needing the government to parent for them.

Granted, I'm of a gaming generation that was free of useless rating systems for many, many years and frequently got into R-rated movies as a child without an adult. The only difference was that my folks PARENTED me and taught me at an early age that its all just for entertainment and that it's not real life; To use common sense.

I can recall seeing Robocop in the late-80s and fully understanding that the scene in which Murphy is shot to hell was all visual effects with prosthetic limbs and blood packets. Hell of a well done scene, but I certainly DID NOT a purchase a 12 gauge shotgun to try it for myself on a neighbor. I can also remember playing Mortal Kombat and Time Killers in the early-90s and I don't seem to recall having an urge to run up to a random stranger and ripping their head off.

Of course, kids who get a hold of M-rated games like GTA or Manhunt and go out and commit a crime afterward were most likely screwed up in the head to begin with.

The bottom-line is, laws and rating systems like this are absolute proof that some people just shouldn't have children. If you're not going to be a responsible parent, then don't have any damn kids!

 

[Highlandheadbanger]

Could Jack Thompson have actually done something good with his so-far wasted life? If I read the article correctly, I believe so.

One of the biggest problems in gaming is the heat the entire community recieves from the actions of negligent parents and immature kids trying to gain access to things they are clearly not ready for. Its unfortunate, though, that the government had to step in to force parents to actually take responsibility for their children's game purchases and to discourage game companies from just passing the status quo.

This also means that I'll have to deal with slightly less squeaky-voiced bastard-childs running about in online games and on XBox Live ruining the experience and cursing like bloody degenerates!

 

[letsnoobtehpwns]

Jack Thompson is not an American, all real Americans believe the first amendment. For you foreigners, the first amendment is right to freedom of speech. The second amendment is the right to bear arms which is the right to have a weapon to protect your house, this doesn't have to do with Jack Thompson and his communist bullshit but it's worth saying.