HR-287: Would make it illegal to buy. rent, or sell games not rated by the ESRB. and would also make - Polidicks

Sauce: [url]http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/flooraction/jan2013/hr287.pdf[/url] [quote=Excerpts of some of the language in the above bill]It shall be unlawful for any person to ship or otherwise distribute in interstate commerce, or to sell or rent, a video game that does not contain a rating label, in a clear and conspicuous location on the outside packaging of the video game, containing an age-based content rating determined by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or rent any video game containing a content rating of ‘‘Mature’’ (as determined by such Board) to any person under the age of 17. ...any person who violates section 2 or 3 of this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 per violation. [/quote] Outwardly, this bill seems to codify into federal law what most states like California did with carding people (might have been federal law already, don't quote me on this), however, read between the lines and you will see this means any game that hasn't been rated by the ESRB becomes illegal for sale in the US. What does this mean? This means indie games, mobile apps, games that predate the ESRB system, or any software with no ESRB rating can no longer be legally purchased in the country. This essentially has the potential to kill the indie game scene overnight, as submitting your game for ESRB certification is prohibitively expensive for anyone other than the major publishers. (I would go so far as to expect the industry to support this as it greatly benefits them to cut a huge source of competition out of the market in one fell swoop.) This likely also means that importing games from foreign countries is illegal now as well, as other countries use their own ratings systems that this law does not recognize. That means no more being able to buy some limited edition that only Europe got, or some game that its publisher refuses to localize *cough*Bravely Default*cough*, because it uses CERO or PEGI instead of ESRB.

obviously won't pass

[QUOTE=AJisAwesome15;39261572]obviously won't pass[/QUOTE] People say this but then shit passes if you don't voice opposition, it can pass

Haha holy shit, they want games regulated the same way you regulate drugs or firearms? That's both hilarious and frightening. Hilarious because no logically-thinking person would agree to this, frightening because they probably think games are just as dangerous as drugs or firearms can be.

[QUOTE]illegal to transport unrated games over state lines[/QUOTE] Take your antipsychotics you loons.

This would potentionally make it illegal to sell/buy games such as NES or Atari, as those did not have ESRB ratings if I recall. So goodbye oldies.

Aha! Now all that shit you guys gave Australia for censoring L4D2(a single game) is coming right on back! Land of the free! Ahahaha! But seriously good luck gents.

Are you absolutely fucking serious? This borders on disregarding the First Amendment.

-there was a post here, it's gone now-

next thing you know cartel gangs are dealing in "video games"

[QUOTE=doommarine23;39261617]This would potentionally make it illegal to sell/buy games such as NES or Atari, as those did not have ESRB ratings if I recall. So goodbye oldies.[/QUOTE] brb archiving the entirety of Home of the Underdogs [editline]18th January 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Kuro.;39261645]That means it's against the law to transport it over state lines. Hence 'interstate'.[/QUOTE] Yes I know what it means and I still think it's absolutely preposterous.

What in the living fuck? I just bought a game over amazon that used PEGI. This is as bad as nationalization of certain products and making importing from certain countries illegal, not to mention the indie games.

[QUOTE=Unimaginative;39261584]People say this but then shit passes if you don't voice opposition, it can pass[/QUOTE] People say this but then it doesn't pass anyway

what I meant to say came out wrong, I will accept these ratings as a learning experience to my mistake

[QUOTE=ducklingqt;39261663]People say this but then it doesn't pass anyway[/QUOTE] Hey man, it's always a good thing when the people are involved in their government, garners more attention for a system that is capable of deceitful actions.

So apparently [url]http://techland.time.com/2011/06/27/supreme-court-video-games-qualify-for-first-amendment-protection/[/url] never happened

Restricting access to media. What's next? Illegal to transport unrated TV shows across state lines? How about books?

This can't pass. Like this would pretty much kill indie games.

What about mobile games on the various app stores? Would Apple and Google suddenly become major black market dealers?

[QUOTE=wari65;39261711]So apparently [url]http://techland.time.com/2011/06/27/supreme-court-video-games-qualify-for-first-amendment-protection/[/url] never happened[/QUOTE] Pols always ignore things when it suits their agenda. Of course, it usually results in the Supreme Court/whoever reminding them that said thing actually did happen and said pol acts outraged and flabbergasted that they called him out on his bullshit, but they still do it thinking that maybe, just maybe, they'll forget or it'll slip their mind and they can end up sneaking on past them.

[QUOTE=General J;39261681]it's shit like this that makes me laugh when fellow Americans claim this as the land of "freedom"[/QUOTE] Hilariously fucking stupid statement, because people have opinions you disagree with, and propose the logical legislation to that opinion, we are a tyrannical totalitarian state? Fucking wow, grow up and get your head out of your ass. Jesus christ, if we followed your logic and no one could propose legislation if it was "dumb" then we would truly be a totalitarian state.

Games are protected speech, it'll get struck down.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;39261738]What about mobile games on the various app stores? Would Apple and Google suddenly become major black market dealers?[/QUOTE] It means any dev that wants their game on their has to pay up to get ESRB rated or not release at all. Indie devs will have to go back to distributing their games on physical media, in person, at conventions, but the 'ship or otherwise distribute' language seems to imply that would be illegal too. "So buddy, why are you in prison?" "I gave an undercover FBI agent a copy of a game I made at PAX."

[QUOTE=Jawalt;39261772]Games are protected speech, it'll get struck down.[/QUOTE] I'm not a politician. What do we do to ensure this happens?

The usual, I assume. Write your representatives, all that shit.

[QUOTE=legolover122;39261726]This can't pass. Like this would pretty much kill indie games.[/QUOTE] It'll have no effect whatsoever. The wording (it mentions having the warning on the packaging) suggests that only brick and mortar stores will be affected, and no reputable game store sells unrated stuff.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;39261785]I'm not a politician. What do we do to ensure this happens?[/QUOTE] How many envelopes and stamps do you have?

Cool so the plan would be to to allow an independent organization control the legality of some media? Sounds like a great idea nothing could go wrong

If this happens I will be confused, frightened, and amused.

Dont fuck with the guns. Dont fuck with our games.