You MUST be F*CKING KIDDING ME.
Curbs on Violent Video Games? Makers Brace for Possibility
Published: Monday, 5 Jul 2010 | 12:32 PM ET
By: Chris Morris, Special to CNBC.com
When the U.S. Supreme Court agreed in April to review a California law prohibiting the sale or rental of violent video games to minors in its next term, it sent shock waves through the gaming industry.
Analysts, insiders and even casual observers had been expecting justices to let stand a lower court ruling, which had declared the law unconstitutional. Once they didn’t, the scramble began to assess the possible implications-and leaders of the industry say they could be dire.
“It’s very, very surprising that the Supreme Court is hearing the case,” says Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take Two Interactive Software [TTWO 9.01 0.16 (+1.81%) ]. “I’m worried about it, and I think everybody in our business should be really worried about it.”
At issue in the case isn’t whether publishers can make violent games, but rather whether states can impose sales restrictions on those titles-effectively declaring them to be on the same level as pornography and therefore able to legally limit their sale to adults.
If that happens, the financial impact could be substantial. The video game industry’s ratings system is widely seen as one of the most effective of any entertainment medium. In 2009, the FCC praised it as “one of the most robust voluntary rating systems available”. Still, nothing is flawless-and people under 18 still buy M-rated games.
No CEO was willing to speculate specifically about the effect an unfavorable ruling by the Supreme Court would have on their company’s profits or revenue. They were, however, willing to discuss what they see as nightmare scenarios.
The overriding concern was chiefly the impact a negative ruling could have on retail relationships. If M-rated games are classified as adult only entertainment, certain retailers, such as Wal-Mart (WMT), could elect to stop carrying them-removing one of the industry’s biggest distribution channels.
“It’s not about having a dramatic impact on our bottom line,” says Graham Hopper, executive vice president and general manager of Disney Interactive Studios. “It’s going to make our retailing abilities a nightmare.”
CEOs fear other states will pass laws similar (but not identical) to California’s-meaning the definition of violence is slightly different from state to state. That could force companies to create multiple versions of titles to comply with the law.
“One of America’s great exports is entertainment,” says John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts. “The implication of Schwarzenegger v. ESA (the case before the Court) is we could end up with state level bureaucracies that define what’s marketable in 50 different jurisdictions across the U.S. I can imagine [the government] trying to tell Steven Spielberg ‘We need 50 different cuts of your movie for each state.’ It will screw us up in a real way.”
M-rated games made up 17.4 percent of all games sold in 2009 by unit. The financial percentage is likely much higher, although the industry does not break out data that way.
Nonetheless, they are often critical to publishers. Take Two has, to date, proven incapable of posting a profit in years when it does not release a “Grand Theft Auto” title-a problem it’s working to correct. And the “Call of Duty” franchise is one of the most important in Activision’s (ATVI) catalog. Even EA, which used to steer away from shooter games, is becoming more invested in the genre, with games like “Dead Space 2” and “Crysis 2” on prominent display at the recently completed E3 trade show.
Game publishers speak with a unified public voice when the issue is addressed: They fully expect the Supreme Court to side with the Appeals courts. To do otherwise, they say, would be a violation of the industry’s First Amendment rights.
Additionally, some believe the Court agreed to hear the case for a single reason-so it can put an end to the stream of similar lawsuits that have come up in previous years.
“We believe as an industry that the primary reason the Supreme Court is hearing it is despite the fact that this law has been struck down, [the issue] has come up 12 times [previously],” says Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America. “I think the Supreme Court is looking at it to potentially see if there’s something to it or to put an end to it once and for all.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/38038620
Click to viewVIRAL NOTES: SIMPLY F*CKING AMAZING.
We've got a president that creates a F*CKING GESTAPO by hiding it in the just as un-Constitutional 'health care' bill (which wasn't made with health in mind, and certainly not about caring about you):
We've got a presidential regime that has illegally shut down America's petrochemical industry:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2545795/posts
And we've got Wall Street now duplicating the patterns it was showing, just prior to the GREAT DEPRESSION, back in the 20th century:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/38092759
We've got an attorney general that's telling prosecutors to throw cases, involving ethnic intimidation by racial supremacist terrorist groups:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/30/justice-dept-lawyer-accuses-holder-dropping-new-black-panther-case-political/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/29/career-lawyers-overruled-on-voting-case/?feat=home_cube_position1
And we've got an Executive Branch that doesn't have the guts to come out and criticize the Russians for their spy ring that was caught operating, here:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/29/why_weren_t_the_russian_spies_charged_with_espionage
All that, and those assclowns on the Supreme Court can't find any-f*cking-thing better to do, than to look into a complaint about a bunch of f*cking video games?!
Are you f*cking kidding me?!
Some of those sone of bitches need to be impeached. RIGHT NOW. Who in the HELL do they think they are, besides a bunch of overpaid stuffed-asses that apparently think they can do any damned thing they want? Here's the bottom-f*cking-line: if you don't want your kids playing violent video games, then at least ACT LIKE A F*CKING PARENT. Put your foot down and say "NO". If that's not good enough, put your foot down on their ASSES. Who TF runs your damned houses, anyway?! Your, or the damned kids?!
It's that same stupid mentality that says 'it takes a village to raise a child'. Yeah, thanks Hillary Clinton. By the way, what village idiots raised you, you dishonest bitch? (http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=60962) It doesn't take a frigging village: it takes at least one good parent. If you're too stupid or weak (or both) to be a good parent, DROP THE KID OFF AT THE F*CKING FIRE STATION, you asshole! As for the Supreme Court: MIND YOUR OWN DAMNED BUSINESS. All this can do is cripple another piece of the American economy, which we need so f*cking much, right now! There are already warnings all over the damned games, as it is, stating that sales are restricted; just enforce the laws that already exist, idiots!
There are plenty of things the Supreme Court should be looking at, as opposed to more attempts to violate and revoke the 1st Amendment. Maybe if you spent more time attacking crime, instead of the Constitution, you'd be worth a sh*t, as a judicial body. Furthermore, if I deem that my child/children are mature enough to handle a violent GAME, then you are you to tell me anything different? Oh, since you're seemingly in the business of giving stupid answers, I'll answer that for you:
NO-F*CKING-BODY, you assclowns!
It is neither the job, nor place, of the State to tell people how to live their lives, nor how to raise their children.
Sure, some kids just should not be playing games like that. Hell, some 'adults' I know are too stupid to be playing them, and have the reality-comprehension powers of a 3-year old (names I won't mention, because people will recognize those names). One guy I know plays them, constantly. If I were to see him, I'd snatch the controller out of his hand, shut the console off, and slap the s*it out of him before I sent him to his room for the rest of the night (and removed all his gaming gear, beforehand). We've got an out-of-control president and congress trying to cripple the American economy by illegally and un-Constitutionally shutting down sections of our smoke-stack industries and white-collar industries. Thousands are being put out of work. As the article stated, America is on top of the game, when it comes to entertainment exports, netting the gigantamongous cash.
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/9701-video-games-outsell-movies-for-first-time-worldwide/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6852383/Video-games-bigger-than-film.html
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Games-DVD-Blu-ray-Economy,news-3364.html
Is this just another example of the ever-increasing, socialist nanny-state fighting to punish success, and enforce mediocrity?
Dude. Seriously. With all the things happening in the country, the Supreme Court can't find anything better to do?
I still respect Clarence Thomas, but if he had anything to do with hearing this case, then that respect is out the window, and he's nothing more than just another judicial oligarch, in my eyes. Seriously, we should start talking to Congressmen about impeaching the lot of them. The Supreme Court was intended by the Founding Fathers to be the weakest of the 3 branches of government.
Why?
Because they knew, after dealing with the English, what a judicial tyranny was, and didn't want any part of that in the United States. Unfortunately, that's precisely what we're getting, right now. A pack of legal blue-bloods that appear to be getting into a contest with the Executive and the Legislative, to see which/who is the most powerful. Now's the time to be doing everything we can to reign in the out-of-control government we're stuck with (until we get the gumption to attack and defeat them with votes, recall petitions and special elections). Now's the time to start doing things to boost the economy, not destroy it. And, quite frankly, it's always time to reinforce the freedoms that we enjoy in the United States of America that no other nation has, had, nor ever will have. Tyranny in places like this start off small, because they're not brave enough to come right out and show their true colors, just in case a few people actually do oppose them and rally the masses. Like the great Ronaldus Magnus once said: 'This is the last stand on Earth. If freedom dies, here, there's no place left to go.' People, parents: assert your rights. Stand up for yourselves. Stand up for your kids.
Sorry about the cussin'.
