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Post by Trailfoot on Mar 13, 2006 21:04:34 GMT -5
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Post by Trailfoot on Apr 4, 2006 16:51:44 GMT -5
Response from my Senator on the video game law: April 4, 2006 Mr. Keith Davis (Address Edited Out) Dear Mr. Davis: Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the Family Entertainment Protection Act. I appreciate hearing from you. In my lifetime, I have watched an increase in gratuitous violence and indecent sexually-explicit material in video games and the media as well as on television and the radio. I believe that some material is simply not appropriate for all audiences. As a grandmother, I often worry about what my own grandchildren are exposed to in video games, television, movies and other forms of media. Federal regulations in this area and all others have developed through balancing two important principles: protecting the well-being of minors while simultaneously following the constitutional protections afforded under the First Amendment. As legislation, such as the Federal Entertainment Protection Act, is introduced to address these issues, these will be my guiding principles. Please know that I will keep your particular concerns in mind should the Senate consider this bill. Thank you again for writing. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me or my Washington, DC staff at (202) 224-3841 or at feinstein.senate.gov. Sincerely yours, Dianne Feinstein United States Senator |
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Nephallim
Most Perfect 
Ninja Grand Master
1337 N1NJ4 PH34R
Posts: 119
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Post by Nephallim on Apr 5, 2006 12:30:19 GMT -5
That's such a BS response...
"G, thank you Mr. Pro-Gaming, I'm going to let you know that I'm a paronoid grandma that wants to slap regulations on your hobby."
Grrr.... 'Consider your concerns in mind' my ass...
I hate politicians. If they disagree with you they should flat out say it.
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Post by Trailfoot on Apr 5, 2006 13:31:27 GMT -5
I'm with you there, ninja brother.
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Post by Trailfoot on Apr 25, 2006 10:58:11 GMT -5
Just sent a reply to my Senator.
Senator,
I wrote to you once before about the issue surrounding legislation of video games. I found your response to be... well, rather generic and worded around making me feel better about the fact that you disagree with me, and my interpretation of the Constitution, very strongly on this issue.
The video game industry already has a rating system, and it is one that is effective and has the power to regulate that industry. This system is entirely voluntary, participated in by marketers, game developers, and publishers, but its ratings effect where a game can be sold and how it can be marketed. If a game is given an Adults Only rating, it is pulled from the shelves of virtually every major retailer and the vast majority of minor ones as well, forcing the developer to market it directly to consumers, limiting their ability to sell it and increasing their costs of doing so tremendously. The recent "Hot Coffee" incident showed this system at work, and it did indeed work, forcing Take 2 Interactive (parent company of Rockstar Games) to rewrite a decent chunk of their game or lose huge numbers of sales.
Government interference in this system will have a number of effects that worry me. First and foremost in my mind is the potential for attack on the Constitutional rights of game developers and the civil rights of consumers. Currently, the basic protections given to the inherent rights of all people by the Bill of Rights are being infringed on by the government at a level not seen since the Alien and Sedition Acts of the eighteenth century, and any further encroachment - especially if supported directly by Democratic senators as well as Republican ones - will simply embolden the Administration further.
Second is the potential for bogging down an already very functional system with extra, government-inflicted beaurocracy, increasing the time required to recieve ratings and the costs of getting those ratings for developers. Right now, the video game industry is at a major shifting point with the release of the new generation of consoles, which is creating a large increase in the costs of developing games. To add to that even further will likely be enough to drive many smaller developers out of the industry entirely, and thus rob gamers of the amazing gems of games they make. Perhaps more importantly, the higher costs of development go, the less likely developers are to release innovative games that are risky at market.
Third, I simply worry that Congress is attacking something that the majority of its members know far too little about to judge properly. To understand video games, and their potential as a medium - potential that could be robbed from them if the smaller and more innovative developers are diriven out of the market - one must play games. From the wording of your response to me, I got the feeling that you do not. It is a shame for anyone to judge something they do not understand.
Thank you for your time.
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Post by Trailfoot on Apr 25, 2006 11:12:24 GMT -5
Of course, this is a California Democrat who voted for the reauthorization of USA PATRIOT, so her ideas on the Constitution are very obviously quite different from mine...
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