HELP NEEDED: Comparative Study on Censorship

[Censorship-Zen]

CLASSIC GAMING:

Being annoyed by state governments trying to censor and ban offensive video games? Now that´s your chance to contribute:

I am horrified by international governments initiatives trying to advocate stricter laws regarding the censorship and banning of offensive video game content.

Being a video gamer for more than 20 years, but also a lawyer, I have decided to take some time off to write a comparative study about video game censorship. Thus, your input is much appreciated.

My position is: I am totally against censorship, but I am supporting rating agencies for games to stop violent and offensive material from falling into the hands of minors.

The study will deal with the international legal situation regarding video game regulation and it will be divided in the following sections:

Introduction
History of Violent Video Games since the 8 bit Generation to the Next Gen
Why we need Censorship
History of Censorship and Banning
Rating agencies
Events leading to the Call for increased Censorship (Columbine etc.)
Why increased Censorship is not necessary
Conclusion and View to the Future

To make this study as big as possible, I need the best possible input. Please post here anything you know about the censorship of video games. I will filter it afterwards. The whole video game community can profit from initiatives like that. Thank you very much!!!

[Mattiekrome]

In college I was one of the first in my dorm to get GTA3, ABSOLUTELY loved it! Now that I am out of college, married with a 9 month old child, I cant beleive I used to play it.

guess I'm just getting old. It seems like every time you open a newspaper or turn on the evening news, its nothing but bad headlines... drugs, murder, rape, etc...

I dont really think that "banning" offensive video games is a solution though. It's everywhere you look... TV, internet, moveis, music, etc... So what if some 15 year old cant purchase the latest "adult content" video game... It wont stop them from seeing the exact same content elsewhere

[GillianSeed]

Well it's nothing new -- Exidy's Death Race apparently generated quite a stir (http://www.gamespot.com/features/6090892/p-2.html) back in 1976.

[stargate]

In America we practice tolerance, democracy, and freedom. As a result, we take the bad with the good. We cannot start imposing limits on what we deem to be appropriate unless they are an obvious detriment to society as a whole.

Video games are no different than books, movies, or art. We take the bad with the good. In this country we have pornography, movies that depict brutal killings, books about violent acts, and artwork that depicts vulgar content. Video games should be no different.

The problem with video games is that, along the way, they got all tied up with "kids games". So we get a lot of public outcry over how games like GTA are not suitable for children. So first and foremost, we need to understand that video games are similar to movies in that they are not all meant for children.

A rating system should apply and should be strictly enforced. Aside from that, we need to start treating all forms of entertainment (movies, books, video games, art, etc) the same and start getting real about the situation.

[98PaceCar]

You might want to note that it's not always the truly violent games that cause a stir. When Space Invaders came out, the city of Mesquite Texas banned it as well. Compared to many of the later games (and even earlier games like Death Race), it's completely harmless. But it shows that it's more people's perceptions of games than the actual content in a lot of cases.

[Push Upstairs]

In the case of Columbine, I feel that the blame being placed on a (then) 5-6 year old game was pretty weak and really says more about the media in general than it does about the kids that did the whole thing.

At first it was pinned on music, specifically the group KMFDM, but since it was a group soccer mom's weren't really familiar with they went with Marilyn Manson instead.

Doom got a bad rap, but knowing that two kids out of 600,000 (the # of copies sold) tells me differently than what the media leads people to believe.

[Arcade Antics]

CLASSIC GAMING:

Being annoyed by state governments trying to censor and ban offensive video games? Now that´s your chance to contribute:

I am horrified by international governments initiatives trying to advocate stricter laws regarding the censorship and banning of offensive video game content.

Being a video gamer for more than 20 years, but also a lawyer, I have decided to take some time off to write a comparative study about video game censorship. Thus, your input is much appreciated.

My position is: I am totally against censorship, but I am supporting rating agencies for games to stop violent and offensive material from falling into the hands of minors.

The study will deal with the legal situation in the US, the UK, Germany and New Zealand and it will be divided in the following sections:

Introduction
History of Violent Video Games since the 8 bit Generation to the Next Gen
Why we need Censorship
History of Censorship and Banning
Rating agencies
Events leading to the Call for increased Censorship (Columbine etc.)
Why increased Censorship is not necessary
Conclusion and View to the Future

To make this study as big as possible, I need the best possible input. I have already approached well-known attorneys such as Larry Walters on this behalf and they are willing to contribute. But as they can, so can you.

Please post here anything you know about the censorship of video games. I will filter it afterwards. The whole video game community can profit from initiatives like that. Thank you very much!!!

I find it difficult to believe that a lawyer worth his or her salt would post something chock full of grammatical and contextual errors. And time off or not, it's dubious that a lawyer would be posting on a message board, as even if this were a serious inquiry, he or she would have a legal assistant do this kind of "research."

[cyberfluxor]

I find it difficult to believe that a lawyer worth his or her salt would post something chock full of grammatical and contextual errors. And time off or not, it's dubious that a lawyer would be posting on a message board, as even if this were a serious inquiry, he or she would have a legal assistant do this kind of "research."
Maybe it's just me but this could be Jack Thompson trying to figure out the anatomy of video game violence and heard of us through the recent online publications. :)

[Pantechnicon]

Censorship_Zen: If you don’t mind I’d like you to clarify a few things (think of this as a Discovery)

1. Is this “study” you’re conducting an endeavor on behalf of an academic institution or is this some sort of legal research for a private law firm or a non-profit legal group? It doesn’t sound like you’re exactly impartial here. I think it’s only fair that you disclose what, if any, institution: public, private, legal or academic in whose name you’re doing this purported research.
2. What exactly do you hope to accomplish by asking a bunch of gamers for their opinions on censorship as opposed to, say, doing research into actual case law using online resources like Lexis-Nexis?
3. In the U.S. the First Amendment is going to trump any state-level or lower governmental endeavor to ban or censor videogames. So what relevance do international censorship statutes from countries without First Amendment-equivalent rights have to any of this?
4. Larry Walters is a First-Amendment attorney whose practice doesn’t really extend past the state of Florida. Although he has a wealth of information available on this subject at his website he has never, as far as I can tell, argued a case above the state level. You dropped his name, but I’d like to know what Walters is supposed to contribute to your crusade above and beyond what he seems to already be doing on his own?

Bottom line: I think you’re writing a paper for school and are looking for some quick and easy research. Admittedly I’m not sure what exactly you’re doing, but I’m also not convinced that you’re a real attorney. I’ve never heard of attorneys doing legitimate research like this. If I’m wrong, then I’m wrong. Honestly answering the questions I’ve posted will go a long way towards proving that I’m wrong. Thanks.

[Censorship-Zen]

thanks for picking on myself, instead of contributing to the topic.

the study is entirely pro bono, i will earn no money at all for it.

as my language and grammatical errors, has anybody figured that i might not be a native-speaker but do the study in english as it will access more people and the us of a is the strongest market?!

of course i will do all the "legal" research myself. i just need some keywords from the gaming community to give me further ideas on how to develop this thing and in case i might have forgotten something.

yes, i am a real lawyer. at least i have qualified to practise law.

and no, i am not jack thompson.

i have been 100 % honest with you and joined this forum as suggested by a friend because he told me i might get some valuable ideas here.

please don´t prove me wrong. i thought this could be some piece of work you´d all be interested to contribute in to some extent.

[Wolf]

I hate censorship, it makes my blood boil and is one of the reasons I started importing, the japanese seem to have a much better attitude and are not as stupid or retarded as xian america.

There are so many godamn f$%king things they do to NA and Euro releases which make me laugh and want to eviscerate the people in charge who choose to make these choices on our releases.

Examples of things that have gone on over the years...

FF on the snes having words or things censored, even castlevania for using the word christ and other silly crap.

Xenosaga series for whatever reason slipped through the born again good old fu%#ks and made it here fairly complete, aside from the momo scene which was later released as reloaded in japan.

Plenty of 2d fighters had blood cut out out of them.

Valkyrie Profile had the pentagrams and smoking removed, cause it makes angels cry and blow their loads or some garbage.

It would seem anything that hardcore ignorant redneck jesus freaks would find offensive is censored in NA, along with anything that deals with sexuality or extreme violence, I mean games ( as shitty as I think they are ) like GTA get released, but we have to suffer some bullshit area on the cover art covered up with a warning picture, why the hell can't they just put a sticker on the shrink wrap ?

If I had my way I would make up non removable stickers that say "fist fu%^ing gods planet" for all the years of censorship and art cover destruction I have had to suffer through.

May these worthless maggots eat their mothers feces and rot in the ground for making my electronic gaming experience less than what the jp get!

-end rant

[Pantechnicon]

Censorship-Zen: For the record, I’m not picking on you. I am only asking you to help establish 1) your claim to be an attorney and 2) your motives in starting this topic. You haven’t really answered any of the questions I posed to you earlier so I still have my doubts. Why don’t we continue with some Discovery then?

- Are you, or are you not, a Bar-certified attorney practicing law in the United States of America? And if so, which state do you practice in and what is the name of the legal or academic organization that you represent?

- Are your interests in this topic because you’re interested in genuine reform of censorship laws or because there’s potential money in the pursuit of litigation? There’s nothing wrong with pursuing litigation for awards so don’t be offended by this question. Besides, you’re the one who described America as a “market”.

- There’s no such thing as pro-bono research of this type. Pro-bono legal work, under American legal tradition, has to be on behalf of a client or clients and involves actual casework. Taking time off as an attorney to do “research” where there’s no case might count as CLE depending on which state you’re in, but it’s definitely not pro-bono activity by a long shot. Care to explain?

[Censorship-Zen]

for the record:

i am not a native us citizen, nor am i an us qualified attorney

i have not practised law yet, since i just took the bar qualification in my country

this study is entirely written because of my love for video games and because of the dangers in censorship

i hope that is enough for you mr. p and now let´s move on to the topic.

i should have never mentioned that i am a lawyer since it has nothing to do with my work only that i want to compare the different regulations and examine if stricter laws regarding censorship can be established.

please address any further questions directly to me by private message. thank you

just show a little love. from gamer to gamer. i hope that there are many people from many countries here who would like to share their respective experiences with video game censorship with one another. it would be really nice.

mentioning things like death race for instance was great. hadn´t hurt of this before.

[cosmicpsycho]

i'm kind of in the middle on this subject. i personaly don't think kid's that play violent video games are going to go out and kill there friends, but i guess i could also understand why parents might not want their kid's playing these games. im really against censorship of any kind, especially when theres much more horrible stuff on the dailly news. i think parents should be the ones to say what their children should see or not see. yeah, i guess they could go to their friends and play these games, but they can do that even with censorship.

[Censorship-Zen]

it´s cool if you post your position on censorship, but which incident about the censorship of games was affecting you most? which historical incident do you remember? that would be cool 2 know