Gory Games and Free Speech

The Electronic Entertainment Expo ending today in downtown Los Angeles has busty models dressed as barbarian warriors, software designers, PR reps and hundreds of gamers.

What there aren’t a lot of is parents. And that’s just as well, because if Mom and Dad got an advance look at the rivers of virtual gore about to splash over their children, they might spill some gore themselves.

Parents are understandably frustrated by games that encourage their children to shoot, maim and degrade increasingly realistic and movie-like characters. A backlash in Sacramento and Washington has been the unfortunate result. The best solutions remain industry measures such as more trustworthy and detailed ratings that would better arm and goad parents to do their part.

The worse alternative is legislation like that introduced by state Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco). It would prohibit retailers from selling or renting extremely violent video games to children under 17. Yee’s bill would require retailers to determine what’s too violent, using guidelines fashioned after the legal language that juries are read when they are considering real-world crimes (does the player inflict “pain by torture or serious physical abuse” on the virtual victim?). That leaves the door open to never-ending court challenges from gamers, parents, retailers and public interest groups that, naturally, will have their own opinions on what is too violent.

Video game industry and government surveys suggest that 80% to 90% of games played by youngsters are paid for by parents or with parental permission. The easy answer is better ratings and sales clerks who reliably turn away younger customers who don’t have proper ID -- the same system employed by the movie industry.

Bills like Yee’s do help compel retailers and game makers to better police themselves. As law, though, they would be a free-speech mess. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should keep his veto pen ready.