A cry of relief can be heard from gamers across America, as the Supreme Court today negated the passing of a law that sought to make it illegal to sell violent video games to minors.
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 7 to 2 to overturn a California law restricting the sale of computer and video games, stating that video games qualify for protection of free speech.
“Like the protected books, plays, and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas-and even social messages-through many familiar literary devices (such as characters, dialogue, plot, and music) and through features distinctive to the medium (such as the player’s interaction with the virtual world). That suffices to confer First Amendment protection. Under our Constitution, "esthetic and moral judgments about art and literature . . . are for the individual to make, not for the Government to decree, even with the mandate or approval of a majority.”
This court hearing ends a long battle with California legislators, stating that violent video game sales to minors is not a criminal offense.
"Reading Dante is unquestionably more cultured and intellectually edifying than playing Mortal Kombat," said Antonin Gregory Scalia, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. "But these cultural and intellectual differences are not constitutional."
It was a big day for the video game industry, parents, developers, and for gamers as well. Strong points of argument were made in favor of video games today, stressing that like other forms of entertainment, games can be strong forms of expression.
Source: Supreme Court