EA's Jeff Brown confirmed to the Atlanta Business Chronicle that the publisher is considering the Peach State for a multimillion-dollar investment, but didn't go into details why. It's likely that the labor and operating expenses in the South would be less than in California, but the proximity to a well trained workforce in a large city like Atlanta doesn't hurt, either. Savannah also is home to the respected Savannah College of Art and Design.

Also helping is the legislation Georgia passed last year that upped tax credits for game makers to 30 percent. EA's Brown cited that figure as a definite encouragement to the publisher.

Atlanta is already home to about 70 game makers. And Fahey.

Electronic Arts Eyes Atlanta [Atlanta Business Chronicle]

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The Louisiana Digital Media Act, sponsored by Senator Ann Duplessis, grants a 25% credit to game developers for digital interactive media expenditures, as well as a 10% credit on state payroll taxes. It's a very generous incentive that could see a growth in the number of development studios calling the state home. The Entertainment Software Association applauded the Governor's approval.

"We commend Governor Jindal for his strong leadership as well as that of Senator Duplessis for expanding the state's computer and video game development and production base, and helping lead the way in creating the next generation of entertainment innovation in Louisiana," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. "Developers and publishers live and work for years in states where games are created, providing a higher return on investment than any form of entertainment."

Not too shabby for a state with baby bird vampires on its flag, right?

A growing number of states either have or are looking into implementing similar incentives, a reassuring sign that state governments are understand just how serious the video game business is.

The court is dumbfounded that the attorney general and the state are in the position of having to pay taxpayer money as attorneys fees and costs in this lawsuit. The act which this court found unconstitutional passed through committees in both the State House and Senate, and to be promptly signed by the Governor...

Prior to the passage of the Act there were a number of reported cases from a number of jurisdictions which held similar statutes to be unconstitutional (and in which the defendant was ordered to pay substantial attorney's fees). The Court wonders why nobody objected to the enactment of this statute. In this court's view the taxpayers deserve more from their elected officials.

Judge Trashes Louisiana Govt. Over Failed Jack Thompson Law, Orders State to Pay Legal Fees [Game Politics]

That law made it illegal to sell, rent or lease a game if it met certain conditions. Those are:

(1) The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the video or computer game, taken as a whole, appeals to the minor's morbid interest in violence.
(2) The game depicts violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors.
(3) The game, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

This ruling follows a temporary injuction filed by the judge in August which now sounds permanent. Maybe next time, guys.

Details are still scarce at this point, but we'll let you know more when we know more. Michael McWhertor

BREAKING: **** ********'s Louisiana Game Law Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Judge
Louisiana Passes ******** Bill [Kotaku]

While I find it both irritating and ominous that they keep trying, I love seeing them get swatted down every time. I feel like I'm getting XP from this shit.

Mad props to U.S. District Judge James Brady, who quashed video games bill HB 1381, "the (now defunct) piece of legislation which aimed to levy $100 — $2000 in fines and up to 1 year in in the slammer against game retailers convicted of selling undesirable M-Rated contraband to innocent children." (1up)

His Honor's closing remarks were good, too:

"The State's argument overlooks a line of cases holding that video games are protected free speech..."

"Defendants (Louisiana) contend that the legislative record contains social science evidence demonstrating that violent video games are harmful. It appears that much of the same evidence has been considered by numerous courts and in each case the connection was found to be tenuous and speculative..."

"The evidence that was submitted to the legislature in connection with the bill that became the statute is sparse and could hardly be called in any sense reliable..."

"Absent an injunction the statute will have a chilling effect on both video game developers and retailers."

"Additionally, the state argues that the Act was specifically drafted to pass constitutional scrutiny and it is the most narrowly drawn statute of its kind to date. Plaintiffs obviously disagree..."

You tell 'em, Judge Brady! Eliza Gauger

More here [1UP]

Beware! You can be sent to Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for selling a computer game to a teenager if that game appeals to a kid's "morbid interest in violence"... Applying a strict reading of Louisiana's law, you can earn jail time by selling "Pac Man" to a 17-year-old. After all, what is Pac Man but a fight between the player and four pixilated ghosts, each doing nothing but consuming each other and their surrounding landscape. That sounds like violence to me.

That's a rather obvious point, but it deserves repeating. I am most interested in his subtler point that online Internet sales and digital distribution means that publishers who choose to follow ESRB ratings under such arbitrary jackass laws will actually be being punished for trying to advise retailers of their games' content, not vice versa. Florian Eckhardt

Dr. Jerald Block: Are we ready to give jail time for selling 'Pac Man' to a 17-year-old? [Shreveport Times]