Calif. State Sen. Leland Yee was unsuccessful in getting his anti-video game law to remain the supreme law of the land of California—when the Supreme Court smacks down something 7-to-2 with Justices Scalia and Ginsburg agreeing, you know that was one rancidly unconstitutional piece of work. So he's back with another handy set of Black Friday deals to avoid: That is, practically any video game that's out there.
In a statement from his office, Yee takes about 600 words to say what a single letter on the back of a game case already does: Some games are too violent for kids, and parents shouldn't buy them. But of course, he can't stop there, he's gotta lard it up with fear, offered in the helpless with-it language of a substitute teacher who knows he's being ignored.
Direct quote:
Avoid "first person shooter" and "third person shooter" games, which usually focus on gunning down hundreds of people.
Another:
If there are violence and sexual themes in the title or cover picture, you can assume these themes are also in the game.
And:
Discourage games that reward the player with more points or new scenes for anti-social and violent behavior.
I honestly cannot remember the last console video game I bought at retail in which I was playing for a traditional arcade-style score. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't the kind of game Yee describes.
He then goes on to list seventeen titles, ranging from Skyrim to Saints Row: The Third to Uncharted 3 as being titles that "several media sources" urge parents to avoid. Funny thing, all of them are rated M. You know, the rating system from the ESRB, the rating system that has been praised by the Federal Communications Commission for being better at preventing the sale of mature content to minors than ones for DVDs and music?
Yee has done this kind of bullshit before. His 2007 scare-o-gram made the straightfaced claim that "Manhunt 2 is on many children's wish list." Manhunt 2 was a piece of shit; it wasn't even on any adult's Christmas wish list.
Leland Yee Offers Holiday Shopping Advice to Parents [Game Politics]
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