Japan Under Pressure to Regulate Rape Simulator Games
05/11/2009 Monday
It is reported that Equality Now, a New York-based human rights group, has requested Japan's government to immediately ban RapeLay, a virtual game that can be played on Windows PCs, and to honor its international commitments to end the sexual exploitation of children. News release at Equality Now.
College QB Sues For Rights of Publicity
05/07/2009 Thursday
Former Arizona State and Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller is suing the NCAA and EA Sports, claiming they've gone too far in using the likenesses of college players who are prohibited from sharing in the games' profits. Story as USA TODAY.
Utah Bill May Be Reintroduced in 2010
04/21/2009 Tuesday
According to the Deseret News, a poll of House and Senate members lacked two-thirds support to call an override session to override the governor’s veto of video game legislation. The story reports that the issue will be revisited in the 2010 session according to the Utah House Majority Leader.
Study Finds Gaming Addictive
04/20/2009 Monday
According to Business Week, a study from Iowa State University has concluded that 8.5% of young video game players exhibit signs of an addiction to gaming.
Utah Unlikely to Override Veto of Video Game Bill
04/06/2009 Monday
According to G4TV News, the Governor John Huntsman of Utah recently vetoed the Jack Thomspon authored video game bill. The veto is unlikely to be overturned by the legislature. The article cites Salt Lake City’s Desert News as a source.
Utah Legislator To Sponsor Video Game Bill
02/06/2009 Friday
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Representative Mike Morley has stated that he will introduce a bill to modify Utah’s Truth in Advertising laws to regulate video game sales. Representative Morley has indicated that Jack Thompson (a disbarred Florida lawyer) has been assisting in the draft. The story is available at http://blogs.sltrib.com/slcrawler/.
Bill Introduced in New York Restricting Game Sales
01/14/2009 Wednesday
Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright, a Democrat from Manhattan, has introduced bill A01474, into the New York state legislature to restrict the sales of video games with negative racial stereo types and offensive language. Specifically, the bill intends to “Prohibit the sale to minors of certain rated video games containing a rating that reflects content of various degrees of profanity, racist stereotypes or derogatory language, and/or actions toward a specific group of persons.” A copy of the bill text is available at the New York general assembly site.
Video Game Labeling Legislation
01/14/2009 Wednesday
Representative Joe Baca has introduced a bill entitled the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009. The bill would create a new federal rule for the Consumer Protection Safety Commission requiring warning labels on all games rated T and higher. The bill text can be found on the Thomas legislative site here: Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009.
Video Game Library Rentals
01/14/2009 Wednesday
Library Loans Video Games. According to The Californian, the Lake Elsinore library now loans video games. While GameFly and others rent video games, this is the first story I have seen of a public library offering video games as part of its lending offerings. See this story at The Californian, January 1, 2009.