Violent video game law squelched

Gamers can now breathe a bit easier that the preservation of video games and Free Speech has been decided today when the United States Supreme Court struck down California's video game law that made it illegal to rent or sell violent video games to minors in a 7-2 vote.

The law, originally signed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, threatened to deal a serious blow to the video games industry. Throughout the ruling Monday, California wasn't able to convince the court that the violence in video games actually caused harm to minors, however. In the 92-page decision, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that games are a protected media as are other forms of creative expression:

“Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And "the basic principles of freedom of speech . . . do not vary" with a new and different communication medium.”

California's 2005 law, stated that any retailer selling or renting an “M” rated game that included violent act such as killing, raping or brutalizing a human would be charged a civil fine up to $1,000 per game sold, if the prosecutor could prove that the game lacked any serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

Even though this was a state case, the ripples of this decision could radiate out further as at least 11 other states, including Florida, Mississippi and Texas side with California and enacted similar laws regarding restricting the sale of violent video games to minors. Regardless of the ruling, California lawmakers may yet try again to keep the law intact.

It's possible that if the law didn't get overturned, the ramifications could have weakened the gaming industry as a whole. Not many developers would want to create games that retailers may refuse to sell for fear of the consequences. Chalk one up for video games industry.