Rhetorical guns blazing like a corporate Duke Nukem, a defiant video game industry offered no apologies for its wares and promised a court fight to kill a law signed Friday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that bans the sale of violent video games to children.
The Entertainment Software Assn. said it planned to file a lawsuit by the end of the month to prevent legislation by Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) from taking effect. Yee's measure makes it a crime to rent or sell games that "depict serious injury to human beings in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" to children under 18.
"We are disappointed that politicians of both parties chose to toss overboard the 1st Amendment and free artistic and creative expression in favor of political expediency," Entertainment Software Assn. President Douglas Lowenstein said.
The trade group for games retailers, the Video Software Dealers Assn., said it would join the legal challenge.
Although the law potentially imposes a burden on game makers and retailers, analysts predicted minimal effect on sales -- particularly as the industry gears up to launch three new game consoles in coming months.
"How many kids under 18 have $50 cash?" asked Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities. "Kids don't buy games. Parents buy the games. It really is silly."
The $25-billion global game industry has come under increasing criticism for the sex and violence in its titles. Although most games are family fare, a few high-profile titles -- notably "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" -- have been singled out for attack.
Under California's law, to take effect Jan. 1, video game publishers must label violent games with the number 18 outlined in black, Yee said. Publishers that do not label their games could be fined $1,000 for each violation, as could retailers that rent or sell such games, if properly labeled, to children.
Michigan and Illinois have passed similar laws and several other states are considering them. The game industry has resisted such measures, saying its voluntary rating system gives parents the information they need to make informed choices. It has suits pending in Michigan and Illinois.
Jeff Brown, a spokesman for Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest independent game publisher, predicted that the video game industry would win its challenge against California.
