http://action.theeca.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1781

There is the link. ONLY if you are 18 or older can you have the right to sign the link by law. This is a serious matter and affect every gamer in the world as the bill will also make it incredible difficult for developers in the US to develop games with violence in them. This is a law that could be easily abused and would put the US Governments hand right there with a developers limiting what they could create. People have tried to strecth the idea that this means just no more Gran Theft Auto, well this will could also stop the creation of great franchises such as Bioshock, Ninja Gaiden, Madworld, Call of Duty, etc.

In America we have a First Admendment right and this petition is for all of those who agree that its not right for the government to start controlling video game development, we have the ESRB to rate just like the video entertainment has its ratings. They are going after our games once again instead of the real industries that should be controlled such as the pornography, etc.

If you agree please sign the petition, if not then just please move on and dont start a debate. I felt that this sould be posted here where actual gamers could find it.

I signed it.

I'm too young to sign it. Also, can you only sign it if you're American? Cos I wouldn't want you guys to miss out on those great games.

I don't think I got much to worry about with Nintendo, but if someone wants to persuade me...

Pfft, I'm one of those people who are surprised that GTA is rated "M" and not "AO"

I don't really care for violent games anyway

I'd rather have a game which has good gameplay rather than a game that lets me shoot dead a topless woman.

Yay. I'm already being forced to purchase medical insurance, forced to help pay for other peoples mortgages who can't afford them, forced to bail out banks and other business that are "too big to fail", and now the right to free speech is being jeopardized.

What country do I live in again?

Exactly..... and for the posters above me. I understand that Nintendo is primarily a clean system. No More Heroes, Madworld,etc will be in line of fire or future sequels if ever. But when governments get involved it could even so much boil down to things that arent so violent, and government forcing political agenas,etc into the games we play.

Our President Barrack Obama just recently gave a speech that involved children wanting to make games and is trying to get involved in game development. I see this as a political ploy and I play games for fun, not politics. There are much bigger things our goverment needs to focus on at the moment, not this!

Signed. I'm an editor on my University's newspaper, and will actually be writing my editorial on this whole case this week. I'll be advising college students who care to stand up against the governator. True, I'm with most of you in that violence doesn't sell games for me.. but I'm also an intense supporter of two things that go against this: small government and freedom of artistic expression. I firmly believe the government has no right to tell me what is violent, and I firmly believe I should not have to prove my age or citizenship or anything ridiculous like that to be able to enjoy a piece of art. I also believe if a developer wants to use violence in their game to use as a way of commenting on the innate, feral, and tribalistic nature of even modern man (Lord of the Flies, anyone?) why should the government reduce their market to the point where it's no longer profitable for them to produce such a thing? Likewise, if we make our 8th grade children read such things in books for school, and if the reasoning behind that is to help them develop a deep and rounded personal worldview and philosophy, why would we forbid them to receive such themes in another format? It's asinine, and people need to be speaking out.

Maybe it's for the best. And while they're at it please ban cellphones too.

I love it. Schwarzenegger cant come up with a budget or get us Californians jobs but he wants to tell us what video games to buy and play. The guy is a good movie star but a lousy governor. I will be glad when hes gone.

American government is full of fail. What happened to people's rights? First amendment and all that? That's something Americans are constantly going on about, and yet they seem to have theirs publicly challenged more than any other people on the planet.

This in contrast to Britain's recent positive attitudes to video games is quite a surprise.

Still, I'd sign if I was American.

Rights? I thought they were more like privileges

No, they're definately RIGHTS and they make up quite a bit of the foundation on which my country (USA) is based.

I'm not sure about Britain being positive with the whole Medal of Honor thing.

Sure, it gets challenged but of course you're simply ignoring the important part. For all the attempts to curtail the first amendment they invariably fail or are overturned.

I'm telling you people: join the ACLU, no matter your political leanings. They've done more to protect free speech than anyone else.

And now we shall find out whether the supreme court is as stupid as Congress.

Talk about hysteria. Guys, we get almost all the games that you guys get, and we don't have first ammendment rights etc etc.

Just signed the petition.
I understand that making the distribution of violent games to minors illegal doesn't SOUND like such a bad idea in itself, but this will mean the beginning of censorship in videogames. ESRB ratings will no longer apply in affected areas, and publishers will be forced to decide wether their games are in violation. The legislation proposes a hazy definition of violence, involving any "human-like" creature, being assaulted or mauled or dismembered, etc. So, even if it doesn't seem like games you play will be affected, publishers will be forced to take a "better safe than sorry" approach to avoid legal consequences, and will most likely be slapping stickers on a lot of our favorite games. The ECA projects that family oriented retailers, like Target or Walmart, will be removing "violent" games from shelves if the law goes thru, which mean less sales for these games, which means less money to develop these games. Also, the idea that games are even being considered for this, while film, music, and other media are completely undiscussed is ridiculous. AND the law will only apply to retail titles, so kids will still be able to LEGALLY download M-rated titles from their XBLA and PSN. The whole thing is unfounded, and ridiculous.

Welcome to Australia. And... OH LOOK THE SYSTEM WORKS.

This is my quite genuine observation of America: your culture exists entirely on percieved threats and knee-jerk reactions. Rather than actually study how a piece of legislation might actually affect you, based on how it works in other parts of the world, you just guess, go crazy over an imagined loss of freedom and so on and so forth.

It's exactly what happened when Obama did his health care thing, and going back in history, it's exactly what happened when communism was big. In fact, I believe 'communism' is still considered a dirty word in America. Amazing.

There is no need for hysterics. You're not all about to be chained to a big heavy ball with overlords and whips and the whole gig. Chill. Australia exists fine with virtually the exact same system.