Calif. Video Game Bills Fail

Two bills designed to restrict the access of minors to violent video games on Tuesday failed to clear a committee of California's state Assembly, killing them for 2004 unless the committee changes its mind.

Quoted from e-mail by Jason Della Rocca, Program Director;
International Game Developers Association http://www.igda.org/

"AB 1792 failed on a 5-4 vote and AB 1793 failed on a 3-4 vote. Each
bill needed 7 votes to pass. However, both bills were granted reconsideration, which means they will be considered again on April 27th. If the bills are not amended, the bills will be heard for vote only with no testimony.
If they are amended, the committee may take additional testimony.

What this means is that we are not yet out of the woods on these
issues. We must continue to let our Assemblymembers know how these bills will hurt our industry. As a reminder, AB 1792 prohibits the sale or rental of video
games to minors that contain violent content that is vaguely defined
and clearly subjective which would include a wide array of "E", "T" as well
as "M" rated titles. AB 1793 mandates unwieldy segregation rules for
retailers to display games based on ratings issued by the ESRB.

AB 1792 would impose large penalties on our retail partners even though
full compliance with its requirements are virtually impossible to
fulfill due to lack of clarity in the definition of "violent" content. AB 1793
would create unfair burdens for retailers by requiring them to
refixture their stores, and treat video games differently under the law than
motion pictures, magazines and music."