Arnie's Law Terminated

A US court overturned a law, signed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, forcing gaming companies to restrict the distribution of violent software. The law was branded as invalid, and that there was a failure to provide enough evidence of them being harmful to minors. Instead of a mandatory rating's system, the govering body prefers to go down the route of educating parents.

Predictably Governor Schwarzenegger and his team are appealing the decision in the Supreme Court, but it's expected that there will be no difference in the outcome. "I understand that some government officials will push for the state to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review this decision," said Bo Anderson, president and CEO of the Entertainment Merchants Association, but went on to suggest that this is a big waste of taxpayers money; with the latest calculations indicating that over a quarter of a million dollars had already been spent helping to enforce such laws. Michael Gallagher of the Entertainment Software Association also shared this view, "This is a clear signal that in California and across the country, the reckless pursuit of anti-video game legislation like this is an exercise in wasting taxpayer money, government time and state resources."

Even more reassuring for gamers is the fact that similar laws in other states have been routinely overturned, as the majority of them are violations of First Amendment protections.

Craig Bryan, NoobFeed