If you don’t want some anger to go with your corn flakes this morning, look away now. A new bill has been proposed by congressman Joe Baca which would require a health warning on videogames, telling consumers that gaming could lead to aggressive behavior, despite the fact that research on the subject is utterly non-conclusive.
The democratic Senator introduced the “Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009” last week, declaring that the games industry has failed to act enough like a surrogate parent to kids. Apparently putting pseudo-truths and blatant scaremongering on the covers of games would make everything better and there’d be no more violence EVER … apart from State approved violence, of course.
Game packages would come with the following message if this bill passes: “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”
Baca puts the blame solely on the videogame industry, not on the parents who let their kids play violent games. “The videogame industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers – to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products.
“They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products.”
Apparently the very obvious ESRB labels aren’t good enough.
The Senator believes that the industry “must be held accountable” for the rare instances of violent behavior that games have had tenuous-at-best links to in the past. America is the most powerful nation in the world, and there are people in charge of it who are panicking over videogames. This has gone beyond pathetic and into the realm of the farcical.
