Video game makers take aim at new Minnesota law

By John Reinan
Star Tribune

The Legislature wanted to protect Minnesota kids from violent, sex-filled video games. So it went after the kids.

Children and teens who buy or rent games rated for more mature players can face a fine of $25 -- less than many Minnesota cities charge for a parking ticket. The law, which takes effect Aug. 1, also requires retailers to post warning signs in their stores.

Even the law's chief sponsor thinks it won't be enforced. But days after Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the bill into law, the game business fought back with the fury of a mutant zombie in "Resident Evil."

Game makers and retailers filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis last month, alleging that the new law is an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.

Video games, they argued, are as much an artistic expression as film, music and literature. And just as government cannot censor the ideas and images in those media, neither can it restrict the content and availability of video games -- no matter how many zombies have their virtual guts splattered across your kid's computer screen.

"Video games are powerful, but so are movies, and comic books, and dime novels, and great works of literature," said Crossan (Bo) Andersen, president of the Entertainment Merchants Association, a California-based group representing game retailers.

"It is unquestionably true that some games are not great literature," Andersen said. "They aren't even good literature, and they may be poor products. That's not what's being defended here.

"It's the right of minors and retailers to choose what is good and bad speech, and not have the government do it."

When the conversation turns to violent video games and children, the game that most often comes up is "Grand Theft Auto." The game is set in a bleak urban wasteland where armed thugs and busty prostitutes in skimpy shorts patrol every sidewalk.

The opportunities for bloody violence are endless, with the game itself flashing helpful prompts such as "Go beat up a crack dealer." Street fights can quickly escalate into all-out wars with police, and a skilled player can machine-gun 10 or 20 cops in as many seconds. The game awards the successful cop-killer more power and weaponry.

There's also the option of stealing a Cadillac and becoming a pimp, picking up hookers and dropping them off with street-corner customers. Service enough customers and you can earn yourself a full suit of pimp regalia.

Kathy Schroepfer's eyebrows just about leaped off her face when she heard that her 13-year-old son, Evan, had been playing the game.

Schroepfer, of Mound, relies on ratings to monitor her son's video intake. When buying games, she looks for the big, black "T" on the box that shows a game is rated for teens. What Schroepfer didn't know is that Evan has played "M"-rated games -- supposedly restricted to those 17 and older -- at his friends' homes.

"M-rated games are a lot more bloody," Evan said, as he and his mother came out of a video store at Ridgedale mall recently. "Like 'Grand Theft Auto' -- it has sex in it."

"They do?" Schroepfer said, her voice rising as she turned to look at him.

"Yeah," Evan replied matter-of-factly. "People get raped."

That's why lawmakers in Minnesota and elsewhere are trying to keep those games out of the hands of children.

But in the last year, the video game industry has been on a legal winning streak, forcing the reversal of laws in at least five states that sought to limit the availability of games. And the industry will win in Minnesota, too, said Gail Markels, general counsel for the Entertainment Software Association in Washington, D.C., a group that represents game makers.

"I don't think there's any question that this will not survive legal review," Markel said, running down a long list of court cases that have been decided in the industry's favor. "Everybody knows this legislation won't stand."

'Parents have no idea'

Jeff Johnson, a Republican representative from Plymouth who's running for state attorney general, was the primary sponsor of the bill in the House.

"I don't think we'll ever see a kid fined for this," Johnson said. "The purpose was to get people's attention, particularly parents' attention, and to discourage kids a little bit. Maybe it will make them a little bit less interested and a little scared of trying it."

Comparing literature and movies to violent video games is a false comparison, he said.

"I think there's a difference between watching a movie or reading a book and actually doing it," Johnson said. "In these games, you get to beat the cop to death and set his body on fire, or shoot the prostitute in the head.

"If adults want to play this, fine," he said. "Even if parents want to let their kids play it, I guess that's none of my business. But I just think a lot of parents have no idea what this stuff is. When you have 7-year-old boys learning how to beat prostitutes, that's a concern for our society."

Video games are as much a part of today's childhood as hi-fis and comic books were in previous generations, and it's doubtful that kids are being warped by them, said several metro teens.

"It's easy to blame video games for people's problems," said Ted Eschweiler, 18, of Golden Valley. "It's so external. If you're mature enough, you can separate fantasy from reality."

Clay Keller, 18, of Minnetonka said it's easy to become desensitized to violence by video games.

"But if you go around shooting people, there's something more deeply wrong with you than playing violent video games," he said.