Texas just got a whole lot friendlier, if you make video games, that is.

Gov. Rick Perry signed into law today a bill that would grant $250,000 for state-funded video game projects in the form of grant incentives.

There was a question of whether or not to censor the projects as a condition of the money, but thankfully the censorship consideration was not made a part of the bill.

But that’s awesome news for video game makers in the state of Texas who want to try to take a chance at being able to eat while they make their indie video game.

It’s always nice to expand your diet outside of Top Ramen. But most of us who have experienced what it’s like to go to college know that Maruchan can be your savior at midnight.

New York’s State Wide News Service reports that the new video game legislation is provoking violent reaction among the Senate. An incident occurred during the hearing on imposing a Class E felony on anyone selling a violent video game to a minor. The bill’s sponsor Senator Andrew Lanza (R-I, Staten Island) and Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D – Mount Vernon) nearly came to blows over details about language on violent video games.

Andrew Lanza : “The cases that have been struck down have been struck down on the principle that states have attempted to prohibit the sale of video games based upon the speech content, that being violence. “

Ruth Hassell-Thompson: “You’re misreading the case. You’re misreading them. I don’t know whether you’re doing it deliberately or what. It’s frustrating me.”

AL: “I’m not misreading the cases. Those are the cases.”

RH-T: “You’re misreading the cases.”

AL: “Absolutely not Senator. We can agree to disagree on that point.”

RH-T: “You got a battery of attorneys sitting behind you. I’m telling you I wrangled with them 3 out of 5 meetings. “

AL: “Maybe you’re missing something.”

RH-T: “Well, we’re paying them. We should fire them.”

AL: “Let’s just be clear. It makes it a felony to sell video games based upon the speech contained therein. That’s what it does. Now it may pass constitutional muster because the speech that is being regulated therein is pornography, which I might add is already regulated and is already prohibited with its distribution to minors. So you might say the governor’s version accomplishes nothing. I’m not saying that but you might say it.”

Senator Betty Little (R-C, Queensbury) also voiced her objections to such a harsh penalty arguing store clerks could be hauled away in handcuffs for accidentally selling a violent video game to a minor.

It’s refreshing to see that some of our representation have given this matter serious thought and have taken reality into account.

Forests beware. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and entertainment product distributor Ingram Entertainment Inc. have announced a new initiative in support of Indie Retailers. 10,000 independent and small chain retailers nationwide will receive ready-to-use in-store signage explaining the ESRB rating system and supporting store policy of denying sale of M rated video games to children 17 and under.

“The ESRB actively supports retailers in their efforts with respect to the sale or rental of video games, and their support of the ratings has been tremendous, as evidenced by the most recent report from the FTC,” said ESRB president Patricia Vance. “Our partnership with national retail outlets continues to be strong, and with the help of Ingram Entertainment we’re helping smaller, independent retailers across the country inform their consumers about the rating system and support their store policies.”

What this means for the consumer is more signs and shelving strips to inundate those parents who just don’t get the ESRB ratings. Bob Geistman, chairman of the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Ingram Entertainment asserts that this initiative can only bring retailers and consumers closer together.

“Indie retailers are a vibrant and significant part of the video game market, tending to offer a neighborhood environment that endears them to their customers. Providing this signage to these thousands of stores will undoubtedly help foster that unique and personal relationship by enabling stores to offer their customers information that is vital to the way they buy and rent games.”

This article is rated E for everyone.

You may recall that Stephany told you about Blizzard’s suit against peons4hire, one of the most prodigious gold farming services in World of Warcraft. Now, a class-action suit has been filed in US District Court in Florida naming Internet Gaming Entertainment, Ltd. and IGE US as defendants.

The suit states as its basis that IGE has made a, “calculated decision to reap substantial profits by knowingly interfering with and substantially impairing the intended use and enjoyment,” of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft MMO. Under Florida’s Deceptive And Unfair Trade Practices Act, the defendants are seeking for this complaint to be heard by a jury.

The complaint centers around the lost time by subscribers, and the “conspiracy” of the folks farming and selling gold.

Read the full article »

Attorney Mark Methenitis, author of The Law of the Game blog, has more food for thought on the New York Legislation Gaming Today has been covering this week.

Methenitis spins a what if scenario that should leave NY retailers quaking in their boots. It concerns NY’s “3 Strikes” rule; three strikes and your in… jail that is, possibly for life.

Methenitis writes, “While the law does give some leeway for the sentencing court, it theoretically allows a judge to put someone away for life for selling a copy of, say, Gears of War to a 16 year old who looks 18. Yes, selling a game could come with a life sentence under the new law.”

Methenitis states that making the sale of violent video games to minors a class E felony is “lunacy”. He points out that selling drugs or alcohol to minors in most states is merely a misdemeanor resulting in a fine. There is no penalty for selling violent movies like Saw or Hostel at all. In comparison it seems the New York Law is like swatting a fly with a Cadillac.

For someone who has such in-depth experience in the gaming industry, it might seem they would be able to get what “T for Teen” stands for.

But apparently not.

This Sci Fi Tech blogger seems to think that the ESRB Ratings aren’t clear, and are in desperate need of replacement or fine tuning.

“The first problem is that the ratings are confusing,” he writes in the post. “There is “E for Everyone,” and “T for Teen,” and then “Mature,” which shouldn’t be confused with the infamous “AO” or “Adults Only” rating.” Read the full article »

It’s all just bits of data, but someone has a right to it.

Terra Nova has posted a bit about a case involving virtual property ownership rights in Second Life, and a judge is taking the case on.

“While the property and the world where it is found are “virtual,” the dispute is real,” the judge wrote a recent Order in the case.

If you build a house on someone else’s land with their permission, it doesn’t mean they will own the house, especially if they say up front whatever you create is yours. The same should hold true for Second Life, but we will have to see what Judge Eduardo C. Robreno has to say about it.

Today, the New York Assembly passed Assembly Bill 8696 by a vote of 130-10. What’s it all about? Well, A8696, if signed into law, would bar persons under the age of 17 from purchasing or renting video games that contain depictions of “depraved violence” and “indecent images.” The penalty for violating this law? A Class E Felony, which means the retailer and/or the clerk could face up to four years in jail if convicted. In addition, the bill also requires all video game consoles sold in New York after September 1, 2009 to include parental control mechanism to allow parents to block the console from playing ‘certain content.’

This isn’t the first time we’ve told you about nonsense from the state of New York. This bill is pretty ridiculous, huh? That’s what the Entertainment Merchant’s Association thinks, as they took aim at the assembly, calling th bill “ill-conceived” and “unconstitutional.” The EMA represents around 800 retail stores in New York state that sell and/or rent video games and DVDs. EMA President Bo Andersen said, “This bill is ill-conceived and unconstitutional. The proposal to jail retailers and clerks for up to four years for selling certain video games to persons under age 17 is apparently based on misunderstandings about what retailers are doing currently. The requirement that video game consoles include parental controls ignores the fact that the new generation of consoles include them already. Finally, nine similar proposals that have been enacted around the nation in recent years have all been blocked by federal courts on First Amendment grounds. For such an ill- conceived and unconstitutional law, ignorance is no excuse.”

What’s the truth?

Read the full article »

It was discovered recently that Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, in an ongoing mission to ban violent video games, pulled $1 million from different state funds and agencies. The money was used to appeal a measure that would have barred retailers from selling or renting violent or sexually explicit games to minors, with a fine of $1000 for anyone doing so. The federal court ruled the law unconstitutional in 2005, but that apparently didn’t stop the governor, who continued to appeal the ruling:

“The governor raided funds throughout state government to pay for the litigation. Some of the areas money was taken from included the public health department, the state’s welfare agency and even the economic development department.”

Yes, you are reading that right. The governor of Illinois took money out of the budget for welfare, health, and economic development to appeal a law that was deemed unconstitutional and was clearly not going to be passed as it stood anytime soon. Someone needs to get their priorities in order.

To make matters worse, some lawmakers who voted on the law are admitting that they did so merely for political reasons, despite their feelings that the law shouldn’t pass.

With the new Black Temple update for World of Warcraft, Blizzard has also taken a bold step to combat gold farming and the in-game spamming associated with it. The developer recently made an announcement through a forum post that they have filed a lawsuit against one such gold-farming organization:

“As many of you know, the latest content patch, along with many great new content additions, contains technical counter-measures designed to combat in-game gold spamming. Our efforts to reduce in-game abuse and create a fun, safe environment for everyone are never-ending.

With that said, we felt that it was important to share with the community just how serious we are in our efforts to combat this type of abuse. Blizzard has filed a federal lawsuit against the operators of Peons4hire, a popular gold-selling organization which many of you have no doubt seen advertised. As part of the lawsuit, the operators of Peons4hire have been asked to immediately cease all in-game spamming efforts by all entities and websites under their control.

If this organization refuses to act accordingly, further legal action will be taken. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on the progress of this topic.”

As much as I applaud Blizzard’s efforts, I think they’re going to have a tough time fighting this. Unfortunately, most gold-farming operations a headquartered overseas, outside of U.S. legal jurisdiction. Besides which, even if they can take down one of these companies, more are just going to pop up in its place. we’ll just have to see how this one turns out.