Time Magazine Chimes In On Upcoming Battle Against TV Violence

So remember when I attended Larry Walters' lecture at GDC and he said that the government was eventually going to find a "sweet spot" that would allow them to restrict games and their sales if the industry didn't start to really fight back? At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, that moment may not be too far around the corner.

Time Magazine has a fantastic, and terrifying, story about how television violence is the new political hot button; it's the newest thing the government feels they need to protect little Johnny and Suzy Q. Public from. As a result, the FCC has drafted a report for Congress that suggests the agency be given control over broadcast violence -much the same way they already do with "obscene" material- and possibly force cable companies to allow subscribers to opt out of paying for channels if they find a network's violent content objectionable.

To suggest that children need federal protection from "accidentally" watching shows well known to be violent at best lets parents off the hook and at worst masks an agenda: to prevent other parents from making choices that antiviolence activists disagree with.

You can argue that there is a social cost to violence. But even assuming that one could connect violent shows with, say, violence in children, connecting any specific violent entertainment with any specific result is dubious. Legislation against prime-time violence also may be unconstitutional, but the mere threat may be enough to stifle edgy shows. And the attempt to do so establishes a chilling principle: limiting certain kinds of choice and expression in order to make people think and act better.

Now, at first glance, this sounds like it has nothing to do with games. But, stop and think about it: a number of games (such as, I don't know, God of War?) contain a lot more violent content than a kid's going to see on television. And, if the government feels it's justified going after cable companies for the content they provide, how long do you think it'll be before the video game industry falls into their vision?

It's a scary thought, when you stop and consider the implications presented by the article. More importantly, it's a scenario that might wind up biting us in the ass before the gaming industry realizes it's a very real threat and decides to take it seriously.

The Coming Fight Over TV Gore [Time]
[via GamePolitics]