The month of June has seen increasing debate and restriction placed on violent video games.
On June 9, the state of Oklahoma passed a law prohibiting the sale of games featuring "innapropriate of gratuitous" violence to minors. Other states either passed of tabled similar legislation.
However, the debate came to a climax June 14th with a senate sub-committee hearing in Washington dubbed "Violent and Explicit Video Games: Informing Parents and Protecting Children"
In a transcript of his statement at the hearing, Florida Republican Senator Cliff Stearns likened the violent content of games like the Grand Theft Auto series to hate speech.
"This sort of twisted, homicidal imagery is more akin to hate speech, not free speech," he said.
"It targets those who are innocent, it stereotypes, it incites hate, and it breeds disrespect for those who serve to protect."
The hearing centred around the controversy created by Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas last year when a hidden sex scene was discovered.
Players had to download a patch created by a hacker to video the scene that was never meant to be included in the actual game. Retailers either pulled the games from shelves or applied stickers to change the rating from Mature to Adults Only until Rockstar released a version with the scene completed removed.
The sub-committee called for the Federal Trade Comission to finish their investigation into the San Andreas complaint and also want to stop game makers from skirting Entertainment Software Rating Board rules by placing hidden content in game.
Days after the meeting, on June 21, the ESRB announced their "Commitment to Parents" with national video game retailers.
The intiative will see ESRB Retail Council members (which include Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target and Circuit City, among others) enforcing the ratings and providing more education like signs in stores explaining the rating system, according to the ESRB's press release.
Among other parts of the initiative, these stores also agree to participate in two annual "mystery shopper" initiatives to ensure the ratings are being followed.
Meanwhile, presidential candidate hopeful Hillary Clinton (also a known critic of GTA:SA) posted her Media Safety guide for parents in time for the summer.
She writes that the ESRB ratings only tell part of the story with games rated Teen or Mature often containing more violent content than claimed, citing a Harvard University study.
She instead encourages parents to use independent sources like Common Sense Media to verify that games are appropriate for their children.
