ESA opens grassroots gamer-voter site

Certain aspects of gaming, as with other forms of art, have become the target of many critics. These critics, which range from Senators Joseph Lieberman and Hillary Clinton to Miami lawyer Jack Thompson, have all launched their attacks using the rights granted to them by the government, so it's only appropriate that supporters of gaming do the same thing.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a trade group representing America's game publishers, has launched The Video Game Voters Network, which it describes as "a place for American gamers to organize and defend against threats to video games."

The online initiative features the latest pending legislation in easy-to-digest form, the latest media coverage of legal issues, and a form letter that can easily be e-mailed to the appropriate members of Congress. The site also points gamers in the direction they need to go to register to vote, has the latest facts about the demographics of gamers, and includes several professional viewpoints on the sensitive topic of gaming and violence.

In the past few years, several initiatives to restrict the sales of violent games have been proposed across the country. Several laws proposing strict restrictions on selling M-rated games, including those in Michigan, California, and Illinois, have been overturned after being deemed unconstitutional by court judges. However, with a possible CDC investigation and more states constantly jumping on the violent-game-ban bandwagon, The Video Game Voters Network is asking gamers to remain vigilant.

"These legislative threats on video games by politicians who don't even know how to play them creates a double standard for this innovative medium," reads a warning on the Web site. "But if the attack on video games works, what's to stop them from going after the other media we enjoy also? Government regulation based on games' content will stifle creativity and will have a chilling effect on game publishers who may feel the need to dilute content due to the threat of government action and fines."