Clinton, Lieberman write federal game regulation act
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., revealed a new bill on Nov. 29 that would institute federal regulation of video game sales. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., co-authored the Family Entertainment Protection Act, which will be submitted when Congress reconvenes next week.
The act is "a prohibition against any business for selling or renting a Mature, Adults-Only, or Ratings Pending game to a person who is younger than seventeen," according to Clinton's statement. If made law, violators would be punished with unspecified fines.
The statement said the act authorizes "the FTC to conduct an annual, random audit of retailers to determine how easy it is for young people to purchase Mature and Adults Only video games and report the findings to Congress ... This analysis will help ensure that the [Entertainment Software Rating Board's (ESRB)] ratings system accurately reflects the content in each game and that the ratings system does not change significantly over time."
The act also requires the FTC to investigate the ESRB and search for a "pervasive problem" with its rating system. If the FTC finds enough flaws, the federal government could create its own rating system to replace the ESRB's.
Entertainment Software Association president Douglas Lowenstein said in a statement that his organization strongly opposes the bill. "There is now a continuum of tools from the store to the home enabling parents to take charge of the video games their kids play," Lowenstein said. "While we are gratified that [Sen. Clinton] holds the ESRB in such high regard that her bill would give these ratings the force of law, the courts have made clear that giving a private party governmental powers is unconstitutional."
Nintendo to reveal 'Revolution' in May
Despite the launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and building hype for Sony's PlayStation 3, Nintendo has revealed little about the actual games for its upcoming home console, code-named "Revolution." Gamers are going to have to wait a little longer.
Nintendo last week said it will finally reveal "all the incredible details about Nintendo's upcoming games and hardware" at the company's May 9 press conference before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles.
Activision's spider-sense tingles
Activision last week said they have secured the rights to make video games based on Sony Picture's "Spider-Man" franchise through 2017. The contract includes movie sequels and possible TV shows. This announcement comes in spite of the fact that director Sam Raimi is only signed on to do "Spider-Man 3," which will hit theaters in May 2007.
'Smash Bros.' creator returns for 'Revolutionary' sequel
Nintendo has opened an office in Tokyo exclusively dedicated to the development of a new entry in the "Super Smash Bros." fighting series for its next-gen system "Revolution," according to a report in the latest issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu.
Leading development is Masahiro Sakurai, original creator of the series, which features popular Nintendo characters such as Mario, Link, Kirby and Pikachu duking it out in large battle royale arenas. Sakurai left Nintendo two years ago, but was persuaded to return by company president Satoru Iwata at last year's E3 expo.
