Poll: Majority Of Americans Think Government Should Regulate Game Content

51% of Americans believe that the government should regulate the content of video games, according to a survey conducted by Hill & Knowlton.

In related news, 100% of Game|Life editors think 51% of Americans need to re-read the Bill of Rights. It's pictured at right. There's a transcript here.

Moreover, an identical percentage of Game|Life editors do not give a flying fish about how many people want the government to be able to censor constitutionally protected expression: It's still wrong, no matter how many people think it is okay.

I* absolutely hasten* to point out that we are not talking about the government imposing laws that regulate the sale of violent video games to minors.
That is an entire other can of worms (that 60% of poll respondents agreed with, by the way). This is the belief that the government can get to decide what content can go into video games, period.

That a majority of respondents actually want to give up their own First Amendment rights for whatever reason should be a serious wake-up call to anyone who doesn't believe that free-speech rights are in constant jeopardy.

Democracy is great, except when we choose to vote away our own rights.

For their part, the Entertainment Software Association objects to Hill
& Knowlton's release of this poll data in the first place. "The research released today was conducted by Hill & Knowlton for a proposal the agency made to the ESA this summer, but only a portion of it was released publicly now. Hill & Knowlton's decision to release these findings was both unprofessional and unethical and its timing is questionable," reads the ESA's official statement.

The ESA points out that the research conducted last summer by Hill and & Knowlton also produced many findings that were favorable to the video game industry, but that none of these were included in the firm's press release this morning. Among said findings: "Less than 1 in 5 Americans think playing video games is a negative way to spend time with friends and family."

Hill & Knowlton's press release that was sent to news outlets this morning is reproduced in full below.

NEWS RELEASE: Are Gamers Coming of Age?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 5, 2007

HEADLINE: Are Gamers Coming of Age?
SUBHEAD: H&K survey shows 60% of respondents agree that the government
should regulate the sale of video games

New York, NY, USA - Sixty percent of US consumers polled agree that the
government should regulate the sale of violent or mature content video
games while a slim majority (51%) agrees that the government should
regulate mature content itself. Fifty-four percent of those surveyed
with children in the household believe that violent or mature content
will affect a child's behavior, according to Hill & Knowlton's survey of
1,147 American adults.

"Next generation consoles combined with a near-Hollywood experience
translates into increased scrutiny for a $7.4 billion industry that
seeks to outpace movies and music as the number one choice for
entertainment," said Joe Paluska, Director, Hill & Knowlton's Worldwide
Technology Practice. "We're seeing an interesting shift in economic
growth and societal influence across gaming, movies and music. While
the gaming industry is forecast to grow faster than the motion picture
and recording industries, gaming still under-punches its cultural
influence except when it comes to mature content."

Current gamers are evenly split on whether the government should
regulate violent content in video games, with 44% saying yes to
regulation and 47% saying no. In addition, 55% of current gamers also
believe that the government should regulate the sale of games with
violent or mature content, the survey showed.

"While the industry is reinventing itself by broadening the content and
the category, society still tends to view gamers as one-dimensional,"
Paluska said. "The industry's reputation centers on mature content due
to the sensational nature of the content and subsequent publicity. As a
result, our survey suggests that there's an appetite for more government
oversight even among the maturing Atari Generation who now have
children."