Is governmental regulation of the game industry necessary?
As a practicing attorney, I believe that the US Government would have great difficulty in imposing mandatory regulations on the content of games due to the free speech rights guaranteed in the First Amendment to the US Constitution, although the point is well made about cities and states regulating exposure to inappropriate materials to children. As an aside, such attempted regulation of software by cities and states may run afoul of the US Government’s control over interstate commerce unless Congress specifically delegates such authority to the states and cities. However, the ESRB ratings are limited in that they are not enforced by the sellers of software. Theoretically, a minor may not buy a ticket to an R-rated movie, and cannot see NC-17 or X-rated movies. Because theaters control access, the MPAA ratings actually have some teeth. As a consequence, moviemakers have been forced to limit the objectionable content of movies in order to receive the coveted PG or PG-13 ratings in order
