Video games: the bad & the good

The state of Illinois is stepping up its anti-violent games effort. Two state legislators introduced a law that would ban sales of violent and sexually explicit games to minors, CNET reports. "California, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Michigan all have similar proposals working their way through the legislative process." Internationally, Kanagawa Prefecture outside Tokyo "plans Japan's first ban on selling violent videogames to children," Australian IT reports. US courts have overturned similar efforts in St. Louis County, Mo., Indianapolis, and the state of Washington. Language in Illinois's proposed law could be a problem for passage, CNET adds, because "it doesn't rely on ESRB [Entertainment Software Rating Board] ratings but instead sets its own definition of objectionable content." In the UK, advertising has been the focus recently: television ads for the M-rated game Grand Theft Auto: Andreas have been banned during hours the children typically watch TV, the BBC reports. As for the *upside*: Surgeons are saying video games are good for developing skill in laparoscopic surgery, the New York Times reports. "The complex manual dexterity required to be a stellar video gamer and minimally invasive surgeon are strikingly similar."

For more on games, see NFN's "Kids & video game violence," "Trash talk in online games," "10 worst video games," "Kid-tested, parent-approved video games," and "Check out the game ratings!".