In response to the increasing anti-videogame legislation hitting the US courts in recent months, the haggard Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has launched the Video Game Voters Network project, designed to mobilise gamers against threats to their free speech.
It's a fascinating approach to both relieving the load that the industry body must deal with and encouraging a traditionally politically maligned population to become engaged with front line politics (other than slagging off anti-games legislators on their weblogs).
From their website:
The Video Game Voters Network is a place for American gamers to organize and defend against threats to video games. This medium is fully protected speech under the Constitution, and receives the same First Amendment protection as books, movies, music, and cable television programs. The Network opposes efforts to regulate the content of entertainment media, including proposals to criminalize the sale of certain games to minors, or regulate video games differently from movies, music, books, and other media. The Network also enables gamers to stay educated about issues, reach out to federal, state, and local officials, and register to vote. The Video Game Voters Network is a project sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association, a trade group representing America's video game publishers.
Is this just a modern version of the stalwart "Rock the Vote" campaign, designed to encourage more disaffected youth to get involved with politics, or is this a place American gamers can really make a difference?
via gamepolitics
