Support stalls for Schwarzenegger games bill

It appears that the movement to oppose Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mature games bill in the US is proving successful with confirmation that no new states have signed up to the proposal since July.

Law.com reports that only 11 states have pledged support for the measures, which would see the sale of mature games to minors illegalised in the US for the first time. The site reckons that at least 40 states would have been expected to join the movement by this stage were it attracting popular support.

The slowdown is being credited to intense lobbying from games industry representatives, who have been campaigning with the country’s attorney generals in an effort to convince them that the implementation of the law would contravene America’s First Amendment, which guarantees the right to free speech.

We wouldn’t be surprised if the number of states siding with the industry was equal or exceeded the number backing California,” Activision Blizzard’s executive vice president and chief public policy officer George Rose stated.

Similarly to our opponents, we have discussed the merits of the case with attorneys general of different states in this country. We don’t want their opinions to be uninformed.”

Though Activision is not a member of the ESA, which has been embarking on a campaign of its own against the proposals, the publisher has been working with other industry companies on the issue and plans its own campaign.