Mr. Lindstrom's blog entry last Friday sparked my interest. I spent a few minutes this weekend considering the problem. Though I loathe limits to free speech, he brings up a good point. Just as certain commercials are banned on television (which should be extended to pharmaceuticals), certain things should not be advertised in games. I believe this should be a function of a game's rating. While most things should be allowed in an M (Mature) game, alcohol and beer should be prohibited in games rated T (Teen) and under. I would support legislation for that.

What I don't like is legislation to censor games. Books, film and television aren't banned because of violence, but a game should be? That is what the ratings are there for. Yet, lawsuits still persist. Parents should pay attention to the ratings of the games their kids play. And legislation should be passed to make it illegal to sell games labeled M to kids. Yes the video game industry needs to fine-tune a few things, but not to the point of limiting artistic vision.