ARNOLD GAME FOR A FIGHT INDUSTRY TRADE GROUPS SEEK TO KILL LAW INVOLVING VIOLENT CONTENT.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday vowed to ``mount a vigorous defense'' against a lawsuit filed this week by video-game industry trade groups seeking to strike down a recently signed law that will fine retailers who sell certain video games depicting violence to minors.

The law, scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2006, was signed by the governor Oct. 7 and has quickly led to a battle between a $31 billion industry seeking to police itself and lawmakers and citizens groups seeking tighter controls.

A lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in San Jose by the Video Software Dealers Association and the Entertainment Software Association. In a statement, ESA President Douglas Lowenstein called the law ``misguided'' and called it an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment freedoms.

``It is not up to any industry or the government to set standards for what kids can see or do; that is the role of parents,'' Lowenstein said.

But the author of the legislation, Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, said some restrictions are needed in this day and age when parents are often at work or are not computer savvy enough to know what kinds of video games their children are involved with.

``In the ideal world, we would ask all parents to be responsible and take care of their kids,'' Yee said. ``But the reality is that this is a different time. When you have these ultra-violent games, reasonable people have to stand up and say, Enough is enough.''

The law will fine retailers $1,000 if they sell violent games to a customer under the age of 18. These games are rated AO (Adults Only) under the industry's ratings system and are usually purchased over the Internet and not at the major retail chains. Other ratings letters, developed by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) ratings system, include: M (Mature), T (Teen), and E (Everyone).

VSDA President Bo Andersen said the law ignores the existing video-game rating system and programs by retailers to enforce the ratings in their stores.

Best Buy Co., for example, not only does not sell the adult-only games, but will not sell M-rated games to anyone under the age of 17. The chain's policy requires employees to check the age of any customer purchasing M-rated video or computer games who appears to be under the age of 21.

Yee said Tuesday that he is not at all surprised by the industry's lawsuit and acknowledges its success in getting previous bans overturned by the courts.

``If I had a $31 billion industry, I'd probably go file lawsuits to protect it too,'' he said.

But Yee said this legislation is ``narrowly tailored'' to single out the most egregious video games and he believes it will be able to withstand any constitutional challenges.

``We studied those bills that failed in the past, that have been struck down in court, and learned from their experience,'' he said.

Rather than have a showdown in court, Lowenstein said he would like to see government and the video-game industry work on a cooperative and legal solution.

``We all know that parents are not well served by the time and money spent on court battles and legal fees,'' he said. ``Rather, they would be far better off if government and industry worked together to educate them about video-game ratings, and other tools to help them make informed purchasing decisions for their families.''

Schwarzenegger said the new law ensures parents' involvement in determining which video games are appropriate for their kids. He is urging Attorney General Bill Lockyer to work hard to defend the law in court.

``I believe strongly that we must give parents the tools to help them protect their children,'' Schwarzenegger stated. ``I will do everything in my power to preserve this new law.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com