12 states petition Supreme Court for game restrictions

Eleven states have banded together to support California's attempt to reintroduce legislation restricting the sale of videogames to minors.

While the law was thrown out by an appeals court, its next and final port of call is the Supreme Court. Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia and Texas are all now on-board.

Website Gamasutra has seen a brief of the 12-state alliance's intentions, which claims that the need to "prevent minors from buying or renting without parental approval a defined class of video games which invite players to commit digital homicide, torture, and rape" is permissible under the first amendment, despite previous court decisions to the contrary.

Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal explained his state's support for the bill, accusing the games industry of having no self-regulation but seemingly unaware of the ESRB. "Protecting children from digital danger requires proactive parents - but they need and deserve help.

"The videogame industry should act responsibly - play nice, not nasty - and agree to sensible self-imposed restrictions that block children from buying the most violent games. I am calling on the videogame industry to follow the leadership of the motion picture industry, which sensibly stops unattended children from viewing violent or graphic movies."

Senior figures in the US videogame industry are deeply concerned about the potential law, fearing that major chains such as Wal-Mart would outright refuse to stock adult-rated games.