Readers of GameDaily BIZ no doubt remember the video game bill proposed by California Assemblyman Leland Yee (who's now a state Senator) and subsequently signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger. At the time the ESA, VSDA and IEMA immediately sued to counter the law that would have gone into effect on January 1, 2006. The courts responded by placing a preliminary injunction on the law.

Yee's bill sought to restrict the sale or rental to anyone under the age of 18 of computer and video games that are classified as "violent video games" if the depictions of violence in the games are offensive to the community or if the violence depicted is committed in an "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved" manner.

It's been a long time coming, but today that preliminary injunction has become a permanent injunction, finally bringing an end to the unconstitutional law once and for all.

"It was inevitable that the federal district court would find the California video game restriction law unconstitutional, as eight similar laws around the country have been overturned in the past six years," commented Bo Andersen, President of the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA). "We informed the legislature that this would be the eventual result when it was considering the law, and it is indeed unfortunate that legislature ignored the prior cases.

"It is now time for the California legislature to move beyond political grandstanding and accept the video game industry's invitation to work with them to educate the public about video game ratings and encourage parents to utilize those ratings when selecting video games for their families."

GameDaily BIZ is waiting on official comment from the Entertainment Software Association.

[UPDATE] Dan Hewitt, Director of Media Relations at the Entertainment Software Association told GameDaily BIZ, "The computer and video game industry leads in providing caregivers the most comprehensive and effective information and tools to ensure the entertainment children enjoy is parent-approved. As such, the Entertainment Software Association is pleased with today's permanent injunction ruling as it cements nationwide judicial consensus that our self-regulatory efforts work and attempts to regulate computer and video games are unconstitutional. We look forward to the opportunity this ruling now affords us and invite legislators, community leaders, and family advocates to raise awareness and usage of the resources we provide."

[UPDATE 2] Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has now indicated that he will appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte that struck down the law he signed back in 2005. "I signed this important measure to ensure that parents are involved in determining which video games are appropriate for their children. The bill I signed would require that violent video games be clearly labeled and not be sold to children under 18 years old. Many of these games are made for adults and choosing games that are appropriate for kids should be a decision made by their parents," he said. "I will vigorously defend this law and appeal it to the next level."