This is a victory, against those who would care about the children.

Wait, Correction: victory against those who would look like they care about the children.

dude Denver is the shit first they legalize marijuana now they are saying yes to M-Rated games. Now all they need is a law that says "who so ever bitches about the last two things listed in this comment shall be flogged" and then I'd move there.

WoW you mean some people still have brains and commen sense!

kinda feels like the twilight zone

Someone said no to the PTC!? UNTHINKABlE!!!!!!

Seriously, hooray for common sense.

"It was a tough decision because I think our hearts as a board were with trying to limit exposure to advertisements that promote violence."

Someone explain that one to me. I'd expect an advertisement that promotes violence to some something like, "Go out and shoot someone today! Buy a gun!" not an ad that shows a few illustrations and some text. Because, if I'm not mistaken, box art does not promote violence.

I think this entire situation would've never happened if the transit authorities didn't believe the hype that videogames cause violence (even though teen crime rates and violence in general is incredibly low compared to years passed).

At least they made the smart choice here for a couple of the right reasons, but honestly, they shouldn't even nbe considering violent content. It's not something you can debate and yet several other states have already cut themselves off from a major source of revenue because they can't take the 2 seconds to rationalize the choices.

I'm a little angry that they didn't explain in their statement that the ads we put on our mass transit will be E for Everyone. The ban, if enacted, would not be unconstitutional, because refusing an ad is not censorship as we use the word. They currently pick-and-chose ads on a case-by-case basis.

It's obvious the real reason here is money. They don't want to restrict ads for the best-selling games. Successful games mean continued ad revenue. M-games are the best selling, for the most part, and something the PTC doesn't realize is that it indicates that general consensus is PRO-Mature-rated games. God of War II would be terrible if they made the content fit "T" for example.

So in summary, read beyond the public statements as they boil down to:
1) Game ads are a major source of ad dollars
2) Our riders are mostly adults
3) The ads themselves are not M-rated (see the cover of Vice City Stories, it has NO violent or overtly sexual content)
4) The PTC does not represent our best interests.

The PTC drives me bonkers. It goes like this: if you agree with the PTC as an individual, use their advice. If you don't agree, ignore them. Recognize the PTC is a very small percentage of a minority of Americans (which can be proven statistically).

Good govt can work sometimes

At the end of the day, the game may be violent, but the advert is not. They are employed as watchdog for the quality of the ads on their system, not to act as unofficial judges of society who not only judge the content of the adverts, but also the product itself.

It's like saying ban all adverts for cars because they might be dangerous in the wrong hands (a lot more dangerous than a computer game in fact).

So, yes, this is a good decision.

But, as we've seen, these bans aren't always consistent and fair. I'll use one of Dennis' old examples. These bans would put a ban on ads for the Sopranos video game, but not ads for the Sopranos show on HBO, and neither would a potential book, soundtrack album, or movie ads, just video games.

Good morning! I was surfing the internet Tuesday afternoon during my break, and found your blog by searching MSN for marijuana games. This is a topic I have great interest in, and follow it closely. I liked your insight on Surprise! Denver Transit Authority Votes to Allow M-rated Game Ads, and it made for good reading. Keep up the good work...