In a landmark 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to strike down a 2005 California law that would restrict the sale of video-games to minors, and requiring a large 2 inch by 2 inch "18" sticker to be placed on each game. Essentially, games deemed "violent" would be treated the same as rated "X" films. The ruling places video-games under the same category of protected speech as books and movies. Although even this "protected speech" contains some minor restrictions, today’s ruling allows game makers to continue to produce the games they would like to produce without fear of government censcership.
For those of you not in the U.S. or without understanding of the court system, the ruling today by the highest court in the U.S. places video-games under the same protection as other forms of speech guarenteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In historicle context, the ruling establishes video-games as a form of artistic expresion in the United States.
