Earlier in the month we explained why you should consider signing The Gamer Petition, a grassroots campaign to mobilize the gaming community in the run-up to Schwarzenegger v. ESA and EMA. Set for oral argument in November, this landmark United States Supreme Court case will determine whether video games should continue to enjoy protection as free speech like any other respectable art form.
But gamers aren’t the only ones speaking up. Today our friends over at id Software have equipped their own legal BFGs, firing off a “friend of the court” brief for the Supreme Court justices to consider. The brief boils down to an argument for why video games should not be thought of as any different than films, novels or other artistic media.
In the argument, Homer’s “The Iliad” is used as a basis for explaining why video games “have the same claim to constitutional protection as traditional forms of art.” The brief further argues that video games’ distinctive characteristics should not exclude them from First Amendment protection.
Citing scads of legal precedents, it’s a pretty interesting read as a bystander, and hopefully something the Court will consider helpful to its deliberations. But as LeVar would say, you don’t have to take my word for it — read the full brief here. And for more information on the case, head to the Entertainment Software Association’s dedicated page.
