"Unlike movies where you passively watch violence, in a video game, you are the active participant and making decisions on who to stab, maim, burn or kill," said Yee, a child psychologist. "As a result, these games serve as learning tools that have a dramatic impact on our children. ... Governor Schwarzenegger is no longer an action star but an elected representative of all Californians; I am hopeful that he will consider our children's best interests by signing this commonsense legislation into law and giving parents a necessary tool to raise healthy kids."

The intent of the bill seems good, and retailers are already expected not to sell M-rated games to minors (though, unsurprisingly, according to the FTC, 70% of 13- to 16-year-olds can). However, the method by which the bill attempts to reach its goal is not so encouraging. Many would consider government regulation the wrong route to take, and personally I think sidestepping the ESRB is absolutely misguided. The industry needs to be held accountable to itself, and if reform of the ESRB needs to occur, so be it, but Leland Yee's sticker requirement is redundant and adds an extra layer of government red tape to a situation that doesn't need it.