ENCINO, CA--(Marketwire - August 6, 2007) - Bo Andersen, President of the Entertainment Merchants Association, issued the following statement regarding today's ruling that California's video game restriction law is unconstitutional and enjoining its enforcement:

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. 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.

The challenged law, which was authored by then-Assembly member (now state Senator) Leland Yee, was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2006. It would have restricted 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.

On October 17, 2005, the Entertainment Merchants Association (then named the Video Software Dealers Association) and the Entertainment Software Association filed a lawsuit challenging the law as a violation of the First Amendment. The lawsuit is Video Software Dealers Association v. Schwarzenegger in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (No. C05-4188 RMW (RS)). At the request of the plaintiffs, on December 21, 2005, Judge Ronald M. Whyte barred enforcement of the law while the legal challenge was pending. Today's ruling makes that injunction permanent.

For more on the California law and the VSDA v. Schwarzenegger lawsuit, please see http://www.idealink.org/Resource.phx/vsda/government/vsdavschwarzenegger.htx.

The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) was established in April 2006 through the merger of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA). EMA is the not-for-profit international trade association dedicated to advancing the interests of the $32 billion home entertainment industry. EMA represents more than 1,000 companies throughout the United States, Canada, and other nations. Its members operate more than 20,000 retail outlets in the U.S. that sell and/or rent DVDs and computer and console video games. Membership comprises the full spectrum of retailers (from single-store specialists to multi-line mass merchants), distributors, the home video divisions of major and independent motion picture studios, and other related businesses that constitute and support the home entertainment industry.