To no one's surprise, a federal judge has blocked a California law that required retailers to label violent video games and prohibited their sale to minors. Passed in 2005, the law enjoyed strong support from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger but never went into effect after Judge Ronald Whyte issued a preliminary injunction against its enforcement.

Judge Whyte found the California law problematic on several levels. He agreed with the Entertainment Software Association's position—and that of other courts—that the law was unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. He was also critical of arguments that video game violence causes real-world violence. "At this point, there has been no showing that violent video games as defined in the Act, in the absence of other violent media, cause injury to children," he wrote in his decision. "Although some reputable professional individuals and organizations have expressed particular concern about the interactive nature of video games, there is no generally accepted study that supports that concern."

The ruling keeps the ESA's winning streak in its fight against state video game legislation intact: every state law that the ESA has challenged in court has been overturned. In many cases, the ESA has managed to be reimbursed for its legal fees. The taxpayers of Illinois got to foot a million-dollar legal bill after the state's ill-conceived video game law was found to be unconstitutional. Even worse, the state government had to raid the welfare fund to pay it. Louisiana and Michigan have also found themselves writing checks to the ESA's lawyers.

"The ESA is pleased with today's permanent injunction ruling as it cements nationwide judicial consensus that our self-regulatory efforts work and attempts to regulate computer and video games are unconstitutional," ESA director of media relations Dan Hewitt said in a statement given to Ars Technica. "We look forward to the opportunity this ruling now affords us and invite legislators, community leaders, and family advocates to raise awareness and usage of the resources we provide."

In contrast, Governor Schwarzenegger vowed to press on with the legal fight. "I signed this important measure to ensure that parents are involved in determining which video games are appropriate for their children," said the Governor in a statement. "Many of these games are made for adults and choosing games that are appropriate for kids should be a decision made by their parents."

Parents don't need state legislation in order to determine which games are age-appropriate, but laws banning the sale of violent video games have proven to be an easy way for politicians to score points with some constituencies—while alienating others.