Gaming News Round-Up: March 2nd, 2005

Today's round-up includes information on an unconventional new Washington state gaming bill, beautiful new colors for the Nintendo DS in Japan, and a shifting of hours for the GTA: San Andreas ad in the UK. - The Washington state legislature has introduced a bill, numbered 2178, that would hold developers and publishers of violent games criminally responsible if youth under 17 years of age were found to have been influenced by the game in committing a crime. It's not yet clear what penalties the bill, which remains in committee, would levy upon publishers if passed. Opponents of the bill, such as Lew McMurran of the Washington Software Association, say that House Bill 2178 is "removing the responsibility from the person who committed the act, to somebody else who's completely removed from the situation." - Nintendo of Japan has announced a branching out for their Nintendo DS portable; like most Nintendo systems since the Nintendo 64, the DS will soon be available in a variety of colors. Graphite Black, Pure White, Turquoise Blue, and Candy Pink will join the existing Platinum Silver model; the black and white variants will go on sale March 24th, while the blue and pink systems will be released on April 21st. No U.S. or European releases for the new DS colors have been announced. - The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has decided to implement a ban on television commercials for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas before certain hours, after receiving a number of complaints from parents upset that the ads were being broadcast during family-viewing shows. The ban will prevent ads for the game from being shown before 9:00 P.M. GMT, the "watershed" hour after which the audience is understood to be of an older demographic. The ASA said in a statement that they had restricted the game's advertising due to its "threatening atmosphere."