Given the great strides taken by the digital downloading industry, it's easy to assume that retail may very well become a thing of the past very soon. Bo Andersen, President and CEO of the Entertainment Merchants Association, has a thing or two to say about that, however.

In a recent poll by the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) and Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) surveying over 500 gamers a whopping 88 percent keep opt to keep a game's original packaging. Why the inordinate love for packages? Find out in the full article.

As expected, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has filed a notice of appeal to the recent decision of courts that declared California's video game violence law unconstitutional. According to the said bill signed back in 2005, the sale of video games is restricted to anyone below 18 years of age. The Governor explained:

Many studies show the link between plagying ultra-violent video games and violent behavior. We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultra-violent actions. We protect our children from buying inappropriate movies and ought to be able to protect them from buying inappropriate video games as well.

In a counter move, the Entertainment Software Association or ESA has filed a motion to Judge Ronald M. Whyte of the Northern District of California for the reimbursement of attorney fees and other expenses during the trial from Schwarzenegger. The amount bring asked by the association totals US$ 324,480. ESA President Michael Gallagher had this to say:

California citizens should be outraged at their elected leaders. Hard-earned tax dollars were spent on defending this law that California's state leaders knew was unconstitutional... From early on, the industry warned Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Yee that this bill was unconstitutional and would be thrown out by the courts and that California taxpayers would pay the cost.

Both the ESA and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) believe that the governor's appeal is going to be a disappointment as other rulings on prior similar cases are consistent with the decision of the California courts. EMA President Bo Andersen gave this piece of advice to Governor Schwarzenegger:

The court's ruling is consistent with rulings that have barred eight similar laws around the nation, and we fully expect it to be upheld on appeal. Rather than wasting more public funds in trying to defend a patently unconstitutional law, we believe the state should invest in helping parents make informed decisions about the video games brought into their homes.