Unless you follow CNET's news.com pretty regularly, you probably haven't heard about a recent court decision that's really important for geeks like me. Well, it's important for all of us, but more directly important for geeks like me.

The federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Missouri ruled the other day that video and computer games are protected forms of artistic expression.

The case involved a St. Louis ordinance that prohibited selling graphically violent video games to minors. The court decided that if paintings, music, and poetry are protected by the First Amendment, then video games should be, too. "We see no reason why the pictures, graphic design, concept art, sounds, music, stories and narrative present in video games are not entitled to similar protection," the judges wrote. "The mere fact that they appear in a novel medium is of no legal consequence." In a few short sentences the court declared that games are art, or at least that they have the potential to be.

I'm very pleased by the court finding that video games have the potential to be much more than mindless diversion. Admittedly, most games (whether for PC, or Xbox, or whatever), are just that… games. The average game is no more intellectually stimulating than Solitaire, and even the best multi-player computer games often lack the basic human interaction of Chess or even a simple game of Go Fish.

But that's today. What about tomorrow? Graphic video games are a fairly new thing. 25 years ago, Pong was the big thing. Like computers, games are growing and changing in giant strides.

As disappointed as I was with The Matrix Reloaded, the Wachowski brothers are really on to something. On May 15th (the same day as the movie's release), Enter The Matrix was released for PC, Xbox, PS2, and Game Cube. The game ties into, but does not duplicate, the movie. The Animatrix (on home video and DVD only) says on the back of the box that the short films contained therein set up and tie into both the game and all three movies.

The Wachowski brothers Gesamtkunstwerk isn't really anything new, but it is uncommon that it's attempted with such sincerity. This is the first time that I've seen anyone try to bring these three different mediums together to truly create one immersive experience, each medium complimenting the other. Movie tie-ins are nothing new (anyone else remember the atrocious E.T. for the Atari 2600?), but it's rare that it's intended as something other than a cheap marketing hustle. The Wachowski brothers scripted the game. Jada Pinkett Smith stars as Niobe. Keanu Reeves appears as Neo. The Wachowski's idea is that 1 + 1 + 1 = 7. Even if it's implemented badly, it's an interesting harbinger of things to come.

And yet if the naysayers of the world had their say, we'd not be able to watch the movie, buy the video, or play the game. We'd end up with 1 + 1 + [CENSORED] = ? The court's decision is important because we are just beginning to enter a new era of interactive entertainment.

I'm pleased by the court's ruling because new ideas are often born on the fringe, not in the mainstream. The court has set a precedent by protecting as art a new medium that could have a profound impact on our lives much sooner than we think.

At the same time, I think the court goofed up big time. In protecting the artist's expression, the court may have damaged the medium the artist uses. The best way to ensure that this concept grows and matures is the keep it front and center, readily available to anyone who wants it. And the best way to do that is to make sure that 12 year olds can't buy The Animatrix and Grand Theft Auto. Protecting speech and protecting children are not mutually exclusive goals.

I would have liked to see the court order a revision to the law, perhaps something strictly enforcing the game industry's own rating system. Remember the "let's blame Columbine on DOOM" frenzy in the late 90s? The criticism was almost universally misplaced, but the industry made changes anyway. Just about every game sold today is very honestly rated by the manufacturer.

Grand Theft Auto III (and its follow-up Vice City) is probably the most notorious game on the market right now. In addition to the staple game idea "shoot bad guy, complete mission," GTAIII is what Senator Lieberman will eventually refer to (if he hasn't already) as a "crime simulator." Through the course of a game, you will visit prostitutes to get bonus health, then bludgeon to death those same prostitutes to get your money back. You'll use rockets on police helicopters, aim for heads with high-powered rifles, and run over pedestrians just to hear that squishy, crunchy sound.

GTAIII is a lot of fun, but basically has no redeeming social value. But then the same could be said of Playboy Magazine. Both are now protected forms of speech. Both deserve wide availability to those who want them.

And both deserve to be behind the counter, where kids can't get at them unless Mom and Dad make the informed decision that what's inside the package is okay for their youngsters.