Lowenstein's 'final' interview: Game reviews influence industry
Doug Lowenstein, former president of the Electronic Software Association, left the industry and gave one "final" interview to GameDaily clarifying some former statements and the future of the industry. The four-page interview was conducted at the D.I.C.E. summit in January, apparently the transcription took over a month.
Lowenstein says he was a bit harsh on the gaming press in his final D.I.C.E. speech, but he thinks game reviews are on the right path, "I don't think there's any other critical entity in entertainment in either music or film or television that has the power of the game press to affect the direction of its industry. Look at how many movies get crappy reviews that are top hits at the box office and how many get great critical acclaim and are commercial flops. And I don't read a lot of movie reviews anymore because they're so self important and I don't even understand what the hell their saying. So I don't want game criticism to start looking like that, because you start taking yourself too seriously and start trying to find meaning in things that isn't ever intended to be there; God no, let's not go there."
Lowenstein leaves behind the legacy of the ESA, including the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the creation of E3, an anti-piracy program and all the advocacy he did on behalf of the gaming industry on the federal, state and local level.
