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Industry professionals having trouble finding work
Things are tough all over, and after months of industry cutbacks and studio closures, a number of video game professionals have been left holding the bag in one hand and a pink slip in the other. While last week's Game Developers Conference gave many jobless developers the opportunity to hand out resumes, a new report from the LA Times writes that many are still having a difficult time finding work.One issue is that with so many industry professionals pounding the streets, studios have their pick of talent. According to the Times, Ray Miller, an exec at Crackdown dev Realtime Words, collected a shopping bag full of resumes from job seekers at GDC, commenting, "We've been so busy talking to people that we haven't even touched our lunches." Still, as ECA blog GameCulture points out, all is not doom and gloom for those still on the outside, and with game sales in the US showing a steady increase so far in 2009 there is reason to hope that the recently unemployed will be able to find work soon. Then again, they could just start up their own company instead. That's working out alright for some of the downturn's victims so far.[Via GameCulture] [Image]
New tax set to raise costs of digital downloads
The Digital Distribution Tax has been around for a little while now. In fact, seventeen or more states have already adopted it, and more are considering it. Once upon a time, digitally distributed content, such as downloaded copies of WoW and its expansions, allowed customers to avoid the sales tax that they would pay if they bought a copy from a store. This proposed tax is poised to increase the costs of downloading music, books, videos, games, and other similar content. Wisconsin is one of the most recent states to hop on board, adding a 5% tax to digitally distributed goods. One of the opponents, State Rep. Scott Suder, commented, "it's basically taxing students to fill in the Doyle budget shortfall, and I think that's unfair." This tax will also affect families, and in these economic times, further taxing the people may not be the best way to drum up state funds. Steve Delbiano from NetChoice, which encompasses Ebay, Aol, Yahoo and many others, points out that this tax is anything but environmentally friendly. "With global warming and a world that's running out of oil, the last thing governments should do is add taxes on something that uses no oil and produces no carbon. A digital download is the greenest way to buy music, movies, and software, since it requires no driving to the store, no delivery vans, and no plastics or packaging."The ECA, or Entertainment Consumer's Organization, a voice for the people, is leading a campaign against this tax, rallying in New York, Washington and Mississippi.China recently chose a similar route. Instead of adding a sales tax, they imposed a 20% income tax upon digitally distributed goods, resulting in sweeping price increases. Unfortunately, this trend might be here to stay.
ECA leading 'action campaign' against proposed digital distribution tax
If you've ever wondered what the Entertainment Consumers Association actually does, here's your answer -- in an attempt to combat a proposed tax on digitally distributed content and games in a number of states, the ECA is mobilizing its troops in an "action campaign" against these taxes. Specifically, the group will be rallying its members in Washington, Mississippi and New York to protest DLC tax bills that are currently working their way through their respective state legislatures.In an email to ECA members residing in Washington state, the organization's redundantly named president, Hal Halpin, pointed out the unconsidered negative effects of such a tax, saying it will "suppress consumption, which will cause layoffs at effected businesses, including the video game industry, which employs many Washington residents." We can't wait to see what protest tactics the ECA employs in Microsoft's home state -- folk music? Cosplay? We're betting on rampant property destruction -- after all, it's not a Washington protest until you bust up a few Starbucks.
Behind the scenes on the Comcast bandwidth limit
Our friends at BigDownload have a long but interesting feature up about that Comcast bandwidth limit and how it might affect PC gamers like us. Even though they chat with a lot of people higher up in both the ISP and gaming industry, the bottom line hasn't really changed: most people won't be affected by the limit, and if you are, there are things you can do about it. As we determined last time, at max, even if you run WoW 24/7 the entire month, you're still using only about 5gb, nowhere near enough to trip Comcast's limit. And even if there's a big patch download that comes through, it'll still be a very, very small percentage of people that come anywhere near it. While Comcast may change things in the future, there are a few voices already speaking out against bandwidth caps, including the Entertainment Consumers Association.And if you do get suspended out of the blue? Best option is to just use another ISP -- even if Comcast isn't willing to support people who use tons of bandwidth, there will likely be another company that does. And if high-level broadband does become really widespread, it would be a bad business decision for Comcast as well to suspend large numbers of their userbase -- while there's always the chance that they could start charging a premium for more bandwidth, smaller companies will likely step up to fill any spaces that Comcast tries to screw over.In short, right now, this isn't a problem. While in the future, Comcast may try to bring the bandwidth cap lower and lower, at this point, it doesn't effect enough people out there to worry, and even if you are affected, there are likely steps you can take to get around it, including going with another ISP if that's an option.
ESA calls out GamePolitics for unfair coverage [update]
Apparently, this morning's story by GamePolitics about the ESA's E3 keynote speaker was the straw that broke the camel's back. The ESA didn't take too kindly to the way GP framed the story, using a "Non-Christians will burn in hell" quote in the headline when Texas governor Rick Perry seemingly made no such statement.The Senior Director of Communications for the ESA, Dan Hewitt, sent a letter to Joystiq stating, "If the ESA posted a blog and called it a news site, journalists would rightfully balk and it wouldn't pass a smell test. Remarkably, GamePolitics doesn't face the same scrutiny even though it's funded by the ECA and tainted with anti-ESA vitriol. At the end of the day, calling GamePolitics a news site is as laughable as saying there's a Cuban free press."Hewitt points to GP's recent coverage of the ESA saying that the site isn't a news site, but a membership recruitment tool for the site's parent company, the Entertainment Consumers Association. We've contacted both GamePolitics and the ECA for a comment regarding the ESA's statement. It seems the ESA just isn't catching a break lately.Update: Two separate statements from GP and the ECA can be found after the break. GP has also amended its headline.
The ECA, a consumer advocacy group for gamers [update 1]
In addition to having a great alliterative name, Hal Halpin likes to start things with acronyms. He started the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) which merged with the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) to form the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA). Fifteen years after his journey began, and seven letters later, Halpin noticed there was one big letter missing in his career: C, for consumer. So, his trusty alphabet in hand, Halpin formed the Entertainment Consumers Association, an advocacy group focusing on (cue the press release) "consumer rights, anti-games legislation, and a host of other public policy concerns." The ECA will seek to provide gamers with "a voice" by presenting the issues that gamers care about to state and local politicians (not federal?). With console manufacturers taking to the streets, criticism of the ESRB growing, court cases taking turns for the worse, and an upcoming election, the timing couldn't be better. Annual membership, available at their site, will set you back $20 big ones, but in exchange they're offering " substantial community and affinity benefits." But don't worry about your money going into some fat cat's silk-lined billfold, the ECA is a 501(c)(4) membership organization, which means they're not making any money. The closest analogy we can come up with for the ECA is the National Rifle Association, a consumer advocacy group dedicated to protecting citizen's Second Amendment right to bear arms. Sound familiar? Considering the NRA reports nearly half of all families own a gun while, according the ESA, 69% of American "heads of households" play video games, it sounds to us like they may have a strong backing. So, Joystiqers, are you in?[Update: Hal perhaps took some umbrage with our NRA comparison (we totally saw that coming), and he emailed us his thoughts: "As for analogous membership organizations, I'm not sure that there are any that fit well given what we're up against and the scope and scale of our efforts. I can tell you that I have admired three other membership organizations which we try to emulate in differing ways: AAA, AARP and MoveOn.org: AAA because they provide a wealth of services to members that easily clears the value proposition; AARP because they do an outstanding job at community building; and MoveOn.org because they have been very effective at galvanizing their constituents using digital advocacy and grass roots empowerment."Fine, your analogies were better. Thanks, Hal!]Read - The ECA's websiteRead - GameDaily BIZ's interview with Hal Halpin
