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Former ESA Prez: Game journalists made Thompson
With the recent news of his upcoming disbarment hitting every RSS feed from here to infinity the gaming world was focused on the professional failure of Jack Thompson but have moved on. On the other side of the fence, former Entertainment Software Association president and frequent Thompson punching bag Doug Lowenstein has sent a letter to Kotaku asking them and other gaming journalists to reflect on how we helped to create the Thompson hype machine.We can't but help but agree with Lowenstein in some way. However, with Thompson at the forefront of some of the biggest controversies the industry has seen in the last few years it would have been difficult to report on the issues without mentioning his name.Would ignoring someone really make them disappear? If that were true then the entire Konami presentation at E3 2008 would have been a ghost show. Amirite?
ESA Foundation splits $1 million among 9 charities
The ESA Foundation, the charitable division of the Entertainment Software Association, will be dividing $1 million in grants to nine organizations. The money will be used to "develop unique and innovative programs that will improve the health, education, and safety of America's youth." The organizations getting a check are quite diverse (details listed after the break), dealing with varied topics such as the environment, gun violence, cancer and economics. The ESA Foundation recently popped up on our radar for its "Nite to Unite for Kids" event, occurring next month, and the $2.6 million it raised for charity with the sale of a game bundle.
ESA to honor Miyamoto
The Entertainment Software Association has announced that they will award Shigeru Miyamoto with the 2009 ESA Champion Award -- because if Miyamoto needs anything, it's some more awards for his lifetime of achievements. The award will be conferred at the organization's "Nite to Unite for Kids" event on October 22, a fundraising gala for various children's charities. In the press release announcing the award, Michael Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, said that Miyamoto "truly has defined video games as we know them today."The ESA Champion award has been given in previous years to various well-known rich people, including Sega's Isao Okawa, GameStop's Dan DeMatteo, and George Lucas.
Shiggy to be honored at ESA's 'Nite to Unite for Kids'
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto will be honored during the Entertainment Software Association's 2008 "Nite to Unite for Kids" charity event. The event will be held October 22 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The "black-tie optional" (translation: wear one!) dinner will only set you back $500, affording you the opporunity to hang out with Shiggy and executives like EA's John Riccitiello and THQ's Brian Farrell.The event is being hosted by the ESA Foundation, the charity arm of the lobbying group, which has raised over $11 million for children's charities since 1999. The organization recently raised $2.6 million through its unremarkable game bundle.
Rumor: Old E3 to return?
60,000 gamers crammed together in one sweaty convention center. Women in skimpy outfits, paraded like pieces of meat. A gigantic, deafening, cacophonous din.Yep, the old-style E3 really was glorious. But in all seriousness, it seems as though most of the internet would kill for a return to the old format. Whether it's because of the muted reception to this year's horribly empty E3 Media and Business Summit, or simply a hangover from Nintendo's ill-received press conference, the majority of fans want E3 to return to being the spectacle it once was. Significant industry figures seem to agree.And now, it might just happen. Kotaku claims that the idea of returning to the E3 of yesteryear and opening the doors to the public has been officially proposed, and is currently being discussed by the ESA board, the folks who organize the event. Maybe the "old E3" won't just be a story we tell our grandchildren, decades from now. Most of E3 2008 will stick in many people's memories for literally weeks. Who can forget Reggie revving that jet ski, or Nintendo suits playing fake instruments, or Cammie and her wrist? Still, at least there was Mega Man 9 and Pikmin.
ESA happy about prison sentences for game pirates
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the industry's lobbying group, sent out a press release a little while ago applauding the prison sentences given to two convicted game pirates. Kevin Fuchs of New York and Kifah Maswadi of Florida were sentenced to eight months and fifteen months in prison, respectively. The men also face multiple years of supervised release after that, with Maswadi having been ordered to pay $415,900.Before freaking out and thinking the FBI and Justice Department are "in your internetz, ready to send you to prisons," it's worth noting the two men sentenced were pretty hardcore software pirates. Maswadi sold consoles with illegal copies of titles on the internet and made $390,000 on his business. So, if you made hundreds of thousands of dollars last year off illegal game sales ... might we suggest a new vocation?
ESA receives $282,794 reimbursement from California
The ESA, after a series of recent blows, is certainly becoming a more transparent organization -- and adding just a hint of badass to its rep. As a warning to all the other states out there looking to take on the industry with unconstitutional legislation, the ESA has placed an image of California's $282,794 legal fee reimbursement check in its latest press release. That's like the business equivalent of putting your enemy's head on a stick on the front lawn.The ESA states that "California deserves more" than politicians pursuing "flawed legislation" and lists several places that California would have been better served spending the cash on (listed after the break). Most depressingly for California taxpayers is that this check isn't even the end of the story. The state is currently appealing the judge's injunction on the game law. Meaning, if the courts maintain the same ruling, then the ESA is going to get even more cash from California's piggy bank.
ESA releases annual report publicly for first time
Some people have been wondering what the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) actually does. Well, for the first time ever, the ESA has released an annual report to the public showing off where all that publisher money goes. The report covers federal work, a state-by-state breakdown and goes into other initiatives, like anti-piracy and general research endeavors. There are no answers to why organizations like Activizzard and LucasArts left, but it does give a fairly comprehensive understanding of what the lobby group does to protect its clients.
ESA's mediocre game pack raises $2.6 million for charity
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today its pack of odious unremarkable games sold to sponsor children's charities has raked in an astounding $2.6 million. The ESA Foundation, the philanthropic branch of the industry's lobbing group, will divide the cash among five charities (which we've listed after the break).The charity pack included software donated by Disney, THQ, Ubisoft, Sony Pictures, Microsoft and Pixar. It was sold by 17 retailers and organizations agreed to waive associated fees and royalties, meaning as much cash as possible went to the children. No word yet if something similar will be done this year, but imagine the cash the charities could get if the games were actually good?!
ESA: E3 2009 'will occur'
Some will tell you they heard the solemn ringing of the death knell as it echoed through the barren halls of the LA Convention Center last week. Was this the final E3? ... This?Nope. The Electronic Software Association has revealed its plans to organize at least one more E3 event, stopping short of actually detailing the who, where, when, and -- most pressing -- the why bother? "As we do every year, we're beginning the process of surveying exhibitors and attendees to determine potential changes to the Summit," an ESA representative told GameSpot. "Once this is completed and shared with the ESA's Board of Directors, we will make an announcement about the specifics of the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit, which will occur."%Gallery-28248%
New York governor signs 'unnecessary' game law
New York Governor David Patterson has signed some of the most ... well, put it this way, if you like the government wasting time, then you're going to love the recently signed New York game bill. GamePolitics reports the legislation establishes an advisory council to conduct a study between games and real-world violence. It also requires -- here's the kicker -- new video game consoles to incorporate parental lockout features by 2010 and retail games to disclose ESRB ratings. News flash: All consoles already have parental lockout features built in and ESRB ratings are prominently displayed on each game's box and disc.For its part, the Entertainment Software Association believes the law ignores "legal precedent, common sense and the wishes of many New Yorkers in enacting this unnecessary bill." It points out that the mandates required are already voluntarily in place and the bill unfairly singles out the video game industry. The ESA asks if New York would like to convene a government commission on books, theater and film as well. It's still up in the air if the ESA will sue New York, but the lobby group has gotten good at getting game laws overturned in several states and making its money back for doing so in the process.
Oveheard@E3: On the cover of the Rolling Stone
"I do not think Pong, bless its little square boxes, was ever featured in Rolling Stone."- ESA CEO Mike Gallagher highlights the growing public acceptance of games at his E3 "State of the Industry" keynote. While he might be right, the venerable pop culture magazine did do a story about SpaceWar way back in 1972.
New game industry facts, straight from the ESA
Today's "State of the Industry" E3 keynote by ESA CEO Mike Gallagher also marked the release of the organization's new annual set of "Essential Facts" about the game industry. Among the interesting findings from the ESA-commissioned survey of the American public: 65 percent of American households play computer and video games; 38 percent of American homes have a video game console; The average game player is 35 years old; One out of four gamers are over age 50; Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (18 percent); 41 percent of Americans expect to purchase one or more games this year; 94 percent of parents are present when games are purchased or rented; 88 percent of parents report always or sometimes monitoring the games their children play; 63 percent of parents believe games are a positive part of their children's lives.
ESA CEO Mike Gallagher: 'Now is the time' for game industry
"We're in a new era of acceptance for video and computer games."So did ESA CEO Mike Gallagher kick off his "State of the Industry" E3 keynote speech this afternoon. "When we look back, we'll see now is the time that our industry became an accepted part of our cultural landscape," he added.The signs of this change are all around us, according to Gallagher, such as the prominent participation of Texas Governor Rick Perry in another keynote speech this morning. "In my predecessor's time, we were fighting government officials, not working with them," he said. While there are still problems with the game industry's image, he said, projects like Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's planned civics education game show that "those who write about the industry in narrow demographic terms are behind the times."
Overheard@E3: The E-Word
"There are fascinating things going on in your industry that not enough Americans, not enough people around the world, know about. You're in a constant state of evolution -- and yes for all you bloggers out there, I actually used the E-word there."-Texas Governor Rick Perry makes an oblique reference to his more controversial associations at his E3 keynote speech this morning.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry: For developers, everything's better in Texas
If we had to summarize thismorning's E keynote speech by Texas Governor Rick Perry in three words, it would be "Texas is awesome." If we had a few more words, we'd say "Texas is awesome, and so is the game industry."After a short introductory video featuring a few Texan developers (including Warren Spector), Perry launched into a laundry list of the business virtues for the Lone Star state, including a legal system low on frivolous lawsuits, an income-tax free revenue structure that "lets workers keep their wages" and a "sensible regulatory environment," whatever that means. Texas also has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state, making it an economic powerhouse."The weather is hot, the barbecue is hot, the music is hot, and we want to see the game industry even hotter," Perry said, gushing about the 2,800 new jobs created by 22 Texas game development companies (the third highest concentration in America, but Perry is "gunning for No. 1"). The governor lost us a bit when he said the industry average salary of $63,000 a year "may seem like pocket change to those of you here from California or Washington," Personally, we'd love to make that kind of scratch.
The E3 2008 press conference schedule
Given most of the big announcements at next week's E3 Media & Business Summit will happen during the publishers' respective press conference, we thought we'd help you with a schedule of those events, including links to our coverage of each company's respective E3 2007 appearances (we'll never forget this one). Here's the schedule:Monday, July 14 Microsoft (last year, bingo card): 10:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET Electronic Arts: 3:00 pm PT / 6:00 pm ET Tuesday, July 15 Nintendo (last year, bingo coming soon): 9:00am PT / 12:00 pm ET Sony (last year, bingo card): 11:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET Ubisoft (last year): 2:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm ET Capcom: 4:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm PT Activision's non-E3 event (last year): 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET Wednesday, July 16 Texas Governor Rick Perry: 9:15 am PT / 12:15 pm ET Take-Two: 10:45 am PT / 1:45 pm ET ESA CEO Mike Gallagher: 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET Konami (last year): 2:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm ET Joystiq's live blogging ninjas will be working overtime next week to bring you up-to-the-minute coverage, so stay tuned.
Minnesota pays ESA $65k in legal fees
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today that the state of Minnesota has paid $65,000 – that's $6.50 for every lake – in attorney's fees and expenses to the organization over its unconstitutional game law. The ESA claims it has now been awarded moneys totaling almost $2 million for fees and expenses incurred by defending the industry in other jurisdictions.Bringing out fightin' words, ESA CEO Mike Gallagher said that Minnesota's taxpayers should be "outraged" by having to pay this bill after its elected officials ignored precedent and pursued a political agenda. Gallagher wants politicians to get behind the efforts of the ESRB "rather than continue to pursue unconstitutional legislation."
Crave leaves ESA, still showing at E3
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed this morning's GamePolitics report, which labeled Crave Entertainment as the latest company to leave the ESA; however, the publisher will still be showing at E3 next month. Crave is responsible for games such as World Championship Poker featuring Howard Lederer and other titles from the D-list (if last year's E3 showing was any indication). The ESA has released a statement (full text after the break), saying it respects Crave's decision to leave and that Crave representatives say the publisher still remains committed to the goals of the association. Although Crave walking out certainly counts as another publisher leaving the ESA, it feels more like a footnote in the wake of departures by Activision/Vivendi, LucasArts and id.
ESA spends $714k in Q1 on lobbying
The AP reports that the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) spent $714,000 lobbying the federal government in the first quarter of this year. The ESA reportedly lobbied on issues of free speech, parental control technology and proposals to keep kids away from those big bad M-rated games.The ESA's disclosure report, filed with the House clerk's office on April 21, also shows the group did work on IP protection, along with piracy, patent and trade issues. To consumers this information may not mean much, but it does show publishers, thinking of leaving the organization, that the group is doing something.[Via Gi.biz]
