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ESA unveils plans for satellite radio in Europe
While we Americans fight for our satellite radio rights, it looks like the Europeans are getting set to receive a bit of sky high radio entertainment themselves. The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that with the help of a few select partners, it plans to launch the "multimedia car radio of the future," which looks to feature built-in satellite radio and generous timeshifting functionality to boot. The antenna, which will presumably be factory installed on select vehicles, will be a "flattened mobile antenna integrated into the bodywork," and will receive signals in the "Ku" frequency band used by existing communication satellites. Aside from not having to launch an understandably expensive array of equipment to get sat radio to Europe, the service also touts the benefits of timeshifting, noting that a "cache or hard drive-based system" will be included to pause and rewind transmissions, and it would even maintain a connection for short stops (like refueling) so you don't miss a moment of your favorite broadcast. Unfortunately, the ESA isn't spilling any hard release dates for this technology, but we can expect it to hit BMWs at the very least, and the prototype can be seen right now at the Noordwijk Space Expo in the Netherlands if you just happen to be around.[Via Orbitcast]
Doug Lowenstein is GameDaily Person of the Year
It should be no surprise that GameDaily.biz announced their Person of the Year is none other than Doug Lowenstein, outgoing president of the Electronic Software Association. GameDaily says they were going to name him their top person even before he announced his resignation earlier this week. Either way, it's perfect timing and an honorable send-off to a very important man behind the scenes of the industry.Lowenstein has been part of the ESA since 1994, when it was known as the Interactive Digital Software Association. He was the guy looking out for the interests of the game industry and the one steering the general message of what the game industry is all about. During his time the industry grew from $3 billion to an expected $12 billion by year end 2006. He's also been the point person in speaking to the media about the industry as a whole and has weathered legislation, lawsuits, canceling E3 and every other "incident" that befell the industry over the last decade. We can only hope that Lowenstein's replacement is as refined and stalwart as their predecessor.
It's official: Lowenstein leaving ESA
It's been widely reported since late last week, but now it's official -- longtime ESA president Doug Lowenstein will be stepping down early next year, as soon as a replacement can be found.In a press release, Lowenstein said he was "honored to represent the amazing companies of the ESA, to serve as their advocate and to be part of an industry which is having such a profound and positive effect on our culture and the world of entertainment."Lowenstein's departure truly marks the end of an era. When Lowenstein joined the ESA back in 1994, the two-person organization was called the Interactive Digital Software Association and oversaw a $3 billion a year industry. Today, the ESA has 32 employees and helps support the $10 billion video game industry with a wide variety of educational and legal programs.All of us here at Joystiq are sorry to see one of the game industry's longest-serving defenders move on, and we wish him great success in his future endeavors.[Via Kotaku]
Lowenstein to leave ESA in early 2007
Entertainment Software Association President Doug Lowenstein will lose his long job title when he steps down in early 2007, according to GameSpot. It appears that he "has accepted the top position with a still-forming trade organization that would represent a consortium of retail investment firms." As the head of the ESA, Lowenstein's image was thrown in the spotlight when E3 was downsized and reborn as the E3 Media Festival. Not to mention certain anti-game activists seem to point to him whenever the industry makes a misstep (or can interpreted to have flubbed).So who will become the new president? Oft-rumored Entertainment Consumers Association founder Hal Halpin has denied interest. But don't let that stop you from voting Halpin in Game Politics' informal / unofficial poll to name the successor.
Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle poised for 2007 launch
Okay, space-loving fans, you'll be happy to know that the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle has just survived three straight weeks of software and hardware testing under simulated space conditions at the European Space Agency's test facilities in The Netherlands. In order to pass the tests, the ATV had to continually operate while going through massive temperature differentials, or as one engineer explained: "It is like putting your computer laptop in the freezer, then exposing it to the Sun in the summer heat and back again to the freezer while you are continually using it." This spacecraft will hook up with the International Space Station this coming summer when it brings supplies and fuel to the outpost. Now when will this space tech reach us lowly terrestrial consumers? We're guessing probably around 2020.
ESA apologizes to Kotaku and BBPS
The Electronic Software Association (ESA), the video game industry lobbying group that runs the ESRB and E3, has apologized for a cease-and-desist order against blogs Bits, Bytes, Pixels & Sprites and Kotaku for merely posting the image from a T-shirt being sold on another site (image at right). Looks like somebody at the ESA councils office was bucking for more billable hours and skipped the day in law school about that silly First Amendment in the United States Constitution. Neither the one-man-band running BBPS or the Gawker network's Kotaku were paid for marketing the T-shirt, they merely thought it was a funny piece of paraphernalia and posted where gamers could buy the shirt. Of course the story doesn't end here. Now the question is: How did this happen? There are plenty of worthy questions to be asked about the root of this blatant disregard of the First Amendment, most of them involving a lawyer or two being completely asleep at the wheel. It could very well be that the lawyers truly had no idea what function BBPS and Kotaku serve in the industry. We gamers have a term for people like that: n00b!
ESA head doesn't like term "video game"
Doug Lowenstein, head of the ESA, is unhappy with the term "video game" being used to describe the industry. Say what? He thinks that by calling them games, the industry can't be taken seriously; whereas, if the terminology were changed, the industry as a whole wouldn't be as susceptible to negativity. Alright, we're with you so far ... what's it gotta be? The suggested changes are "interactive entertainment" or "entertainment software." Interactive entertainment doesn't make much sense, since board games and outdoor sports are also interactive; entertainment software, however, is a better choice. There is a bigger question at hand, though; will a simple name change really work? Gaming has a terrible public face and political presence. Without serious political lobbying and PR pushes within more traditional media outlets, gaming may never get any respect. Will a name change make gaming more acceptable (err, rather ... make software entertaining more acceptable), or will the politicos simply play the name game as well, and call it the Entertainment Software Decency Act instead? See also:The ECA, a consumer advocacy group for gamers
Picture It: scoring an invite to the new E3 [update 1]
In the wake of just-released information about the new mini-E3, we present to you this guide to getting an invite to the new, downsized show. An invite-only event in which publishers decide which outlets get to cover them creates conflicts of interest. Given limited space, publishers will naturally want to invite only those outlets that give them favorable coverage (and positive reviews). Some sites will take the cue and will obligingly pull punches. It could get ugly. Browse previous Picture It posts here. [Update 1: Fixed queue / cue error. Oops.]
E3 dates and location revealed -- but will anyone be there?
Yes. But you have to be invited (PS3Fanboy keeps its fingers crossed). The new E3 takes place on July 11-13 in Santa Monica, California in both hotel suites and conference rooms as well as the Barker Hangar. The former two locales feature presentations, speeches, and conferences. Not to mention luncheons with game executives (and analysts), evening parties, Serious Games showcase and "Into the Pixel" art exhibit. The boring half, some may say. The hangar is where there will be booths set up (ranging from 100 to 400 feet) for gaming, gaming, gaming.ESA president Douglas Lowenstein had this to say about the new setup: "By combining suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment, we believe we will successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds -- the chance to engage in highly personal, one-on-one dialogue with leading game company executives, as well as the chance to demo games on their own time and to check out offerings from both the best known and emerging game publishers and developers...It will also provide an excellent opportunity for meetings with retailers, developers and other audiences." It sure will. What do you guys think? Is this a positive or negative change in regards to the former setup of E3, which can be argued as... well, enormous and crowded. We here support this change (because personally... smaller gatherings yield much more personal and intimate results).
Min-E3 takes off, lands in Santa Monica hangar
After a fair bit of searching and speculation, some of the details surrounding E3's fate have finally begun to emerge from the putrid smoke and piles of debris that remained after the world's biggest games expo spectacularly imploded several months ago. James Brightman at GameDaily BIZ writes that the ESA now has a firm date and location in mind for next year's Min-E3, more seriously titled E3 Media and Business Summit -- a change from the previous and vaguely fruity E3 Media Festival.Right, when is it taking place?The event will take place from July 11th until July 13th, 2007. It's not still in Los Angeles, is it?No, it's been moved to the considerably less vile Santa Monica. Attendee mortality rates should be significantly improved. That means they'll go down ... we think. How does Min-E3 work, exactly?In concept, it's a smaller, more personal E3 comprised of fewer people, less extravagant spaces and more one-on-one time between the press and the latest third-person scuba-karate game. The full list of exhibitors / hotel guests has yet to be revealed, but Nintendo has already committed to showing their permanently grinning faces.What's this about a hangar?Well, in addition to having hotel rooms set up to demonstrate new products to the media, the ESA has obtained permission to use the nearby Barker Hangar (visit their disturbingly sterile website and take a virtual tour) as an expo show floor of sorts. With the event now being invite-only, the smaller space provided by a hangar (which may be smaller than some E3 booths we've encountered) should no longer be a cataclysmic problem. Am ... I invited?Probably not. ESA president, Doug Lowenstein, describes the new E3 as a series of "suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment," meant to "successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds." That doesn't sound like it includes fansites or weekend Gamestop employees.Well, with that attitude, you won't be invited either.Please be aware of the fact that we can end your existence with nothing but a few keystrokes. You're just an invented voice meant to organize this post's information. So shut up, okay?
Georgia to educate parents on game ratings
Problem: Children are getting their hands on violent video games.Potential government solutions: You can propose unconstitutional laws preventing the games from being sold to minors. You can propose big-brother style federal oversight of a private, self-regulatory body. Or, if you're smart like the state of Georgia, you can work to educate the parents that make an overwhelming majority of game purchases.Gamasutra is reporting that the ESRB has partnered with Georgia State Attorney General Thurbert Baker to create public service announcements explaining the game rating system to parents and reminding them to check the rating before making a purchase. The ads, which will appear on TV and radio, are bound to be more effective than the ESRB's annoying in-store video ads where Derek Jeter and Tiger Woods remind you that they are sports stars and you are not. Here's hoping this ushers in a new era of cooperation over combativeness between the industry and the government.
Nintendo commits to next year's Min-E3
After punching out a rampaging E3 hopped up on sex, drugs and caffeine and sending it to conference rehab, the ESA is already preparing plans to welcome a more discreet and otherwise polite press gathering in 2007. The change has garnered much discussion, with one of the central points revolving around the kind of support the major industry players will provide to a significantly smaller event.According to Gamesindustry.biz, Nintendo is the first of the major three platform holders to confirm involvement with next year's Min-E3, though the level of said involvement is still up in the air. A couple of Super Mario Galaxy posters on the wall of a barren hotel room would likely fail to generate the massive lines Nintendo enjoyed at the last E3, though it certainly would help alleviate the problem of getting trampled by an army of wand-waving nerds (always a plus).Microsoft and Sony have been less decisive in their response, though it should only be a matter of time before they reveal intentions to join the officially dubbed "E3 Media Festival" or simply bulldoze the proceedings with conferences of their own. [Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
E3 cancelled?! [Update 1]
According to numerous inside sources, it's all over. Next-Gen is claiming that within the next 48 hours, ESA president Doug Lowenstein is expected to announce the cancellation of the industry's most illustrous event: the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3. Twelve years running, the show has been stated as being far too expensive for what companies received in terms of exposure and publicity; it was simply too big for its own good. This comes as a shocking blow to gamers themselves, who look forward to the show for the biggest announcements and reveals from their favorite companies. Specifics can be found in the Next-Gen and Joystiq articles, but we at Wii Fanboy want to hear what you think about this travesty. Do you regret never having gone, and are you sad to see it go? Nintendo's press conferences were certainly one of the most beloved parts of the show, and the days of giddy excitement waiting for Reggie and Iwata to take the stage may be long gone. Does this reinforce the idea of the Spaceworld expo coming later this year? Whatever the case may be, it is truly a sad day in the magical land of video games.[A GameSpot article is slightly less doom-and-gloom, stating that E3 may only be heavily downsized and more focused on meeting room-style exhibitions and displays. We'll wait for official confirmation from Mr. Lowenstein.]
Sales of M-rated games to kids declining, reveals undercover survey
According to an undercover survey conducted by the Federal Trade Commission between October 2005 and January 2006, sales of Mature-rated games to minors have decreased significantly since 2003. The results reveal that only 42% of the survey's shoppers (ages 13 to 16) were able to purchase an M-rated title without an adult — compared to 69% in 2003. In addition, only 35% of the survey's shoppers scored an M-rated game at a national retail outlet (e.g. GameStop, EBGames, etc.). Local sellers were less strict, selling to kids 69% of the time.The survey also found that 44% of stores posted ratings information, compared to a paltry 27% three years ago. And at half of the 406 stores involved in the survey, cashiers carded kids who attempted to buy M-rated games — up from 24%. Hal Halpin, president of the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, concluded, "[With] the industry responding in such a visible and proactive fashion, it is clear that legislative efforts are simply not required." Amen.
35% of American parents are gamers
It's becoming something of an adage: "families that play together, stay together". If the saying's true, then over a third of American families must be very happy indeed. Study results published by the ESA have revealed that 35% of America's parents are gamers--and four out of five of them share the hobby with their children.As the gaming generation grows up, these statistics aren't too surprising, but there are a couple of interesting factoids from the report: the average gamer parent is 37, and so didn't necessarily grow up with video games (in fact, the average time spent gaming is 13 years).Also, 47% of these gamer parents are women--a figure that reflects the proportion of women gamers in general when you take casual and card games into account. Whichever way you read the statistics, gaming is becoming of central importance to many households, and it's here to stay.
