Mike Gallagher
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Congressman proposes whistleblower protection for UFO spotters
Rep. Mike Gallagher wants immunity for people who speak out about UFOs.
Bipartisan Senate bill aims to invest $100 billion in technology R&D
The Endless Frontiers Act would invest $100 billion in AI, high-performance computing, robotics, automation and more.
ESA prez addresses upcoming Supreme Court case in Baltimore Sun op-ed
In an editorial written by Entertainment Software Association president Michael Gallagher for The Baltimore Sun, the executive laid out for the mainstream why California's proposed video game law is "based on the discredited myth that the fictional depiction of violence actually causes real violence." "Never before has the Supreme Court restricted freedom of speech on the basis of violent content," writes Gallagher. "There is no logic in restricting sales of video games, which use avatars, but not books or movies, which often depict violence committed by -- and upon -- real people." This statement follows support from organizations representing other forms of media, which have submitted briefs backing the ESA. (If video games aren't protected, that means other media is at risk.) "Legal precedent, expert opinion and logic all yield the same conclusion: The California statue is unconstitutional, unwarranted and unnecessary," Gallagher concludes. "Based on the law and the facts -- not the myths -- we hope the U.S. Supreme Court concurs." Give the editorial a read. A decision in the case, Schwarzenegger v. EMA/ESA, is expected by Spring 2011; the Supreme Court will hear the opening oral arguments next month.
ESA 'humble' about chances against California in Supreme Court case
[Laura Padgett] Entertainment Software Association President Michael Gallagher mentioned in a briefing yesterday that he has a "great amount of respect for the Supreme Court" and feels modest about the trade group's chances of defeating the California game law heading to the United States' highest court. "We're very humble about our prospects before the court greatly. We believe we're on the side of right here," Gallagher stated. "We've believed that for 10 years. That hasn't wavered one iota. You go into this preparing to win, but also very prepared to handle the other conclusions as well." The State of California and ESA will submit briefs to the court, along with supporting briefs, over the next few months. Oral arguments are expected this fall with a decision by the court next spring. Asked if he believes winning will change the way States go about game laws, Gallagher explained, "[State government] moves like lightning and moves -- depending on where you are -- in an informed or uninformed manner. If we win, then we feel we'll be done at long last with these content issues. Video games ... it's already been recognized through a dozen decisions that we're entitled to the same first amendment treatment as movies, as music, as books. That is what we're hoping will be the law of the land at the conclusion of this case. So, we win, we can put this behind us and focus on incentives for the industry." Gallagher expressed those incentives included focusing on jobs and tax incentives for the industry, instead of regulatory issues. Of course, if the Supreme Court finds in favor of California, the executive believes states will react immediately and the industry will be embroiled in trying to figure out what to do. He also notes that such a decision wouldn't just be about regulating games, but it opens up the door to going after movies, television and books.
Study links violent games to violent thoughts and behavior
If you're a subscriber to the APA's Psychological Bulletin (and why wouldn't you be?), you'll find something especially relevant to your interests in the March issue. Psychologist Craig Anderson analyzed existing studies of 130,000 people from the U.S., Europe and Japan, and found that exposure to violent video games was associated with aggressive behavior and thought, along with typical accusations of an inability to foster positive social behavior. A rebuttal to the study from another psychologist and ESA chief Michael Gallagher is featured in The Washington Post article on the subject. We're not doctors nor scientists ourselves, so we're not going to try to pick apart Anderson's findings. We, like Gallagher, are just going to point towards the research of two people who don't have such a huge axe to grind (as Anderson so clearly does). As Dr. Cheryl K. Olson and Dr. Lawrence Kutner wrote in their Grand Theft Childhood, "the strong link between video game violence and real world violence, and the conclusion that video games lead to social isolation and poor interpersonal skills, are drawn from bad or irrelevant research, muddleheaded thinking and unfounded, simplistic news reports." Also, we'd ask that Anderson clarify if the tendency toward violent impulses was specifically sparked by playing Modern Warfare 2 online with a bunch of 12-year-old racist homophobes. Because, then dude, yes.
E3 2009 postmortem with ESA CEO Mike Gallagher
ESA CEO Mike Gallagher's first "real" E3 was a success. We briefly spoke with him on the concourse from the South to West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center on the last day of the show, but with some more time to decompress and receive feedback, it seemed like the right time to circle back around and see if he was still feeling good about how things went. We asked the executive about how the post-show feedback is going, the chance of loosening up the attendance a little more and if there are any plans yet to make the show public -- oh yeah, and is Activision coming back to the ESA? Joystiq: On the last day of E3 2009 we had a quick chat in the hallway and you stated that the feedback you'd received was extremely positive and the show floor was "full but still navigable." Now that you've had a week to decompress and receive more feedback, what's your current take on the show? Mike Gallagher: I have a combination of pride and excitement right now. We set out to reflect and amplify to the world our industry's growth, energy, and vitality and I am incredibly proud we achieved that goal. I am also filled with excitement over the high-impact news announced at the E3 Expo by the companies that make up the industry. We have a lot of great titles to look forward to this year, along with some pretty exciting hardware previews and announcements. This is the golden age of computer and video games. I say that because more than ever before, we are seeing new interfaces, new distribution models to consumers, and new IP that will reenergize our industry's growth as the year continues. And this growth and continued innovation and creativity comes not at the end of a console cycle, but rather when developers are still harnessing the full processing power of the current systems, leading us to believe that games will continue their upward path of compelling storylines, engaging characters, and epic visuals. The challenge for us at the ESA now is two-fold. One, continue build on the momentum created by the E3 Expo and educate new market segments about our industry's cultural and economic significance, but also to begin planning for the 2010 E3 Expo.
E3 2010 scheduled for June 15-17; 2009 had 41,000 attendees
The ESA just announced that E3 2010 is all set for June 15-17. The organization stated that this year's seemingly successful show had more than 41,000 attendees from 78 countries and 216 exhibitors. The company feels the new show met the needs of exhibitors and attendees.During an impromptu run-in with ESA CEO Michael Gallagher right before the announcement was made, we asked him how he felt his first "real E3" went. He expressed that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, that the show floor was "full but still navigable." To him, the strongest sign that various levels of attendees were comfortable with this year's show is that company CEOs were roaming the show floor.
Gary Dale takes CEO role at Realtime Worlds
Realtime Worlds put out an APB (get it, like the game it's making?) for a new CEO and now Gary Dale has answered the call. If Dale's name is familiar to you, it's likely thanks to his previous job: Chief operating officer of Take-Two, though he also served as the European managing director of Capcom.We'd like to humbly suggest that Dale's first official act should be putting higher-res pictures of himself on the internet for bloggers to put funny captions on when they write about him. Ask Mike Gallagher, it's totally worth it.
ESA's head lobbyist bails in under four months
An ESA spokesperson has confirmed to Joystiq that Jennifer Manner, now former head lobbyist for the ESA, is no longer with the association. Manner joined the group in late February of this year, signing on as "government relations head" (government lobbyist) and, according to the National Journal, "didn't appear to have extensive Capitol Hill or administration experience." Advertised as a "long-time Democrat," Manner may have butted heads with current ESA CEO Mike Gallagher, a "former Bush administration official," GamePolitics hypothesizes. We're not sure of the full story just yet but we should point out that the ESA website mentions nothing of the loss and isn't advertising at the moment for someone to fill her spot, saying, "Currently there are no job openings at the ESA." Oh aren't there?[Via GamePolitics]
Joystiq interviews ESA president about E3 2009
Just a few minutes ago we got off the phone with ESA president and CEO Mike Gallagher. We had 10 minutes to ask our list of questions about today's announcement that E3 2009 would return to the show's over-the-top roots. We covered a range of topics: from booth babes to how this new show will avoid the pitfalls that brought us the downsized E3 in the first place. This will be Gallagher's first time being in charge of a "real E3" since taking over for Doug Lowenstein two years ago.Joystiq: If you had to give E3 2009 a six word or less tag line, what would it be? We went with "The b*tch is back" this afternoon, but what's yours?Mike Gallagher: The must attend event of 2009What is the anticipated attendance? Is there a cap?MG: No cap, we have expectations that it'll be higher than the previous two years. It could be in the neighborhood of 40,000 or more. We're not focused on the turn of the turnstiles, but the success of the event.Is it out of the realm of possibility that we'll still see public dates announced later?MG: I wouldn't expect that.
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.
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."
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.
ESA stingy with campaign money early
You probably remember -- well, that's not true -- there's an off chance you remember that ESA president Mike Gallagher announced that the organization was going to be throwing some coin behind national candidates via a political action committee, with contributions somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 by year's end. Well, according to GamePolitics, the going has been slow so far.The site reports that just three candidates have received money from the organization so far to the tune of $4,300 all told. They are: Rep. Jim Clyburn D-SC, $1,000 Rep. Artur Davis D-AL, $1,000 Rep. Mary Bono Mack R-CA, $2,300 The small start could also be the result of slow fundraising: The PAC has garnered just six donations so far for a total of $27,500. Also of note, as of April 15 the ESA had financially backed no presidential candidates.
