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ESA releases video game economics study
An economic study commissioned by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) found the industry continues to outpace US economic growth, but is that really that hard these days? The report titled Video Games in the 21st Century: Economic Contributions of the US Entertainment Software Industry found between 2003 - '06 the industry grew 17% annually, while the US economy grew 4%. The shocker in the report is that for the 24,000 individuals employed in the US, the average salary was $92,300 in '06.There a lot of big numbers with billions attached to them speaking of the industry's economic impact on various states. California is currently the largest employer of industry professionals with 40% of the industry's population and a $1.7 billion contribution to the Cali economy. Of course, Washington state came in second with Microsoft and Nintendo's HQs located there. We're a little more curious about the mode salary rather than the mean. The $92,300 sounds peachy, but we're pretty sure that high-level executives screw up the average. We're guessing the quality assurance ground troops don't eat porterhouse every night and burn Benjamins on the weekends for fun.
ESA targeting elementary schools with anti-piracy message
Listen, the ESA knows that they can't reach you on this whole piracy thing. No matter what they say, you're just too addicted to stealing. But, they know the whole thing could have worked out differently if they had access to a flux capacitor and some plutonium. If they could just go back in time, reach you when you were young, they could have stopped you before you fell in love with hot warez.Well, they won't be making the same mistake twice. Cnet is reporting on the group's attempts to integrate their curriculum into everyday class time at the elementary school level. The ESA has even made a website for kids with all the tot-pleasing charm of the back of a Shoney's placemat and chock-full of info that the group is trying to get teachers to integrate into their classroom lesson plans. It's like we've always said: The main problem with America is that people know too much about math and science and reading and just not enough about the dangers of burning discs.[Via GamePolitics]
ESA's Gallagher spends time gaming with Washington Post
It's fun to watch Mike Gallagher, the still-new head of the ESA, as he evolves into his position slowly but surely. His image has transitioned from total noob, to hired gun, to softening up a bit and gaming with The Washington Post. If nothing else his image seems to be on the right track to represent the industry and have his big coming out at next year's E3.The WaPo piece paints Gallagher as a man who brings a Nintendo DS to Capitol Hill meetings to show lawmakers games that are actually more representative of the industry. He also apparently got a vanity plate from his children for Father's Day that says: GAME DAD. Robbie Bach, Microsoft entertainment division president, who is on the ESA board, gets a quote in the piece saying that Gallagher was chosen because he "games and understands the space." Then the WaPo writer and Gallagher have a gaming competition that ends in a draw. Gallagher continues to build a solid image that shows that he's political, but also understands "the gamer."And we really need a new photo of this guy. This photo of him from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is *snore* and we're done using the Pokémon one. Oh, and we sure as heck ain't using the WaPo picture of Gallagher walking around with a PS3 like a boombox on his shoulder. Time for some respectable glamour shots with the ESA logo in the background -- maybe the ESA can hire Annie Liebovitz, industry should be able to afford their spokesman some good portrait shots..[Via GamePolitics]
The Political Game: Gamers like Mike
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games: The new head of the video game publishers' association actually plays video games!Who knew?I certainly didn't when I wrote a snarky advice column to incoming ESA president Mike Gallagher during his first week on the job. But, two months into his tenure, I like what I see. I'm willing to bet a lot of other gamers do, too.In fact, we should create some kind of JFK award for the guy just for having the guts to stand up and proclaim, "ich bin ein gamer." In interviews, the new ESA boss immediately outed himself as the setup man for the office multiplayer Doom network when he worked as a congressional staffer. Of course, I had a great deal of respect for Gallagher's ESA predecessor, but Doug Lowenstein wouldn't know a space marine from the man in the moon. He was no gamer. To his credit, he didn't pretend to be. But it feels better to have someone who is in gut-level touch with the medium at the industry's helm.
New ESA prez Mike Gallagher speaks
Information on new Entertainment Software Association president Mike Gallagher has been slim -- very slim. The new lead of the industry's lobbying group has been more behind-the-scenes compared to predecessor Doug Lowenstein. Gallagher hasn't taken the training wheels off yet with his new job and didn't even bother having the annual opening speech kicking off E3 like Lowenstein would have. This was always an opportunity to hear what was going on with the industry and the ESA, hear Lowenstein's thoughts and afterward he'd be open to questions. An interview with GameDaily, which relates an unabridged version of Gallagher compared to his NY Times piece, gives a little insight into why the shift -- whether intentional or not, Gallagher comes off as a hired gun more than a man invested in the industry -- it's all politics. But maybe that's the point.Gallagher says his early experience so far is like "taking a drink of water from a fire hose." The interview sounds like he's still going through a learning curve and grasping the basics of the industry, depending on staff (one of whom is ready to leave) and asking former ESA pres. Doug Lowenstein for advice. He says he's been meeting with politicians on Capital Hill, "I'm drawing a much deeper picture of what the policymakers' view of our industry is and that's important because that's one of the key audiences that we need to impact at ESA ... understanding 'where are they right now?' and 'how do we move them to where they're meeting the goal of creating a positive policy environment for the growth of video games?'" Maybe it is best that Gallagher learns what he's doing before coming out. We're quite aware of the ESA doing many things behind the scenes in regards to recent issues and scandals, but it's still not clear if that's through Gallagher's leadership or the trained staff Lowenstein left behind.
NY Times chats up new ESA boss
We like Mike Gallagher, the guy who recently took over as chief of the ESA. Before this interview with The New York Times, you could trace these feelings to the picture above, which is entertaining enough to earn Gallagher an indirect affection boost. But now, we have actual reasons. Exhibit 1: "In the 1990s, as chief of staff for Representative Rick White, a Washington State Republican, Mr. Gallagher helped network the office computers to play Doom."It's not just fun tidbits from his past though, as Gallagher seems to generally understand the difficulty of lobbying a government that has only the slightest idea of what his industry is really about. He adds that his challenges are compounded by the lack of marketable stars to help in the lobbying, saying "it is true that Master Chief and Mario are not yet household words on the Hill, but wait for the years ahead." OK, Mike, you have our attention. Now don't let us down.
The Political Game: Dear ESA n00b
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:The following is an IM exchange that I wish I had with Michael Gallagher, who took over as new head of the ESA on Tuesday:Me: yo, u there?ESA n00b: yupMe: how's the new office?ESA n00b: nice, but @#%$!*&!&! Lowenstein took the stapler with him ...Me: bummer. Did he leave any CD's around? Doug was big into 70's music.ESA n00b: no CD's ... just an autographed picture of some guy named ThompsonMe: ewww .... Want some advice?ESA n00b: um ... sureMe: I know you're hired to represent the big game publishers, but don't forget about the gamersESA n00b: wait now, the who????
ESA gets new boss, Mike Gallagher
There's a new captain on board the S.S. ESA: Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce Mike Gallagher, who'll be stepping into the shoes left by former president Doug Lowenstein last year. Gallagher most recently served as the "chief telecommunications and policy advisor to the Bush Administration," which, for those of you who never watched The West Wing, means he had to program the Oval Office TiVo to never miss "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?".Though he's new to the industry, Gallagher told GameDaily BIZ that he's a lifelong gamer and thinks "the business is poised for tremendous growth." And, no, before you ask, he says he has no plans to bring back the old E3. Gallagher is stepping in to an awfully big shadow cast by Lowenstein, who took the ESA from a two-person operation to 32-employee effort that supports a $10 billion video game industry. But we're hopeful that his Capitol Hill experience will make him a force to be reckoned with when the attorneys-at-lawl come calling.
