Tag Archives: michael gallagher

Members of the video game industry met with US VP Joe Biden yesterday at the White House to discuss how or if violent video games contribute to gun violence in the US.

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Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, organizers of E3, has said the year’s event brought 45,700 industry professionals to LA.

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ESA president Michael Gallagher has told the LA Times E3 may leave Los Angeles in 2013 if certain issues are not resolved. According to Gallagher, the trade body is prepared to “go elsewhere” should discussions with officials – which are ongoing – fall through. The issue at hand is the construction of the proposed Farmers Field stadium, which see the demolition of the West Hall of the LA Convention Center impacting admission to and set up of E3. Cities such as San Francisco, New York, Chicago and New Orleans are candidates should E3 be held elsewhere. Atlanta, where E3 was originally held, wasn’t mentioned as a possibility in the LA Times piece.

After losing its bid to impose a law that would make the sale of mature-rated games to minors illegal, the state of California has been asked to reimburse the Electronic Software Association for the industry body’s role in the lobbying.

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ESA boss Michael Gallagher has said that 45,000 people are expected to attend E3 this week, with 200 companies set to exhibit at the show.

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NPD figures for the month of December 2010, released last night, showed that Xbox 360 enjoyed year-on-year increase for the month – the only console to do so – with 1.9 million sales in the US.

Call of Duty: Black Ops topped the December charts, and was also named the biggest-selling American game of 2010.

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A study conducted on behalf of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), has found the US economy was the lucky recipient of $5 billion in 2009 thanks to the gaming industry.

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Michael Gallagher, president of the Entertainment Software Association, has said that the games industry needs its own form of top ten sales chart just like film and music.

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It’s officially five weeks to E3 today. How are those bunkers coming along?

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The ESA’s now officially opened up registration for this year’s E3.

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App Store games are not currently rated, but the ESRB is hoping that will change.

“We’ve been down this road before,” said CEO Michael Gallagher. “We know how this goes and it’s wise for [Apple] to make steps in that direction so that this is addressed up front and there is an environment that is hospitable to children and families.

“It would be wise to do that, we would welcome the opportunity to work with them. We are reaching out to encourage that.”

More over on Kotaku.

Entertainment Software Association (ESA) president Michael Gallagher has said during his E3 keynote speech that the gaming industry’s “best, brightest, and boldest days lie ahead.”

Gallagher recognised the recent decline in sales in the US, but insisted that compared with other media industries, gaming is performing admirably.

He went on to say that families offered the greatest potential for industry growth, with games offering better value for money than other forms of media.

Gallagher pointed out that social gaming as equally important and companies are in an “arms race” to improve in this area.

In short: “Our best, brightest, and boldest days lie ahead,” he said.

Thanks, GI.

The ESA’s Michael Gallagher has said that E3 has “never been a consumer show” and that to offer public days during the event would be a “pretty significant change”.

“E3 has never been a consumer show, so that would be a pretty significant change,” Gallagher told IGN. “Obviously, from this year’s format we look at a lot of different things, right now we’re focused on executing this year’s show very well and making sure it’s a success.

“We’ll start planning next year’s show on June 5th.”

As far as bringing back the “old E3,” Gallagher is content that this year, the hardcore crowd be pleased just as well as the ever-expanding demographic.

“Clearly this industry’s demographics have dramatically changed over the last 2 to 3 years. Now you have one quarter of all gamers are over 50, and 38 percent of gamers are women. You just have a terrific growth dynamic because of the breadth of entertainment and the excitement level of the entertainment we’re offering.

“The more we can bring in mainstream media to carry that, it becomes a self-fulfilling, self reinforcing marketplace for us. And we’re already seeing some very positive signs on the media interest.”

Still, it’s going to be business as usual so that the show remains “efficient and manageable” for the press and industry attendees.

More through the link.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has placed Canada on the Priority Watch List for piracy alongside Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, and Venezuela.

This is the first time Canada has been put on such a list by the US government, and after complaining to the country for some time now over it’s need for copyright reform, it has now been “listed”.

The ESA seems pleased, as the game lobbyist  has been pushing Canada’s parliament to outlaw mod chips and adopt some sort of Digital Millenium Copyright Act for quite some time.

“Putting Canada on the ‘Priority Watch List’ is a signal of the Obama Administration’s commitment to strengthening global intellectual property protection, and its intent to address this issue firmly with the Canadian government,” said ESA’s Michael Gallagher.

“Canada’s weak laws and enforcement practices foster game piracy in the Canadian market and pave the way for unlawful imports into the U.S.”

To counteract piracy in Canada, the USTR suggests it:

• Enact legislation outlawing game circumvention devices, such as “mod chips” and “game copiers,” in line with Canada’s international treaty obligations
• Create adequate legal incentives for internet service providers (ISPs) to work with copyright owners in combating online piracy
• Provide Customs officials with adequate authority to make ex officio seizures of counterfeit and pirate product at the border
• Provide adequate resources to anti-piracy enforcement efforts and make prosecution of intellectual property crimes a high priority.

More over on GamePolitics.

SXSW may not be the best for games news, but at least the Texan festival’s got some pretty pictures to look at.

ESA’s Michael Gallagher has said he’s excited about the Into The Pixel art exhibit his organization and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences co-curate at the event.

“We’re excited to bring Into the Pixel here to SXSW, because this is one of the premier art shows in the country”, he said. “Video games are art. Without a doubt… look at the creative energy. It belongs here with film, it belongs here with music.”

Going on about game as art, Gallagher said that the first thing people notice about a game is graphics, which are all rendered artistically.

“I think graphics are one of the powerful components that draw people in”, he added.

More through the link.

Natsume’s joined the ESA, the publisher’s confirmed.

“Natsume is a respected video game publisher and a welcome addition to the ESA,” said ESA boss Michael Gallagher.

“We are pleased to represent them and look forward to working with Natsume’s talented leadership and employees as they lead the way in developing creative new gaming experiences for families.”

Natsume does Harvest Moon. Which is awesome.

Story of the year.

Southpeak’s joined ESA, making a nice change from companies leaving the US trade body.

“We welcome Southpeak Interactive to the ESA, and look forward to experiencing first-hand the array of creative products for which it is known,” said Michael Gallagher, CEO of the ESA.

“We are proud to represent the entire videogame industry and look forward to working closely with Southpeak Interactive’s leadership and its employees as we continue to fight piracy, combat unconstitutional legislation, and expand our industry’s contributions to the economy and society overall.”

Right on, Mike. We have nothing else to add.

Following news that ESA membership charges rose an astronomical 1,700 percent between 2006 and 2008, the trade body’s confirmed it’s to look bringing costs back down.

“The positive restructuring of the E3 Expo allowed us to revisit the ESA’s dues structure,” ESA CEO Mike Gallagher told Gamasutra today.

There was no other detail given on how and when charges were to be reduced, but at least a reduction’s on the table. So there’s lovely.

The ESA has appointed Jennifer Manner as its new senior vice president for government affairs.

This position most likely stems from a report filed by the ESA regarding piracy concerns in Europe.

“The entertainment software industry is faced with a variety of challenges and opportunities at the national level from protecting intellectual property and preserving First Amendment rights to fostering economic development and technological advancement,” said ESA bossman Michael Gallagher.

“Jennifer’s wealth of policy experience, particularly in the broadband space, will serve the ESA and our members well as we work to create a prosperous environment for the entire computer and video game industry.”

Jennifer was previously senior counsel for the FCC and legal counsel for various tech based organizations and her responsibilities at the ESA will include heading the government relations team.

Apparently she is also a surfer girl.

Speaking to Kotaku, ESA head Mike Gallagher has palmed off talk of an “exodus” from the organisation saying it’s normal for membership to fluctuate, and pointing out that while some companies have left his fold, other have joined in the past year.

His comment come after the high profile departures of Activision, Vivendi, id Software and LucasArts from ESA this year.

“The membership of any association fluctuates over time,” he said. “For example, though it didn’t receive much attention by the gamer press, in the past nine months we added four new members—Epic Games, MTV Games, NCSoft, and Codemasters.

“What’s important to remember is not the changes in membership rolls, but the value the ESA provides to the industry – a proven track record of defending First Amendment rights, educating elected officials and the uninitiated about computer and video games, and creating an environment beneficial to the entire industry.

“I would expect that the ESA will continue to make adjustments to ensure that we are delivering the best value and highest benefit to our members in the years to come.”

Click through to read Mike saying “no comment” in a hundred different ways over lots of words.