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Report: In-Game Advertising to “Increase Rapidly”

Sam Naylor — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:03:56 +0000

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has published a report stating that the amount spent on in-game advertising will at least double by 2014.

The report, which notes that 72 percent of Americans are now playing video games, uses DFC Intelligence which states that $1 billion was spent on in-game ads last year in the US, and that figure will double by 2014.

DFC analyst Michael Goodman said:

“Video games have reached beyond adolescent males into a mainstream entertainment medium that touches every segment of the population. Despite this, advertisers continue to underutilize video games as an advertising vehicle.”

It always seems a little rude to use a $60 game as a vehicle for ads, especially as there’s not a snowflake’s chance in hell that games will go down in price as a result. How do you feel about being constantly advertised to in your games? Does it irritate you, please you, or completely pass you by? Let us know in the comments.

Via Destructoid

The ESA Wants California to Pay for Losing Supreme Court Case… Literally

Justin Carter — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:24:03 +0000

Last month, the Supreme Court struck down a California law that would restrict selling mature rated games to minors. The Court said that the law runs counter to the First Amendment and was unconstitutional. The Electronic Software Association, the lobbying group for the gaming industry, was a hard fighter against the law, and now they want some money for their troubles. $1.1 million, to be exact. Never mind that California is struggling to pay its bills.

In the past with failed laws, the ESA has managed to get some paper from law-makers in other states that tried to restrict the sale of games. Michael Gallagher, the CEO of the ESA, had this to say on the matter:

“From the start of this misguided legislation, then-Governor Schwarzenegger and specific California legislators knew that their efforts to censor and restrict expression were, as court after court ruled, unconstitutional and thus a waste of taxpayers’ money, government time, and state resources.”

This demand for money shows two things. One, it shows that politicians should quit trying to f*ck with the ESA. Two, it shows that the ESA is more cruel than someone teabagging your corpse in Halo.

Via [IGN]

E3 2009 Continues to Grow Larger

Tyrell Jackson — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:51:12 +0000

Today the ESA announces that the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2009 has sold 90 percent of its available exhibitor space with over 100 exhibitors to attend. Furthermore, the expo is reaching its projected number of 40,000 attendees, which includes industry professionals, general attendees, and members of the media.

“E3 Expo is back, and that’s a very good thing. The conference is being held at just the right time, with June late enough in the year for the publishers to feel confident about game quality, and early enough in the year to generate retail buzz,” said Michael Pachter, analyst with Wedbush Morgan. “The show’s format is a return to the great E3 Expo’s of the past, and there is tremendous interest from investors, publishers and media. I expect buzz about the show to build every week until June, and expect many breaking announcements the first week in June. E3 Expo will re-establish itself as the preeminent North American computer and video game show, and also will likely be considered the preeminent computer and video game event globally.”

After two years of trying to be restricted to fewer than 5,000 attendees, this year’s E3 is back with a blast as it returns to the glory days as the world’s best videogame industry event. This has event brought the excitement to many developers.
“If you have a career in games or just love to play them, get out your calendar and circle the first week of June,” said Jeff Brown from EA. “The E3 Expo is bigger and better this year and for EA, the expanded format means we’ll have more demos, announcements, promotions and blockbuster games than ever before.”
“It is very exciting for the videogame industry to once again have a global platform from which to report on the trends, innovations and exciting new games that are fueling the growth of our market,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of publishing at THQ. “We look forward to meeting with press and retailers from around the world, as well as the investment community to share several key titles from THQ’s portfolio at the E3 Expo in June.”
Personally, I am excited for this event as I am already registered and confirmed and will be attending as media. However, if you want to attend yourself, you do not have to be part of the media to enjoy three days of videogame ecstasy. Just head over here and find out how you may attend. All you have to do is fill out an online registration form along with a $400 payment (Goes up to $500 after May 1st) and you are pretty much guaranteed to be in. This is a very relaxed process compared to that past two years. So in a since, E3 2009 is open to the public, you just need to be 18+ and $400. Members of the media and industry receive free attendance, granted they provide the proper credentials proving that they are part of the media or industry.

If you cannot attend, no worry as I will be there to cover the event from all possible angles. So follow Ripten throughout E3 and we will keep you on top of everything.

X-Play Delivers More E3 09 News: Four Halls, Bigger Booths, and Booth Babes, Oh My!

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:07:02 +0000

As promised earlier, tonight’s episode of X-Play asked the questions that eager E3 09 anticipators wanted answered. Will bikini-clad booth babes be running rampant through each of the four massive halls the LA Convention Center has to offer, or will we be once again treated to a substandard event.

Hit the jump, and let Adam Sessler work his interrogation magic, while you frantically search for a sharpie to mark “vacation” across your first few days of your June 2009 calendar.

So, let’s recap. Richard “you can call me Dick” Taylor, Sr. EV of ESA Communication and Reasearch, goes head to head with Adam “my back is feeling much better” Sessler.

As it turns out, the June 2nd through 4th dates were apparently selected in an effort to stay out of the way of development cycles and allow retailer to make informed decisions for the holiday season. I guess Best Buy needed a little extra time to pick and choose their exclusives.

The event will once again not be open to the public. How are you feeling about that? In order to get in, media will be asked to fork over “proof points” like W2s and a pay stubs. Why stop there Dick? How about some of that felt-like material from the inner surface of our cubical wall? And what if you’re a blogger, who makes a living burning the midnight oil, searching for news in the deepest and darkest of places? Well, according to Richard, those patrolling the blogosphere will be handled on a “case by case” basis. Whatever that means.

Bigger booth sizes are something the organization realizes needs to happen, and they are working on the specifics. In terms of the Convention Center itself, it appears that we’lll once again have access to all four halls, however, after some double talk concerning “turn styles flipping over” Mr. Taylor stated that, while the event will be much bigger than last year, it still won’t be as big as the old E3.

Why so change-ious? (see what I did there?) After each show the ESA conducts a survey, poling those who attended, and with emphasis, Richard admits that there was “some very clear direction” that came out after this past show — get out, really?

What about the companies that bailed on the show, like Lucas Arts? Short answer, they are welcome, but the ball is in their court. He then proceeded to describe E3 as the “preeminent gaming event” — I wonder if he really believes that?

How about the “bells and whistles” as Adam put it. Can we expect to have see booth babes and loud music? Richard’s response cited the event’s standards in terms of noise etc, which he claims have always been in place, but as for “the models”, he says that they are encouraging each exhibitor to create their own brand as they see fit. So there you have it. If you don’t see half naked women, blame it on Nintendo. Don’t let your loyal, and admittingly horny, gaming audience down Reggie!

The interview wrap up consisted of Richard babbling on about the Video Game Voters Network, essentially asking us all to rally against our government in the name of video gaming. Shameless plug? Maybe, but the man did answer our questions.

E3 2009 Returns to the LA Convention Center

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:26:41 +0000

Extra extra, read all about it. G4TV’s X-Play has just announced the return of E3 to the LA Convention Center. In addition, they shared the following details:

The event will run June 2nd-June 4th at the LA Convention Center.
It still won’t be open to public, but ESA has plans to help increase attendance.
Unemployed booth babes waiting by the phone will have to sit tight for now.

I guess this news is better than finding out the event would be held in an LA In-N-Out Burger, but there’s still a lot of questions left to be answered. Higher attendance numbers could be a good thing, assuming the event is set up properly, and as for booth babes — I won’t be holding my breath for anything remotely close to this.

Check out the video segment highlighting the announcement after the jump.

California Dreaming: State Forced To Pay ESA

Justin Arnold — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:32:24 +0000

As the Golden State begins to look like the “Lead Balloon State,” California is showing the ESA the money.

The Entertainment Software Association was awarded more than $280,000 for attorney’s fees while battling the state over a videogame law that proved to be unconstitutional.

This comes at a time when California is already drowning in a sea of red ink, laying off more than 10,000 state employees and civil servants. A point that the ESA was quick to bring up in a statement made earlier today.

“California deserves more from its legislators than pursuing flawed legislation. State employees are facing pay cuts. California’s services are being scaled back. And, anxiety is rising in Sacramento to find funds,“ said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Rather than tackling real problems affecting Californians, they chose to waste time, money and state resources. It is shameful that legislators pursued personal agendas in spite of the facts.”

The ESA received a favorable ruling in 2007 when Judge Ronald Whyte granted the association’s motion for summary judgment, acknowledging that video games were protected under the 1st Amendment.

Source: The ESA

The Demise of E3: ESA to Blame? Think Again.

Justin Arnold — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:20:51 +0000

You never really appreciate something until it’s gone — or in this case, chased from a city by angry gaming press with torches and pitchforks.

As E3 showed up, sputtered, then crept out of Los Angeles — hanging its head in dejected embarrassment — industry bloggers and reporters of every stripe began panning this years offering from the Electronic Software Association. Some pontificated on the trade show’s demise, stating that this year’s incarnation was merely its death-throes, and that it had become a weary, tired beast, in desperate need of being tied to a tree and mercifully shot.

Puzzlingly, the ESA seems to be the favored whipping boy when I believe that it is the developers who showed up ala the Emperor, wearing nary but a smile.

There is no doubt that E3 has been suffering from a degenerative illness as of late, but one that can hardly be blamed on the substantive lack of booth-babes with dual-side airbags. The truth is that the offerings from the Big Three have been mediocre at best, and at worst, a bloviating scrum of corporate narcissism.

How else could anyone characterize the Nintendo conference? Microsoft was a little better, and Sony continued to march merrily, if not obstinately, off a cliff called “denial.”

Is it the ESA’s fault that Nintendo showed up without a new Zelda title, and instead focused their press conference finale on a rhythm game that requires no rhythm?

Is it the ESA’s fault that Microsoft stepped on its own shoelaces, face-palming a developer, in order to keep the press focused on a rivals lost exclusive, instead of announcing one of their own?

Is it the ESA’s fault that Sony eagerly tried to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, instead of coming to the Big Show with the same magic they wielded in their glory years, when the PS2 was the King of the Virtual Jungle?

These are not failures of the ESA or E3, but instead the failures of publishers who are more interested in the realm of public perception, than providing the public with what they truly want — fun.

We in the gaming press must also shoulder a measure of culpability for laying so much failure at the feet of the ESA, when it’s the offal rendered by others that is responsible for the stench we cannot stomach.

With a different pair of eyes you can see that, if anything, E3 has somehow garnered more mainstream corporate and political credibility. While the keynote was attended with as much fervor as a Foghat reunion tour, it was interesting that the speaker was the Governor of Texas. While this may not lend any interest to the gaming media echo-chamber, the presence of Gov. Rick Perry is important. As the industry is facing attacks on multiple fronts can it really afford to cast off E3 as it gains much-needed political capitol for not only itself, but for the rest of us?

I agree that E3 is need of change, but I believe that change must be brought about by developers; prepared to show up with exciting titles and technical surprises that make us sit up and take notice.

The ESA is doing its job by providing a venue for an industry to show up and show off, it is then up to the industry to impress us. Blaming the ESA for a tepid E3 is folly. If you have succumbed to that line of drivel you might as well blame the ESA for global warming, or killer bee’s from Argentina.

In 2009 developers will have the chance to relegate the unwashed masses, as it has been rumored that the public will be able to attend in all their fanboy glory, and perhaps that would be for the best — a novelty that the public would be able to hiss in disapproval or clap in delight, undiluted by the jaded – and complicit – gaming press.

Perhaps then developers will take E3 more seriously as the very people they depend on will be there, hovering expectantly for the latest and the greatest.

In the end, those culpable for the death of E3 will not be the ESA; it will be the developers holding the smoking gun.

E3 09 Open To Public? Sources Say Yes.

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:12:47 +0000

Kotaku’s managing editor, Brian Crecente, states that he had several conversations with “well connected sources” at this years E3 — all of which believe that next years event will in fact be open to the public.

However, upon reaching out for an official comment from the ESA, he was given a very cookie cutter response, stating:

“The ESA is currently in the process of receiving feedback and will make an announcement about the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit at an appropriate time.”

While it would be cool to get live reactions from gamers, in addition to our own hands-on impressions of the games, the biggest (albeit selfish) perk that I would look forward to, as a result of a policy change, would be a bigger/more impressive E3 experience.

Source: Kotaku

E3 2009 May Be The End

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:40:23 +0000

Reports confirm that E3 is slated to return in 2009, however it may be the event’s swan song. Gamespot’s Brendan Sinclair stated the following:

” … there are plans for at least one more E3. A representative with the event’s organizers at the Electronic Software Association affirmed that much for GameSpot today …”

The aforementioned ESA associate was then quoted saying:

“As we do every year, we’re beginning the process of surveying exhibitors and attendees to determine potential changes to the Summit … 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.”

It appears that the once proud event may be on its last leg, and it is unclear just how much more verbal punishment the ESA is willing to tolerate before closing E3′s doors for good.

Source: Gamespot

Michael Gallagher, ESA CEO: “…we are entering the golden age of gaming.”

Emily Balistrieri — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:05:10 +0000

The State of the Industry? It’s good, according to Michael Gallagher, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association. In fact, he thinks that 2008 will be looked back on as the year that videogames went mainstream.

Gallagher talked a lot about the new gamers drawn in by the Nintendo Wii and mobile games, about serious games that teach kids about world hunger or cancer, and also about how the industry is gaining respect from both scientists (who are beginning to study the positive effects of videogames, as opposed to just the negatives) and politicians (as evidenced this morning in the address from Texas Governor Rick Perry.)

Business is good, too. Games and hardware did 18.85 billion dollars in sales last year, with an average of nine games sold per second everyday last year, and current profits in ’08 are already up by 30%. The prediction is that the gaming industry will provide a quarter million Americans with jobs in 2009.

Gallagher continued with five main concepts to use for further industry growth–pretty much summarizing what he had already said and moving foward to the end of his speech in one shot:

1. Remember the core gamers.
2. Welcome new gamers.
3. Broaden the use of games (not just as entertainment, but as education or therapy)
4. Help parents.
5. Unite to support policy interests.

Self regulation, Gallagher believes, is the best way to do it. Although he acknowledged that of course European countries would have to solve their rating problems their own way, he seemed to be suggesting that if they came up with their own system it would impress the government bureaus and watchdog groups, like the ESRB has here.

Finally, he recommended everyone go join the Video Game Voters Network (see number 5 above.) The group exists to educate gamers about the types of legislation that could threaten games (like proposals that undercut IP law) so we can take action to defend our hobby. So far there are 150,000 members, and Gallagher set the goal for the next E3 at 200,000.

He ended by saying that our industry is finally, “getting the respect we deserve,” and challenging devs and gamers alike to continue the positivev trends into next year.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Explains Companys ESA Exit

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:36:50 +0000

Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, discusses the companys split with the ESA in an upcoming interview with Variety. The full interview has yet to be published, however a few short quotes pertaining to Activision’s involvement with the ESA were transformed into a write up.

When asked specifically about their break up, Kotick attempted to clarify stating:

“… don’t view it as anything but time off …”

The logic, explained by Kotick below, revolves around the merger, controlling expendatures, and interum decision making.

“With the combined companies, the dues went up enough that I said for it to make sense [to spend that money], we have to make a strategic plan … We don’t have that because nobody owns it for us right now.”

I will attempt to predict the collective reaction by ESA upon hearing this news. “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.” – Lloyd, Dumb & Dumber. If no one owns strategic planning and company expendature, why is Activision going to be present at Comic-Con? Maybe the “time off” would better be described as “time off to see other people”.

Source: Variety

LucasArts Abandons The ESA

Beau Rosser — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:50:54 +0000

Only a few shorts weeks have passed since Activision and Vivendi announced their departure from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and their disassociation with this year’s E3. Following in their wake, the ESA confirmed yesterday LucasArts has also separated from the organization.

After the announcement, LucasArts PR director Margaret Grohne went on the record by clarifying the company’s stance on the issue. Grohne said, “As a company we are still committed to bringing consumers the best interactive experience possible and support the ESA’s mission in the industry.”

Unlike the soon-to-be Activision Blizzard, LucasArts will be attending E3 this July in full force as they showcase their newest game line-up, including the long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Source: Joystiq