@Thefremen - Honestly, I don't know the extent of how Hollywood works. It seems like a strange but exciting world to me. As for the services coming on-line, believe me no one's more thrilled to see them rolling out than us. Each is the product of a lot of time and effort by our staff, who have worked tirelessly at getting them done. I'll pass along your kind words though, as I'm sure they'll be appreciated. :)


-Hal.

Hal,

Without doubt one of the first questions I get from politicians when talking to them about video games and who plays is how many of them are voters. Are there any plans, or do you think it'd be a good idea to spend the money to figure out
1) How many gamers are voters
2) How many gamers are registered
3) How many purchasers are voters
4) How many purchasers are registered
You could do this by getting commercial data and appending it with voter roles.
If there are no plans for this I highly recommend it. This statistic could exist, and I haven't found it.

Brett

@ Cheeselikescereal

Neither Hal nor the ECA is a 'voice for the industry.' Research a little, plz. Also, you'll notice I voiced a very similar concern in both of my posts. However, I worded mine professionally and didn't use ad hominem attacks - therefore, I am more likely to get a real response. Try a little maturity; it works wonders.

@Spicyragnatz on your "Games as Pornography" question

Last week, an article on GP made me ask a question about Maryland law, which required me to do some research on it. The ESA thought that the Maryland approach was an excellent approach. I actually agree now, and it's because:

1) Violence is not pornography. The laws that fail Constitutionality checks are the ones that replace "obscene" with "violent." These two topics are inherently different, can't be worded the same, the benefit/injury of violence in media is not thoroughly studied, and the aim of the law seems to be simply to reduce sales and profits to certain companies (like Take2).

2) The Maryland law added "video games" into the obscenity code as a possible source of what is now considered pornographic. So now it's magazines, video/TV, and video games. I can tell you that although the words used in our obscenity codes are vague and should have been struck down as unconstitutional, it really doesn't "ban" much from minors except out-and-out porn. We're talking porn movies and magazines, mostly. This is a case where the law was vague, but the enforcement has defined the boundaries of what is and what isn't considered obscene.

@F**ked up - Actually history is beginning to repeat itself, but the dangerous parallel is with the comic book business. I'm channeling one of my personal heroes, Dr. Henry Jenkins, when I say this, but basically we've reached a crossroads as an industry where we will either be perceived as a medium that one walks up to the store, or walks down the stairs to enter. Comic books faced much of the same lambasting a few decades ago, and for really no better reasons that games are today. Other media, such as movies and music are treated entirely differently and I think that too speaks to the generational gap.


-Hal.

So there is more of a similarity to comic books and video games than there is to TV and film. I dont know much about the legislation around comic books but I do that there was a huge censorship movement in 1950s on TV but I m not sure whether that was political or done internally by the TV stations, rambling here. But then thats ask the question of what happens when the mediums over lap, comics are transfering to movies and games while its almost impossible not to see games base off of movies. Will that be setting a double standarded? probably rambling here.

Then another question is what to do about foreign games. There are bound to be culture clash and usually that is solved by not shipping certain games overseas or changing the game for the different audience, simliar to what they do with movies and some TV. But even with such precautions there are bound to be a culture clash, example pokemon and the catholic church. I guess the question is how to go about defending such games?

@Ian Bogost - Not at all, it's a fair question. The short answer is that none of the other activities that you mentioned are being threatened on so broad and deep a way. No one is trying to redefine you as a person by the fact that you enjoy sushi, nor saying that certain types of sushi are too vulgar. (I happen to be a fan, but am sticking with your example BTW.) I've heard the argument that people joining groups, by the very act enables isolationism, but I reject it based purely on it being too narrow and easy a perspective. The reality is that groups of like-minded people can and should stick together when faced with adversity and when underrepresented, but especially when their rights are being threatened. Not doing so for the past decade or more has certainly not been effective.

I'd also point to the success of parallel membership organizations, without whom life as we know it would be incontrovertibly altered. Imagine where the elderly would be today without the AARP for instance. In the years before the baby boomers were potential members, previous groups were thoroughly underrepresented and as a result were taken advantage of. In subsequent years, they have managed to turn the stereotype of being retired from a bad thing to a definition that no longer defines one's age. There are tens of millions of proud car-carrying members of AARP for crying out loud! I wouldn't have thought it possible, and yet by coming together they have taken ownership of who they, as a group, are and how they are perceived. I see no difference for the challenges that face gamers and we are simply uniting for that cause.

It is a good and valuable question though, as there are always people that say, "I don't need to do any work, it'll be done by others for me." That too is an attitude that is socially acceptable for some reason that escapes me. Here, we are presenting an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and help shape destiny. To stand idly by and do nothing empowers others to do something which you likely will disagree and empowers the masses to decide how you are defined and create perception.


-Hal.

Mr. Halpin,

I am pondering a chicken-and-egg question about politicians and parents in the debate over violent video games. Are politicians just reacting to actual voices in their constituencies when soccer moms complain, or could it be that they just see the gaming issue as something they can convince parents is a real issue, and when they bring it to the forefront, the soccer moms drink the Kool Aid?

If it is indeed parental groups who do start the controversy, and politicians react to pander to them, what steps can and do the ECA take to change their minds? If they do not raise the issue, politicians will be less likely to sense an opportunity to create it themselves. Are you familiar with Gerard Jones' theory that violent media is actually beneficial to kids by giving them an environment to safely and creatively navigate through their emotions? If this viewpoint is expressed and publicized as much as the views that violent games are harmful, perhaps some of these critics will reconsider their position.

@Mr. Blond - Another great question. My experience has been that, almost exclusively, legislators introduce violent games bills through their own efforts and impetus. Rarely, they'll blame a nameless constituent who supposedly expressed concern over a cocktail at a fundraiser, but when the media presses them for a name none is forthcoming. Now that's not to say that all politicians aren't motivated for honest reasons, just that an increasing amount of them are stepping up to the plate because it's voter gold. There's no accountability. No one's saying, "Hey, if you push ahead with this frivolous law it'll cost you." All they see is their counterparts in other states getting loads of free media time for "protecting our kids" - and hey, who can't get behind that. The parent's groups are better informed than you may thin they are as evidenced by the ESRB's recent partnership announcement with the PTA.

And to your point, we can and do need to do more, to be more proactive in the messaging to parents. And we have a few ideas that we're working on presently for a Fall campaign, so stay tuned ;)


-Hal.

@Ian Bogost - I think you're reinforcing my point there, as no other medium (recently) has required a group to be so vigorously defended. To the best of my knowledge there are no other membership organizations that one could parallel that fit your criteria, which seems like part of the reason for your hypothesis, which in the end isn't so much productive as it could be combative.

Your other points, however are valid in my mind. The questions aren't what are all the good and valuable things that the ECA could do on behalf of its members - to which you seem to have more than a few suggestions - but rather, where would we as gamers be without it in ten years time? Join us and we'll discover it together. :)


-Hal.

@Ist - We are actually looking for a few open positions. I'd refer you to GameJobs.com (our free job board) for the specifics. Thanks for the inquiry. :)


-Hal.

Hey, Hal! Not much of a question, but I'm curious anyways- will you or other ECA reps be making the rounds at the "new" E3?

That's pretty much it- mainly I just wanted to say hi.

Although, come to think of it, I don't think I have your new contact info- shoot me a line?

--Ryan

@brokenscope - Ah the infamous crystal ball question… well, the safe answer is that we'll continue, over the next few years, to see the pendulum swing from the onus being on publisher to retailers to consumers - a fact which started playing out just last year. As politicians find that they're successful in gaining media attention on the issue, but keep losing time and again on constitutional grounds, they'll continue to change tactics (those that don't surprise me every time). Privacy, IP ownership and rights, licensing, DRM will all increase in prominence, and with an effective consumer rights group in place, I honestly believe that we'll be in a better place to work together on them.


-Hal.

@~the1jeffy - Not at all. I appreciate your directness and have a reputation for being a little more "direct" than most in the political arena (probably because it's not my background), but possibly because of my feisty Irish DNA… who knows ;)

I feel very strongly about the members who have chosen to join the ECA early. To me it represents such a statement that it's hard to put into words. Without a clear understanding of all of the benefits, the value proposition, or what any one individual can get out of it, approximately two hundred people signed on, paid their dues and lent un their faith. You're not joiners because it's the popular thing, your Founders because it's the right thing to do!

So OK, before we all get too misty: I believe we just recently update a page on the site (not sure if it's after you login or not) that lists all of the things that you can start expecting now or in the very near term. This list is updated live, as it happens… which is a point of enormous frustration for our amazing public relations firm (ONE PR), who would like to leverage some of them as press opportunities - and understandably so. The reality is that we've been working with most of the sponsors for months ironing out logistical, legal and contractual details before we can realistically offer them. So once we get to that stage, everyone involved wants it launched.

Ok, here's the publicly available version (copied from theECA.com). I believe the better-detailed list is available to register members on the login page:

Chance to win a new PlayStation 3 console
Discounts off of 1up Network
2 free issues of Electronic Gaming Monthly offered from Ziff Davis
5% off of any Hyatt Hotels in the United States
Free copy of new feature- length film "Gamers" as supplies last
Free resume uploads to ECA’s job board site, GameJobs.com
30-day Free Trial to GameFly, the leading online video game rental service to the first 1,000 registered members
Discounts on consumer shows such as GameCon, VGEXPO, and other trade events, conferences and concerts
WarCry free 30 day Trial membership in WarCry Choice for each member
New York Comic Con 2007, 2008 show will give 20% off to all ECA members
VGEXPO will provide ECA members 10% discount off of admission
Career Discover Series offers 10% discount off of admission to ECA members
Hardcore Gamer Magazine™ will offer a discount price off of the 12 month subscription cost of $24.99 to ECA members for $12.99

And there's about double that amount that we're actively working on that we can't, for both legal and PR reasons, go into the details on - although some savvy enthusiast journalists are putting some of the pieces of the puzzle together on their own.

Generally, we're trying to make the value proposition a 10x multiple - which I think I mentioned earlier; for your 20 bucks we hope to deliver over 200 bucks worth of services. The reasoning is simple: we want the organization to be self-funded, meaning that the members are the main source of income and that we're not reliant upon publishers or others for our survival. It helps us remain independent and frankly is the right way to go about it. The risk we run is offering so many free offers, discounts on game rentals and purchases, et al that it's overwhelming. So we're trying to be selective. In the end, we'd like to make the value prop so compelling that gamers will look at it and say, "I'm spending this money anyway, I'd be an idiot not to join."


-Hal.

@Dan - the short answer is that developer's rights being marginalized and publisher's rights being reduced will most certainly have a chilling effect on the medium as an art form. If you think of it from a pure business perspective, you're there as a business first and foremost to make a profit, by definition. No one wants to create a product that can't sell by law. And while history has proven that bad but controversial games will sell better than bad uncontroversial games, I know of no developer whose goal it is to spend a few years of his/her life making a bad game. As for how to localize a US product to meet foreign laws, it depends entirely on the game. I was running a small chain of independent game stores back when Mortal Kombat came out in two versions (SNES and Genesis); one had red blood, the other green.


-Hal.

Hal, just wanted to say thank you for the great opportunity you've given us for our voices to be heard. While the industry has it's various mouthpieces, the ECA is really the only thing out there for the actual Consumer.

As for a question, I really only have one. Videogames have recently become quite the political issue, and one that I feel very strongly about. Stongly enough in fact to join an organization that was little more than a web page with a promise. Now that you seem to be getting off and running, what opportunities do you envision for your members to get involved? Giving $20 a year is all good and well, but I'm sure that there's a lot of us who would be willing to do more.

@Althrun - Wow, thanks. I appreciate your confidence. The truth is, this past summer the Democrats in the Connecticut State Legislature tried pretty hard to recruit me to run for one of the House seats. It seemed the more I said no, the more adamant they became about getting me to run. I'm really not interested in being a politician. I feel like I can affect change in my own way and in an industry that I care very deeply about by just doing my job… and that's a pretty special thing, for which I'm grateful for the privilege.

Thanks again for the kind words though.


-Hal.

@EvilZombie - The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) is a new non-profit membership organization which was established to give gamers a voice. We're brand new with this entity, but our staff previously ran the retail trade association that represents game merchants. We are working with partners to get the word out about the association, what we're trying to do and why you should join (annual membership dues are $19.99/year) and just recently soft launched. In the past few weeks our marketing has just begun making about 14 million impressions per month via partner magazines, websites, newsletters, MMOs and the like. While consumer advocacy is very important to us and relatively central to our core, we also offer and will be offering a fair amount of services that behoove gamers.


-Hal.

Ummm, where did all of Hal's comments go?

@kurisu - Thanks.

The forums, like a lot of the technology-related matters, are a work in progress. At present, Dennis is establishing and hosting them through this site. But it's very likely that they'll be moved behind the login page on theECA.com going forward, and in that event you'd need to be a paid member to "see" them. We certainly don't want to stymie conversation, but believe that the $19.99 per year membership price is a compelling value proposition (we hope for there to be a 10x return, over $200 worth of value going forward).


-Hal.

Mr. Halpin,

I'm hoping to have more interesting questions later, but after reading your review of Moral Kombat, I really want to see it. I went back to your brother's MySpace about the movie, but could not see any information about a release date. Do you have any information about that? Will it be released to theaters at all? Will it be released directly to DVD? I'm assuming you're privy to such information, or at least have easy means to get that info.

Thanks,
Ryon

Hal,

What do you say to the following potential criticism/objection:

I don't belong to a Book Consumers Association or a Filmgoers Association, or even a Sashimi Eaters Association, although I do all those things.

The very notion of an "Entertainment Consumers Association" might be absurdist and isolationist. It ghettoizes videogames in the broader media ecology, and it reinforces the (bad) impression that gamers are a demographic group, rather than encouraging the (good) impression that videogames are a medium of expression that can touch everyone's lives in different ways.

Someone under such an opinion -- even a supporter of videogames -- might argue that supporting the ECA actually damages, rather than improves videogames' place in contemporary culture, by reinforcing the isolationism just mentioned.

Ian Bogost
Persuasive Games / Georgia Tech

Spam Filter grabbed Hal's comments but I believe we have fixed that...

Not to be taken too trivially, but everyone has asked the (more serious) questions I have been pondering.

Therefore, my question(s) would be:

Hal, how much of a gamer are you? What is your favorite series/genre? Ever got really hooked on an MMORPG? First game? First console?

Though I ask mild ponderables, I would like to know.

-JQD

@omegaman - Thank you.

1. Humm, that's a challenging question. Generally speaking, the US is certainly more puritanical than many of the countries in Europe and perhaps that's to do with the Judeo-Christian ethos, or perhaps just a newer/younger society… I don't know. I am usually very proud of how the balance that we, as a culture, tend to come out. The eventual understanding and compromise is a learning process, that at times costs us dearly, but it's only through adversity that we learn the truly tough lessons. One of the most significant matters that change the very core of the violence in games debate is our First Amendment and that alone changes the dynamic of the discussion.

2. I have been profoundly interested in this wave of interest overcoming politicians at every level of government. Over the past few years it has become as front-and-center as any other nationally-recognized debate, and that just confounds me. I know that violence and sex in games is topically important and that people feel strongly about it, but really? In the context of health care, war, starvation, homelessness, disease… etc.? I don't know how they, as leaders of their people (here, or abroad) can justify spending valuable taxpayer resources on games as a priority when there are so many other much more worthy concerns in my opinion. A good domestic example for me was Louisiana; people displaced, homeless, isolated, jobless and the legislature spends their time and people's money on passing a law that they new in advance wouldn't pass muster! People should be outraged. OK, rant over… :)


-Hal.

Hal,

I would like to start with the reasoning for my question. I joined the ECA largely because of you (reputation, the last GP Q&A, etc.) and Dennis (I've worked with him on a couple book reviews, and I respect his patience, integrity, and what he's done with GP). My question stems from the fact that I joined because I believe a "Gamer AARP" is 100% necessary in our silly political system, in fact, I've tried to support a few grassroots ones (Pixelante Nation, etc.) myself. Those organizations failed largely due to the leadership not being able to dedicate themselves soley to the 'cause' due to financial concerns and experience. I believe that you are able to do so, because of your past success with the IEMA. I joined thinking I would give you a year, and see where the ECA stood. I realize now, that a year really isn't realistic in terms of real progress - and I will continue to support the fledgling ECA in any way I can. My question is this: When can charter members realistically expect to see some tangible results from the ECA? Please don't see this as an attack, I simply want to know what type of time-table you are setting for the ECA. I have experience working in an unpredictable industry, so I won't hold you to the letter of your answer, but I ask that you be as specific as possible.

Thanks,
~Jeff McHale
~~the1jeffy

(I might have other questions later, but this one has been foremost in my mind)

Dear Mr. Halpin,

Thank you very much for your willingness to participate in this.

1) How does the ECA plan on growing over the next year using the netroots/grassroots?

2) Having worked on Capitol Hill in the past and been involved with politics for a decade the past outreach to educate politicians about video games has been poor at best. What does the ECA plan on doing to reach out to the political community that is different than past organizations? Do you have anyone on staff or that you are working with currently that has political/government experience and is focused on this?

Brett

I don't think anyone asked this already.

Sir,

What do believe the biggest issue facing consumers will be this year, and in the coming years?

Thank you.

What are the chances of you putting your hat in the presidential ring? Just think about it- legions of traditionally non-voting gamers, who would rise up and vote for you. :)





It's a pleasent thought.

Hal,

This is slightly off topic but its a thought that has occurred to me and I would like your opinion of it.

There is a lot of pressure now by various groups to outlaw violent video games.

Is there any evidence that, in countries such as Germany and Australia that have banned numerous games that are feared to promote violence, there is any indication of a reduction in violent crime compared to countries that don't.

I understand that there must be many other factors that would effect such statistics, but considering that the issue of video games seems to be of more importance to some people than other issues, it would be interesting to know weather, politically, it is beneficial to prevent voters from accessing a medium they enjoy considering what effect the criminalisation of violent video games has on crime rates.

I hope you can shed light on the subject and I wish you all the best.

Mr. Halpin

I am a first year student in law school and very interested in the future of video game laws. It seems that video games are being targeted more than many other media and I want to join in the fight to not only protect gamers, but also the larger subaltern topics such as how contract law has to change in the face of the microtransaction.

I know this isn't really your area of expertise, but I would be greatful for any advise on topics I should look for in law classes that might help me be prepared for the legal fights you are now facing.

Thank you.

Mr. Halpin, I know you're being swamped with many questions, but I hope you adress mine:

My question is, how does you find out if there is a local ECA chapter in your area? And if there is none, how do you start your own?

Once again, thanks for coming here and talking to us, the gamers.

Good day Mr. Halpin, My inquiry is two-part. The first part being about your brother's documentary, Moral Kombat.

-I was wondering your personal feelings on it and do you think it is a objective documentary?

- Do you feel that video games are possibly more addictive then they originally seem to be at first?

Thank You for your time

Pencilposer

Dear Mr. Halpin,

For the moment, I have just 3 questions

1/ How to join the ECA when you're not from the US ? On the website, they assume you live in the U.S. and only ask your state.

2/ Same question as Dagrak : do you have plans to make the ECA an international organization ?

3/ What are your contacts and relations with other people involved in video game debates ? By "other people", I mean :
- Politicians
- Health professionals
- Media watchdogs (NIMF, Common Sense Media...)
- Media activists, anti-violence activists and media literacy activists (C-CAVE, Association for Media Literacy, etc...)
- ...

Thanks in advance,
Soldat_Louis

@Cecil - looks like we've freed you of the spam filter's tyranny!

Damn, I missed him.

Luckly Most of the questions asked were the same as some of the ones I wanted to ask myself. Others had some I wish I had thought of.

Thanks in advance if this works Dennis. I'm sorry I keep bugging you about the spam filter.

- Warren Lewis

Hal

THanks for coming by. I guess that my question, as I had suspected was a bit to complex to answer easily here. That or maybe it was just not the right kind of question for this forum.

Thanks anyway for dropping by.

Hal,

Thanks for considering my question. Aside from the membership enticing perks, which are needed to garner the support of more members, what other tangible goals do you have? 10K members in 6 more months? Less? More? 10 Local Chapters nationwide in 6 months, 50 in a year? Or is that crazy? I guess I was asking about the advocacy/progress end more than the gathering members with perks end, but that wasn't clear in my post. Like I mentioned before, I don't expect a per day time frame, but talking to a few tangible goals on a quarterly or 6-month time frame would be nice.

Look, I love all the perks, but that's not why I joined. I realize we need them to get more support. I realize that I am probably acting impatient. I guess I am tired of being treated like a child, a socially inept loser, etc. because I play video games (in the MSM and by politicians). I want my chance to show them (MSM, pols, certain lawyers) just how wrong they are about the wide variety of video games and the wide variety of people who play them.

So, to that end, I am asking you for a rough time-table for membership goals, chapter goals, etc. I don't expect it to be 100% accurate. But I do expect that you have said goals - without them the ECA has no direction. Even if you want to and try to gather 10K members in 6-months (by way of a hypothetical example) and fail, at least we had a goal and did what we could to go for it. I guess I am simply asking for your expectations about the growth and progress of the ECA. It's not an easy thing to pin down, I know; and I will respect if you can't for whatever reasons. Also, what other benchmarks (other than membership and local chapters) should we be 'rating' ourselves on?

Again - not an attack - just my fiesty Irish DNA, too ;)

@Robb - Sorry, I'm not sure I understand the question. I'll take a stab at it, but let me know if I'm off base: The ECA is very likely to be on the same page, if you will, with the publisher's trade association (ESA), the developer's association (IGDA) and the retailer's association (EMA) a great majority of the time. Our interests are pretty well aligned, and to that end what the consumers bring to the table is exactly that, they're the customers. The larger the organization becomes, the more it will be respected both within the business and outside. There is definitely a number that constitutes a critical mass, but since there isn't anything remotely similar to the ECA in music, movies or elsewhere in the entertainment sector, we're growing organically and modeling our org against other successful non-profit membership associations (including AARP, AAA, and even MoveOn.org - who by the way only has a membership of 500k). There may be times in the future where consumer interest and that of the manufacturers diverge, at which point I hope that we have grown to an extent (both in terms of numbers as well as effectiveness) that we can get out ahead of contentious issues and meet them before they become harmful to us all. One example on that front may very well be DRM.


-Hal.

@Brett Schenker - Happy to, thanks.

1. Actually that's a great distinction to make clear: A "grassroots" effort is a group which leverages their own membership or constituency who have bought in and have a vested interest (Webster or Wikipedia I'm sure could do better), whereas "astroturfing" is a word used to describe organizations that are a front for a separate group's wants and needs, funded, organized and participated in by them. It's an important difference, as the ECA (to the best of my knowledge) is the first and only group of our kind - employing grassroots digital advocacy. Since I've been deferring to the Wiki folks I'll put a plug in for the ECA's article, which may state it more concisely: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Consumers_Association. With your background and experience I'm sure you know that the difference between the two is enormous.

2. Yes, and not currently are the two answers. Yes, it is quite important for us to do outreach - Hill Days, education, etc. - but frankly, we need to have a larger membership base before we could even hope to get our foot in the door, as I'm sure you're aware. A membership of 200,000 is a very different thing from a brand new org with a base of 200. The larger we get, the more sway we'll have. As for staff and a DC office, we've been mulling that over for several months now. Initially we were going to contract with one of the major GR firms, but as the election unfolded the landscape changed and we - like most - are in a wait-and-see mode for the short term.


-Hal.

@Korrd - Absolutely. As I think I mentioned earlier, education is among our highest priorities - and I believe the path to enlightening those that simply suffer from unintended ignorance. For those that know better and choose a belligerent attitude rather than a productive/constructive one, our challenges are more significant, but no less worthy. The problem, in regard to this matter specifically, has been that we haven't had a voice - but have permitted others to speak for us. Now the ECA can be that advocate and speak on behalf of the 30 million gamers (just here in the US). Our challenge is convincing as many of those folks as possible that doing so will be in our best interest.


-Hal.

Hey Hal. What's Halpinin'?

Any interest in joining a sort of an alliance with David Walsh and his crew at NIMF? I ask because recently there has been a surge of once-critics of the game industry aligning themselves with the ESRB and whatnot. I figured Walsh would kind of do the same...

@Silver_Derstin - ooooh, good question. Ya' know, I'm a Halo fan and Halo 3 is reason-enough to buy a 360, but I have to say that the single game I'm looking forward to most is Mario Kart 64, downloadable for Wii. As for why, that's a longer story, but it's been a staple game in our offices virtually since it came out. Back when I ran the magazine, we'd stay for hours after work playing marathon sessions. We'd take it on road trips and I even got my family hooked. I've tried many similar titles in the years since, but nothing - at least to me - comes close in that genre. Generally though, I tend to get extraordinarily involved with one game until I play it to death, take a break and then find another. So we'll see… there were a lot of great games shown in the latest EGM issue that may change my mind. :)


-Hal.

Hal,

Why are you so gay?!

@Radio Guy - sure, no problem.

I'm not sure to be honest. Though my understanding is that those bans are so new (within the past year or two) that not enough time has gone by for any comprehensive study to be undertaken and the results compared to previous data points.


-Hal.

Chat with live girls for free...

...