February 22, 2007
Each week video game development site Gamasutra asks professional game developers a specific, industry-related question. Last week the site asked its readers to comment on former ESA boss Doug Lowenstein's farewell speech, delivered recently at the D.I.C.E. Summit.
Perhaps surprisingly, the vast majority of the respondents were in total agreement with Lowenstein, although a few took issue with his tone. Here is a small sampling of responses:
Nintendo's efforts to appeal to the mainstream is a significant step toward removing the power of politicians who seek to grandstand... the ultimate step toward preventing video game censorship is finally recognizing them as a true art form... -John Leffingwell, Xot
I agree with Lowenstein that it's totally lame that only a few hands in the room went up saying they are members of the Video Game Voters Network. That kind of apathy from the industry is stupid. -Belinda Van Sickle, GameDocs
Artists should be responsible for safeguarding the moral integrity of their creations against the public's misinterpretation, lest we return to the era of witch hunts... -Pierre-Luc Lachance, Ubisoft Montreal
I think his points about journalism are especially well founded. He didn't say it, but its obvious what he's talking about, too - professionalism. -David Lannan, Eidetic Technology Pty Ltd
Our first amendment rights offer protection for all speech--both important and baseless--and it's the unpopular speech that needs protecting more than any other kind. -David Sirlin
It won't change anything. And, he did this at the END of his tenure. He basically made a scene and left. Is that really taking responsibility?" -Sutton Trout, Empire Interactive
Read all the comments received by Gamasutra here.
-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent Andrew Eisen
Comments
Now it doesn't matter if he said at the beginning or at the end, the result would have been the same, blank stares. That is the current state of the industry.
You can argue that he wasn't aggressive enough in fighting bad legislation (which isn't true. The ESA has met the bills that've made it into law, and frankly their budget -is- limited), or that he hasn't done enough to promote ratings education (and -there- I'll concede that there's more work that could be done), but those weren't the main thrusts of his parting speech.
As usual, in the game industry.
It's easy to complain about all the problems with an organization/industry when you're washing your hands of the issues; it would have engendered a lot more respect for Doug had he been so candid at the start of during his tenure.
But nah, rather sell out and whine about it later, instead of DOING something about it.
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