Really, Mr. Halpin does such a good job in his post that I know I won't do it justice by trying to explain it. So why don't you hit that link and hop on over to the actual post and give it a read. It's OK, I'll wait. Go and enjoy, and I'll still be here when you get back.
Welcome back. Did you have fun?
I was so impressed by what Hal was saying, that I contacted him and asked him if he could expand upon some of the points he made. He graciously accepted, which brings us to a historic event here: The Grumbly Gamer's first interview!
Without further ado, I present to you Mr. Hal Halpin of the ECA.
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First off, please briefly detail what the ECA is, and what your role within the organization entails. If you could share the goals of the ECA, and perhaps some of the ways you go about achieving those goals, it would be a great start.
The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) is the non-profit association that represents the interests of game consumers. Think of it like AAA or AARP, where people pay an annual membership due to join and then get access to all sorts of affinity benefits as well as representation on advocacy issues. I’m the president and founder, so my role is largely managerial. Members and the public in general, see me due to the media interviews, but the success of the ECA is directly attributable to its staff and members.
You recently wrote about the need for gamers to "step up" and break the often negative sterotypes associated with gaming. Can you elaborate not only on some of the stereotypes that you feel we can change, but how we can go about doing so?
Sure. And yes, I’ve been writing guest columns for a few years now and I can’t recall ever getting as much feedback as I have with the Perception is Everything piece. I was just chatting with IndustryGamer’s editor-in-chief, James, about that this morning, actually. It seems to have started conversations, and frankly, this is an important one for us to have. Professor Henry Jenkins has a quote in my brother’s documentary, Moral Kombat, that really resonates and goes something like: video games, as a medium, are at a cross-roads much like the comic book industry was thirty years ago, where it’ll be defined as the kind of product that you walk up the stairs to buy, or down the stairs – referring to retail. The analogy’s a good one because there are many fair parallels between the two businesses.
The Industry Gamers piece was addressed to the folks who make a living from the business. While not all of them are gamers, the vast majority are. And in either case, they have the ability to affect change – perhaps even to a greater degree than consumers. Think of advertising and marketing execs who create ads with images of gamers, as just one example. But professionals in our business are also consumers. A fair amount are members of the ECA, which is great and makes a lot of sense, but otherwise aren’t engaged. People I’ve known for a long time gripe about negative stereotyping, but do nothing to counter it. They don’t have to be members of the association to influence things. They could be doing it in their everyday work.
We often see gaming accused of, among other things, contributing to this nation's obesity, and even the President has made recent remarks about "getting off the couch" and referenced "putting down the games". How has gaming fallen into this scapegoat status, and do you think that we can change it? Do you think that someday, when this generation that has grown up with electronic entertainment comes "into power", that this will all become a thing of the past?Absolutely! We launched a new campaign so that people can start right now, actually. Our digital advocacy tools are available on all of our social networking sites as well as on our main site. You don’t need to be a member to use them and make your voice heard… and count. And we’ve made it so easy to do that there’s really no excuse for not taking the thirty seconds it takes to get involved and speak up. The current campaign, in which people can email President Obama, squarely addresses this point. So I don’t want to see folks complaining on message boards and in comments. Here’s the megaphone, it’s free and it’s easy to use. It’s put up or shut up time.
Expanding a bit upon that new campaign, the ECA recently posted an open letter to the President in response to his comments. Can you talk a bit more about that?
We had discussed addressing the President’s “put the video games away” aspect of his speeches several times, actually. At issue is the fact that we agree fully with what he’s saying in principle. Parents need to be more involved with what their kids are doing. They need to be more engaged and focus on understanding what media their kids are ingesting. They need to use the ratings systems as a benchmark – and it’s a great first step – but they should really take the few minutes to participate in that media actively. I also agree that kids get far too much screen time, be it movies, TV, cell phones, the Internet, or computer and video games. So we hesitated a few times, hoping that some other form of screen time would be included as the example. But each time the speech was recycled, we waited with baited breath…and were disappointed that the focus remained on gaming and gamers. It began reinforcing the negative stereotype and was compounded by the media interpreting and reinterpreting his meaning. So we had to act. A campaign is precisely the way to let the White House, and by extension everyone else, understand that gamers are tired of the mislabeling of both Gaming and of Gamers. By giving folks the access to our online advocacy tools, they can take the 30 seconds and make their voices heard. It’s fast, easy and free. You don’t need to be an ECA member. Just someone who wants gaming to be treated with the respect that other forms of media enjoy. Go to: http://action.theeca.com/t/
(I've already gone and done this, and I strongly urge all of my readers to follow the link and make their voices heard as well)
What can the industry itself do, or what has it been doing, to help stem the tide of negativity aimed at gaming?
Hmm, well, the industry has several very good and productive trade associations, but they primarily represent companies… business entities, rather than individuals, apart from IGDA, which does both. It would be great if they would help counter negative stereotyping by simply helping to show who we are and support the good work that we do. There are a lot of really quality gaming charities that are run by gamers, for instance. How about partnering with them, supporting them and then highlighting them, as one suggestion. Then use that success in media opportunities, shows and the like. And again, the folks who work in the business have a vested interest. They should be on our campaign before everyone else, lending their individual voices to the chorus.
There are quite a few noteworthy "enemies" of gaming, politicians and others that seem hell-bent on legislating or even censoring games. Do you have any thoughts on why there seems to be this strong dislike of the industry in certain circles? Can we do anything to change their minds, or are we stuck with them until they retire?
Both, unfortunately. There are certainly a good many people who have the wrong idea when it comes to games, and that may come as a result of honest ignorance: believing only the fleeting sensationalistic news. That would lead any rational person to conclude, cumulatively, that games are inherently bad, gamers lazy, and gaming a fruitless hobby. Those aren’t the folks that concern me, frankly. That opposition is countered by you, me and every other gamer speaking up. Doing so can be as easy as inserting gaming into conversations with friends and loved ones. At many a party, I get asked what I do for a living. The response is almost always the same. But I take that opportunity to insert some hard core facts, but in a disarming way: “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. Did you know that the average age of gamers today is 31? Yup. Well, it makes sense when you think that we all grew up playing and then just continued. A lot like movies, probably… Etc.” The other hell-bent people, we’ll that’s a different row to hoe…
The ongoing back-and-forth between you and Jack Thompson is legendary within the industry, a source of both consternation and amusement. Care to share any thoughts on that?
I think that Jack and I would both admit that it is for us as well. Well, he amuses me anyway – at least according to his poor Joe Pesci impersonation. Before we launched the ECA, our management team formerly ran the industry’s retail trade association. The line we – all the respective trade association heads – towed was to ignore Jack, with the logic being that he’d go away. That logic line failed miserably, and I’m part to blame. Recognizing that, we said that the ECA’s take would be to not allow him to be the only one at the microphone any longer. As a result of that intentional change in tactic, and the timing of the ESA’s president resigning – the former focus of Jack’s ire – the laser got focused on me… and I’m OK with that. I wasn’t, but I’ve come to terms with it. But it wasn’t just Jack, nor just the negative ding-dongs for that matter. So along with the hate mail and death threats from one side, we get the supportive message and thoughtful notes from the other…those being the gamers. ;)
Thank you for your thoughts, and the work you do for the industry with the ECA. I wanted to give you the chance to just say what you want, and expand upon the statements you made the other day on Industry Gamers.
Thanks, Aaron. I appreciate the opportunity and the support.
Thank you for your time.
My pleasure, really.
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So there we go, folks. Some pretty heavy stuff, some really thought-provoking ideas, and a chance to stand up and say that we don't appreciate games and gamers being lumped into some misinformed stereotype.
I really do agree with everything Mr. Halpin said. It's not hard to stand up for the industry, even in small ways. There are millions of people out there, perfectly normal folks with families and professional jobs, who come home and pop in Grand Theft Auto. This doesn't make them bad people, doesn't make them fat or violent or dumb them down in any way, but that's how too many people still see games. They see gamers as creepy man-children in dank basements, and the people that make them as super nerdy types who program these "toys" because they sucked at sports in school.
We can stand up and prove them wrong, or we can sit back and do nothing.
The change starts, and it ends, with us.
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