September 3, 2007
He's better known for his political savvy, but new ESA bossman Mike Gallagher knows his way around Guitar Hero II as well.
A profile in yesterday's Washington Post focuses on Gallagher's mad gaming skillz as much as his professional resume. Tech columnist Mike Musgrove writes:
On trips to Capitol Hill these days, Michael Gallagher usually has a black Nintendo DS stashed in his suit pocket... his main reason for carrying the device is to give lawmakers some hands-on time with the latest titles the video game industry has to offer.
As the new president of the ESA, Gallagher is the face of video games in Washington... Judging from the way Gallagher handles a rocket launcher's "splash damage" effects, I'd say this is a guy who is familiar enough with a game controller...
Why put a Nintendo DS into the hands of politicians? ...he's trying to dispel stereotypes that he still encounters about video games. One stereotype he's trying to crack, for example, is that games are primarily for kids, when research has shown that the average gamer's age is in the 30s... Gallagher likes to point out that only 8 percent of the games released each year are violent, "mature"-rated titles of the sort that make headlines.
...Gallagher says he hopes to raise the profile of video games among policymakers and thought leaders. "Video games are not getting the type of recognition they deserve as an entertainment medium," he said.
Comments
It doesn't matter how well those themes are handled in the games themselves, the fact still remains that there are people who know nothing about games saying that these themes are only suitable for other media. It's a knee-jerk reaction that is pretty difficult to untrain in people.
I like that he's saying adults should be allowed access to content suitable for adults, though. Now and again I step back and find it hard to believe anyone -needs- to say that.
But a think a suitcase with 1-2 consoles in it and a 2 or 4 games and a LCD tv would go longer to help them understand.....the DS and even PSP are not going to have the best selection of games..unless you want to reconfirm games are for kids.......
I built one use a PS2 and a gamecube used the cubes LCD monitor and could even power them off a car battery,sadly bat time is like 30 min :P
but a good old fashioned exstention cord will work as well :P
I'd have suggested a PSP since it has more graphic games (Silent Hill is coming out soon i believe).
Anyways, its the effort of showing that not all games are for kids anymore. It shows that everyone can enjoy the games that are played, no matter the age.
@ZippyDSMlee
Don't they already have a TV set-up for the PS2 anyways? I swear I've seen one somewhere...
I dunno, and when you are going for surprise butt sexz, its best to bring your own equipment :P
a WII and a PS2 would fit into a medium sized suitcase, what they need to do is show the solid PG13 titles like FF,Dragon Quest,metroid and a few of the M titles as well.
Show the grumby old men its no worse than cable LOL.
Yes they have an LCD screen for most consoles. I am not sure about this generation, but there was one for all the last gen consoles.
As for the choice of the DS, I think that he is using the most predominate console. It also has games like Brain Training and such.
I am sure that he probably thought of using an actual console, but the DS is more convenient and can be pulled out at a moment's notice to show off a couple of games. You can't do that with a larger console and LCD screen.
Politician: "So what is in these "video games"?"
Gallagher: "Just a moment while I set up this 360?"
Politician: "Is this going to take long? I have got an appointment in ten minutes."
See it is much better to use a hand held that can just be pulled out and turned on.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
I'd like to see him demonstrate some homebrew software on that DS as well to show that modding has legitimate purposes (assuming it has homebrew, would someone like to fill me in here). Although my understanding is that ESA lobbies against this.
Yeah it is usually at about 8% I think that the highest I ever saw it for a year was 15%
I am not sure where, but I have seen yearly pie charts for games released in each rating. M is always the smallest (after AO and EC) The most is E followed by E10 and T. E10 and T are usually around the same size but I think T is bigger most of the time.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
http://www.esrb.org/about/categories.jsp
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
it may have been that way at the start of the industry but just like books, film and music, it evolves and so does the content, not that it is a bad thing though. like i said earlier, we are really just fighting against time here, almost every other form of media has gone through something similar to this at one point or another and every one of them seems to have pulled through.
So many uses for gaming, the word just needs to get out.
Do you think a T15 level would go to help the ESRB or pubs slot off games to better?
been brewing a idea that in fact T15 might can remove a good bit of pressure from M letting the lesser M titles like Castelvina and others fall to a lower level,while letting slighty harder PG13 stuff go to it to.
As I see it, it could help in the long run but currently there is no need. As of 2006 only 31% of all games rated were T an M. Thats not much compared to E and E10 at 69%. When the E10 rating was introduced, there was a lot of strain on the E rating. There were also a number of games that did not quite make it to T but seemed not quite suited for a 6 year old. SO they introduced it. Right now there is little to no strain on the T rating or the M rating. The numbers are not there and the content is not right.
So while a developer could make a game for a 15 year old crown, it is not really much different than making one for a 13 year old crowd.
Personally, if I was going to make a long term fix for the rating system, I would make a T16 and move M to 18. This could leave room to just drop the AO while still having a older teen rating.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
i think i agree, making a T16 and move M to 18
i think halo would fall into the T16 category, its kinda comedic bloody-shooting, not like newer mature games of today
And that wasn't sarcasm, sir. I meant it. Keep up the good work.
Maybe if he played Halo or something he'd make for a better 'one of our guys' in the fight over videogame violence.
Um... not to sound bad or anything, but what does playing violence video games have to do with respenting the gaming community on that angle? Just because someone doesn't play those games doesn't really mean they don't understand the overall point.
I don't play Halo or most M games in general but I don't believe in censoring the games anymore then anyone else here.
DraginHikari is right. You don't have to be a fan of violent games to be against these stupid laws. I for one will probably never buy Manhunt 2, but I still think all these calls for investigations into the ESRB are ridiculous. Also, showing politicians the 'good' side of games is a step in the right direction because it will hopefully help to dispel the preconceptions that so clearly cloud the issues when you hear politicians talk about games. (How many times have you heard someone say that in Grand Theft Auto you get a higher score for killing cops?)
My point was if he were a fan of Halo or one of those games, he could more easily say 'hey guys? these games aren't really that big a deal, if we keep them out of age-inappropriate hands.' That's all. Though he probably could play Metroid Prime hunters on DS for all we know...
If you read the article you would have come across this gem:
"Our lunchtime game session included Wii Sports Tennis, Halo 2, Guitar Hero 2 and the boxing game Fight Night. At the end, I considered myself lucky to come away with a draw."
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
Hmm, a GP2X?
Suuure he does. It's not to actually pass time in some of those boring meetings, huh? :D
My bad. So I guess there's hope for this guy yet! (Though I'm sure JT would accuse him of being paid off by the industry.)