Last month Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) keynoted E3 2008, where he touted the Lone Star State as a destination for game developers.

Today, developer Pixel Mine issued a press release announcing that its newly released PC title Fireteam Reloaded is the first game to receive a production grant under an incentive bill passed in 2007.

Fireteam Reloaded can be played online for free. Extra maps and special items are available as microtransactions. Pixel Mine President David Reese, a native Texan, commented:

This is an exciting time to be a part of the entertainment industry in Texas. We have been privileged to work with several very fine local video game and film production studios in Texas and look forward to seeing what they’ll be showcasing at [Austin Game Developers Conference] in August.

The bill requires the office to consider "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the citizens of Texas" when considering grant applications. The bill also requires submission of a final script to determine if changes occurred during production would conflict with these standards.

Media reaction to 2008's disappointing E3 continues...

Calling this year's show a "complete dud," Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica weighs in with his own four-point program for reviving the once-great expo:

• Take pride in outward appearances... A few banners for big-name games, some creativity in the meeting rooms... these things would go a long way towards getting people excited about the show.

• The keynote should be given by someone we want to hear from... Texas Governor Rick Perry delivered this year's keynote, and it sounded more like a commercial for Texas than analysis into the industry... Give us someone who actually makes games, who can speak to why we love this business... How can a show that is completely filled with interesting games and fascinating people have a keynote so stupefyingly boring?

• If you have a press conference, make it worth going to... Sitting through a press conference, in most cases, is a waste of time that you could spend getting more hands-on experience or talking to people. It's easier and quicker to skip the meeting, grab the press materials, and be done with it.

• Find a new, better venue. Hint: it doesn't have to be in LA...  Why not move it? ...From a social, technological, and even convenience standpoint, Vegas has it all over the Los Angeles convention center.

In his critique of E3, Peter Cohen of MacWorld focuses on game publishers, the ESA and its president, Michael Gallagher:

Last week the E3 [expo]... took place, but you probably wouldn't have known it unless you're in the video game business... the event came up short... and the shortcomings weren't missed or overlooked by gaming executives... They miss the spectacle of the old show... They miss the grandeur, the attention the world paid. In short, they miss some of the same things that, two years ago, they were complaining about.

 

The ESA [which runs E3] has had a tough year. The organization, which represents the video game industry on Capitol Hill... has lost several high-profile members... Some attribute the defections to a change in leadership... Doug Lowenstein, the organization's founder and former president, stepped down in 2007... [and] was replaced by Michael Gallagher, a refugee from the telecom industry who maintains a much lower profile than Lowenstein ever did...

 

There's certainly a place for a major gaming event in North America... One thing is for sure--the way [the game industry is] doing it just isn't working for anyone, not the industry, not the public, not the press.

As GamePolitics reported yesterday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) met with industry giant Electronic Arts at E3.

Perry's chat with EA CEO John Riccitiello apparently took place after his poorly-attended keynote speech and an ESA-escorted tour (left) of the expo's tiny show floor.

As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, Perry described his visit with Riccitiello:

We're talking to these guys and saying, 'What's it take to get you to move to Austin, Texas?' You tell us what we need to do to be competitive, then our guys will sit down and look at it ... and see what we can do... The mentality is, 'We love California, it's a great state and a hip state, but Jiminy Cricket, it's costing us a lot of money to stay out here.'

Meanwhile, Empower Texans, an Austin-based nonprofit group which focuses on fiscal responsibility, has criticized Perry's trip, telling its Texas-based readers that they are being "joysticked":

The governor and Legislature are taking aim at your wallet with a little video game waste. Unfortunately, this isn't the virtual variety but the real-world deal. Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants lawmakers to give video game manufacturers boatloads of money to get them to design their games in the Lone Star State. This is corporate welfare at its worst. This is a $9-plus billion industry that is referred to as "recession-proof." They don't need your money.

 

Texas taxpayers already subsidize the industry to the tune of $250,000 per game made here... This is one barrel taxpayers should definitely jump.
 

What if you gave a keynote speech and (almost) nobody came?

That was the situation in which Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) found himself at E3 yesterday. Despite being selected as the first political figure to keynote the ESA's annual trade show, Perry attracted an audience estimated to have been between 50-60 people, including ESA employees. The sparse attendance was accentuated by the cavernous room reserved for the speech, which was set up with hundreds and hundreds of chairs.

Despite the lack of onlookers, the Guv soldiered on, delivering in his folksy style a credible speech touting the benefits of running a business in Texas, the creativity and success of the video game industry and touting the Lone Star State as a great spot for game developers to set up shop.

Following his speech, Perry was escorted (left) by ESA boss Mike Gallagher to the small space that passed for a show floor where he viewed some displays and spoke with G4's Adam Sessler. As he was leaving, we thought we heard someone say that he was headed for EA next. Perhaps the Guv was hoping to persuade EA to bring some biz to Texas.

So why didn't anyone show up for the keynote, an obvious embarrassment for the ESA? There are several possibilities:

• The show had already opened when the Guv spoke. In years past, the keynote opened the show. Pent-up E3 enthusiasm would find its first outlet at the keynote because there was nothing else competing with it. The room was always packed.
• The ESA used to put out a breakfast of some sort for the media types just prior to the keynote, always a solid strategy to lure a pack of perpetually broke game journos.
• Attendance at the show was perhaps 5% of what it once was. Naturally, there are fewer potential attendees for any single event.
• Some people may not have wanted to hear from a politician in general; some may not wanted to hear from Gov. Perry specifically

Although there was no question & answer segment such as former ESA boss Doug Lowenstein used to hold following his keynotes, I really wasn't expecting a major political figure Like Perry to hold a Q&A in this setting.

While on hand at the keynote I live-blogged my immediate impressions via Twitter. These have been pasted in after the jump.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who will deliver today's keynote address at E3 in Los Angeles, explains his decision to appear in a guest column for the San Antonio Express-News:

...Although high resolution graphics, new storylines and technological advancements will grab most of the headlines coming out of [E3], I would encourage a closer look at the real story: the emergence of a bonafide economic engine...

 

Seemingly overnight, the video game industry has become a major player, with over $18.8 billion in U.S. sales last year. The industry in Texas has kept pace with the national trend... it is clear the computer and video game industry is on fire... To help further encourage the industry... Texas has instituted measures that offer qualifying video game developers financial incentives similar to those offered to the film industry...

 

In barely more than a generation, video games have transformed a diversion for the few into a mass medium. The notion that gaming is confined to adolescent males is long outdated. Recent research has shown that the average video game player is 35 and that 40 percent of gamers are women.

 

Today, games help people of all ages to live, learn, work and, of course, play... There are those who might see only gloom and doom in our national economy. We should look to sectors like the video game industry that have embraced the notion of global competition and follow their example to greater prosperity.

GP: This is probably the first time we've seen such a public expression of support for the game biz from a major political figure. GamePolitics will be live-blogging the Guv's keynote which begins at 9:15 PST.

We'll also be live-blogging ESA boss Michael Gallagher's state-of-the-industry speech at 1:15 PST.

To follow those live reports, jump over to Twitter and follow GamePolitics

Reporter Victor Godinez writes about tomorrow's E3 keynote speech in the Dallas Morning News.

As GamePolitics has reported previously, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will deliver the Expo's keynote. Having a political figure speak at E3 is a first for the show. Godinez quotes Perry spokeswoman Krista Piferrer on Perry's E3 appearance:

Texas is one of the top states in the nation for the gaming industry. We want to build this industry in the Lone Star State... I think there are a few other states who have [a Texas-like tax] incentive program [for game developers], but it's not very far and wide.

As we've noted before, however, Texas' game developer tax breaks are fraught with content restrictions, unlike those in other states with such incentives.

Godinez notes that more than 2,000 people work in the game biz in Texas, adding over $340 million to the state's economy.

When the Entertainment Software Association announced on May 19th that Texas Governor Rick Perry would deliver the keynote address at E3 2008, GamePolitics was one of the few news outlets to publicly question the ESA's decision.

We expect more raised eyebrows over Perry's selection given yesterday's reports on Wired and The Escapist that in November, 2006 Perry affirmed the comments of controversial minister John Hagee that non-Christians are condemned to Hell.

In the photo at left, Perry is seen covering his face while Hagee preaches.

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, recently rejected Hagee's endorsement over, as CNN reported, "Hagee's comments that Adolf Hitler had been fulfilling God's will by hastening the desire of Jews to return to Israel in accordance with biblical prophecy."

As the Dallas Morning News reported on November 6, 2006:

Gov. Rick Perry, after a God and country sermon attended by dozens of political candidates Sunday, said that he agreed with the minister that non-Christians will be condemned to hell.

 

"In my faith, that's what it says, and I'm a believer of that," the governor said.

 

...Asked afterward at a political rally whether he agreed with Mr. Hagee, the governor said he didn't hear anything that he would take exception to. He said that he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and that those who don't accept Jesus as their savior will go to hell.

If the ESA posted a blog and called it a news site, journalists would rightfully balk and it wouldn't pass a smell test. Remarkably, GamePolitics doesn't face the same scrutiny even though it's funded by the ECA and tainted with anti-ESA vitriol. At the end of the day, calling GamePolitics a news site is as laughable as saying there's a Cuban free press.
 

 Ouch.

Despite the ESA's reaction, I stand by what I wrote regarding the appropriateness - or lack thereof - of having Gov. Perry deliver the E3 keynote. However, I am making one edit to the headline. While Gov. Perry agreed with Rev. Hagee's contention that non-Christians would be condemned to Hell, it does not appear to be a direct quote. That error has been fixed.

The ESA issued a press release today announcing that Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will give the E3 keynote address.

We can't help but ask... why?

It's unheard of for a politician to give the opening remarks for the video game industry's big dance. Reading between the lines of the ESA press release, Perry's  qualifications seem to be that: a.) Texas is home to a lot of game developers and b.) in 2007 he signed into law a bill providing financial incentives to film and video game productions.

However, as GamePolitics reported when Perry signed the legislation, the video game incentive package is fraught with potential content restrictions. The Austin American-Statesman wrote at the time:

To appease some concerned legislators, the incentive program was structured to guard against paying companies that make violent games. The state will be allowed to pick and choose projects, eliminating those that have "inappropriate content" or are "obscene." Game companies are left wondering which projects could be deemed "inappropriate."

The Daily Texan noted:

The bill requires the office to consider "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the citizens of Texas" when considering grant applications. The bill also requires submission of a final script to determine if changes occurred during production would conflict with these standards.

Moreover, in order to qualify for incentives, a project "cannot portray Texas or Texans in a negative fashion."

A number of states have enacted incentive packages in recent times, most recently Michigan and Georgia. GamePolitics is aware of no state other than Texas that makes funding in any way dependent upon content.

Beyond the content issues, it just seems, well, odd. For many years as ESA president Doug Lowenstein gave the E3 keynote. After all, E3 was the ESA's big show. Lowenstein's annual speech was something not to be missed, a kind of State of the Union address for the video game biz.

However, in 2007, his first year at the helm, freshman boss Michael Gallagher begged off, citing newness to the position. This announcement means that the E3 crowd, which has yet to hear from Gallagher, will have to wait another year to learn whether the man has a vision for the industry.

It may be worthwhile noting that Gallagher has deep Republican roots, as does Perry, the current Chairman of the Repulican Governors Association.  Perhaps the ESA (or Gallagher) views Perry as having loftier aspirations (say, the White House) when his second term expires in 2010.

UPDATE: The ESA has dropped GamePolitics a line to say that Gallagher will be giving some sort of state-of-the-industry speech at E3.