Electric Playground recently caught up with Hal Halpin, President and founder of the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA), to talk about the online battle to stop the passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Halpin talks about how the online protest last week slowed down the momentum of both SOPA and PIPA, and why these bills aren't quite dead yet.

Check out the video to your left.

[Full Disclosure: GamePolitics is an ECA publication.]

Hal Halpin, President of the Entertainment Consumer Association (ECA) will be a guest on the Pro Gaming Insider podcast to discuss the ramifications of the U.S. Senate's anti-streaming bill (also known as Bill S.978). Bill S.978 is a bill to "amend the criminal penalty provision for criminal infringement of a copyright, and for other purposes." Gamers, YouTube users and Netflix subscribers will want to pay particular attention to this bill because it changes the law to make it a felony to stream content a certain number of times to other parties.

In an interview with Destructoid, ECA big cheese Hal Halpin discusses why gamers should worry about S.978, a bill that would make streaming copyrighted material a felony.

“I understand the intent that the legislators and trade associations have with the bill,” said Halpin, “but it’s so broad that it casts a very wide net, including people who innocently post video captures of their gameplay! Alone, that represents a huge community of people.”

“This bill, as written, will apply to anyone who plays and posts their gameplay online, which is a huge percentage of gamers. It could also apply to pro gamers who stream their gameplay for fans as easily as it applies to companies whose entire existence relies on streaming technology (i.e. Steam, Netflix, Gamefly/D2D, Major League Gaming, EA/Origin, OnLive and Gaikai, etc.).”

The Entertainment Consumer Association issued a statement this week thanking its legal team and other individuals that helped prepare the amicus brief and the consumer petition that was submitted to the Supreme Court in November in support of the EMA's side of Brown v. EMA. The group thanked gamers and ECA members that took the time to sign the petition, legal teams that wrote the amicus brief and its various legal advisors that put everything together. Full statement below:

"As many of you know, earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court held in favor of the Entertainment Merchants Association in Brown v EMA, the so-called “violent video games” case. This is a huge achievement for all involved, especially Paul Smith of Jenner & Block.

ECA would again like to thank all of its members and the general public who signed the Consumer Petition. We would also like to thank and congratulate our partners in the Consumers Amicus Brief:

Entertainment Consumer Association president Hal Halpin offers his personal (note: not ours) opinion on the timing of the Brown v EMA (formerly Schwarzenegger v EMA) Supreme Court decision over at IGN. There has been much speculation that a decision will be released this week, and Halpin has his own predictions about it:

"Despite law maker Leland Yee’s prognostications, no one really knows when we’ll get the answer, but my money is on this Thursday.

The Entertainment Consumer Association announced today that students and U.S. military personnel may sign up to be a member of the consumer advocacy group for $1. To qualify, all you need is a valid .edu or .mil email address. With that $1 fee these members will receive affinity benefits, educational resources, and advocacy efforts that are provided to all ECA members.

You can sign up for the ECA here.

The full press release can be found below (disclaimer: GamePolitics is an ECA publication):

Boy oh boy, do I have a treat for you today.

FoxNews has posted an article examining the violent and sexual content of the upcoming Bulletstorm and I’m happy to report that it’s the most entertainingly sensationalistic tripe I’ve read in quite a while.

Bulletstorm is an M-rated shooter due out later this month from Epic Games.  Aside from copious profanity and over-the-top violence, one of its notable features is its in-game awards system, Skill Shots.  Basically, you get funny-titled awards for dispatching your enemies in unique and gruesome ways.  Here’s how the ESRB describes it:

Hal Halpin and several members of the Entertainment Consumer Association are on location at the steps of the Supreme Court this morning to support the game industry side of Schwarzenegger vs. Entertainment Merchants Association. Many members of the ECA are there (gamers!) showing their support with signs, chanting, and other displays of positivity. Below you can check out a few photos (click on the thumbnails for a better look).

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has sent an email blast out to it database of readers encouraging them to use Twitter to get their followers to speak up and sign the Gamer Petition that will be sent to the U.S. Supreme Court before it is to decide the California case on violent games.

An email from Brett Schenker, the ECA's online advocacy manager:

A parents' group cites a recent Zogby poll to back up its claim that adults are firmly against the sale of ultra-violent video games to minors.

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, said a poll of 2100 adults showed that 65 percent of parents are "concerned about the impact of ultra-violent video games on their kids" and 75 percent of parents have a negative view of what the games industry is doing to safeguard minors from violent games, according to an article in Gamasutra.

The group's conclusion is that 72 percent of parents support California's violent video game legislation, which is coming up for consideration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer:

"What we've learned from this poll is that parents want to be the ones who decide which games their kids play, not the video game industry.

Hal Halpin, head of the Entertainment Consumer Association, said:

During PAX in Seattle, Wa. last week Entertainment Consumer Association President Hal Halpin sat down with G4TV's Adam Sessler for an hour to discuss a number of topics such as the ramifications of the upcoming Supreme Court case in November, why it is important that everyone sign the ECA's petition and the general state of the game industry.

If you haven't fully grasped how serious the upcoming Supreme Court hearing is and what ramifications it could have on the game industry and gamers, you should watch this video on G4TV.com and find out, because it's pretty scary.

[Game Politics is a publication of the ECA.]

Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) President Hal Halpin was given the opportunity to make a post on Sony’s PlayStation blog in order to talk about why Schwarzenegger v EMA should matter to American gamers and to urge them to sign the ECA’s Gamer Petition.

Halpin began by stating, “At stake: gaming in America. Yes, you read that correctly.” He continued:

In the time since the Court’s announcement there has been a lot of media coverage, both from the enthusiast outlets and the national press. A disturbing theme that you’d find too often in the consumer comments is one of apathy. Perhaps it arose from winning in each of the violence in video game cases. Maybe because, from our perspective, it’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that we could lose — the logic seems pretty obvious.

The Escapist’s Russ Pitts met up with Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) President Hal Halpin at this year’s E3 Expo for a discussion of the Schwarzenegger vs. EMA case, which has ended up in front of the Supreme Court.

After stating that a loss in the case could be “staggering and widespread,” in terms of its impact on gamers, Halpin was asked to describe the what's at stake in “broad strokes.”

He answered:

Sister publication GameCulture recently sat down with Entertainment Consumer Association president Hal Halpin to discuss the serious ramifications of the Supreme Court's planned review of California's violent videogame law later this year. The lead-in to that interview follows below:

"Sometime later this year or early next, the Supreme Court will review EMA v. Schwarzenegger, California's violent videogame law. The law, which would have made it illegal to sell games the state found "excessively" violent to minors, was struck down by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court in 2009. A few weeks ago the Entertainment Consumers Association announced that it will be filing an amicus brief with the high court. GameCulture asked ECA president Hal Halpin about the case, its importance and the role of gamers in what will certainly become a landmark of videogame (and possibly constitutional) law."

Read the entire interview at GameCulture now.

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has issued a statement in response to an article posted on the Consumerist blog today, which alleged that canceling membership in the organization was difficult and overcomplicated.

GamePolitics is a publication of the ECA.

The response, from the President of the ECA, Hal Halpin, is unedited and after the jump:

You walk into a game store to pick up the latest AAA title, be it for a console or PC, and you are probably going to pay in the neighborhood of $60, unless, of course you get Rock-Band-like peripherals with your order.

Have you ever given any thought as to what goes into that price point? David Thomas over at Crispy Gamer did, and came up with an interesting analysis, examining possible reasons such as reasonable greed, consumer stupidity or evil conspiracy. He quotes a few industry officials, including the ECA's Hal Halpin:

"I'm not sure that we'll see a standard $70 price point at all," observes Halpin. "To my mind, emerging technologies, subscriptions and episodic and downloadable content should all enable price drops -- increasing accessibility to a much wider audience. Free-to-play, ad-supported models, too, diversify the price landscape."

Definitely an interesting read. What is your perspective? Will prices ever come down?

While we were sad to hear that Dennis had chosen to move on, we are grateful for the partnership that was built and the talents which he brought to the organization. In a relatively brief period of time, GamePolitics has become an important resource for the gaming community – and educational tool for disseminating information and keeping gamers aware, and a valuable and timely news publication and blog.

Careful not to step on the toes of our endemic media partners and managing the balance between Church and State – regarding editorial independence – were challenges that Dennis took on with skill and ease. From breaking the ‘Hot Coffee’ scandal, to regular and persistent issues related to Jack Thompson, Dennis was a talented journalist and his contributions to the publication and to the association will be missed.

On behalf of the ECA members and GP readers alike, our heartfelt thanks and sincere best wishes, Dennis.

– Hal Halpin, pres., ECA.

Late last week the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would look into the potential for a universal content rating system to span various forms of media.

Hal Halpin (left), president of the Entertainment Consumers Association, has now weighed in on the topic:

Like the respective trade associations which represent the entertainment industry’s various media, we were surprised to hear of the FCC’s interest in exploring the possibility of a universal ratings system. It is odd that video and movies were not included, which would have then been encompassing and more valuable to consumers, in theory.

 

As for if the ECA is in favor of such an endeavor, it would be too early to speculate, not knowing anything more than the cursory details. Our position remains that we fully support the ESRB and believe it to be an important component in the product purchasing process.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

On Monday, GamePolitics reported that the Entertainment Consumers Association had embarked on a campaign to inform President Barack Obama about the many benefits that video games can provide.

The ECA undertook the campaign following Obama's recent admonition to "put away the Xbox." Over the last few years Obama has often referred to games as something to be set aside in favor of a greater good.

The ECA initiative received wide coverage in the gaming press. In a lengthy interview with The Grumbly Gamer, ECA President Hal Halpin elaborates on why the game consumers' group decided t take its case to the White House:

We [at ECA] 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 bated 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.

The ECA's online campaign referred to write to President Obama may be found here.

FULL DISCLOSURE: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin debuts a new column for Industry Gamers with a look at negative stereotypes of gamers and how such prejudice can be addressed.

Halpin writes:

Combating the negative stereotypes the gaming industry and gamers themselves face is becoming a daunting task. We’ve allowed people to equate gaming with everything from laziness to isolationism and antisocial behavior, when so clearly it’s the opposite.

 

Because we’ve permitted everyone from anti-games advocates (disbarred attorneys included) to the President of the United States of America to perpetuate those fallacies and said and done nothing, we need to take ownership of at least part of that blame; until and unless we speak up and do something about it. It’s time.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Reactions continue to come in following today's decision by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to appeal a pair of federal court rulings which previously held that the state's 2005 violent video game law is unconstitutional.

Hal Halpin, President of the Entertainment Consumers Association, issued a statement moments ago on the California appeal:

I was disheartened to hear that Governor Schwarzenegger is petitioning the Supreme Court over labeling and sales of video games, especially given the fact that nine similar pieces of legislation have been overturned on First Amendment grounds, costing the respective cities and states much-needed taxpayer funds.

 

Coupled with California’s $21B economic crisis and the fact that the Governor is about to lay off teachers en masse, it’s shocking to the conscience. This was a frivolous political football back when the state had money to burn. Now it’s out-and-out irresponsibly politicized.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

On Thursday, April 30th Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin will speak at the Triangle Game Conference in Raleigh, NC.

Hal's presentation is billed as a conversation with Russ Pitts of The Escapist. The format sounds similar to Hal's well-received appearance with Spike TV's Geoff Keighley at PAX 08. The conference listing indictates that Hal will discuss:

The future of games as a media and a business, the role of the Electronic Consumers Association and the many key issues facing consumers today, including DRM, Net Neutrality, the economy and the ESRB.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Jennifer Mercurio, a seasoned advocacy attorney who has substantial video game industry experience, has been promoted to the position of Vice President and General Counsel of the Entertainment Consumers Association.

Mercurio, who in the past worked as a lead attorney for game publishers' group ESA, was originally hired by ECA President Hal Halpin in 2007. Of the promotion, Halpin said:

Jennifer’s track record of success speaks for itself along with her commitment to our advocacy mission for gamers. With the growing recognition of the demographic power of gamers we felt it important to expand her role to take advantage of our momentum on issues such as free speech, broadband access, and the rights of gaming consumers.

An ECA press release notes:

In her new role Mercurio will oversee all legal, policy, research, advocacy, action, lobbying, and government affairs for ECA...

 

The promotion signals the increasing influence of the ECA’s government affairs and policy efforts on behalf of gamers following its recent establishment of the ECA Institute, a charitable non-profit that helps develop and implement ECA public policy positions.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Last week was a busy one for Entertainment Consumers Association President Hal Halpin.

On Wednesday Hal was in Seattle to serve as a panelist on the Federal Trade Commission's much-anticipated town hall meeting on digital rights management (DRM). From Seattle it was down to San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference. At GDC Hal was interviewed by - among others - Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica and spoke at length about the needs of the game consumer in relation to the game industry's desire for DRM and those pesky End User License Agreements (EULA):

We suggested a few things to the FTC, one of which was we'd like to see DRM disclosed. So when people go to the store and buy the packaged good, the PC game, they'll see something on the front of the box saying there is DRM inside, and to what degree it will be invasive.

The second thing that we recommended was that EULAs get standardized, so again, rather than have 30 or 40 types of agreements, there would be one standard one for all different types of computer games. People go into the store, buy the game, open it, and they can no longer return it... by standardizing the EULA, consumers will have the confidence to know what it is they're agreeing to before they buy the product.

That didn't go over so well. There was a room of attorneys that kind of gasped when we suggested standardization. One panelist commented that the EULA really were there as consumer information, and that was the one and only time that the FTC jumped in and said 'wait a second, this has nothing to do with consumer information, this is purely IP protection...'

Hal also spoke about the coming shift to digital distribution and how this will affect the game consumer:

The transition from disc-based media to digital media... it's essentially going to remove the "purchase to own" out of the equation, replacing it with purchasing a license. That's how PC games are now... That paradigm shift, it's very important for us to get out ahead of it, so with DRM and EULAs, so we can say these are what consumer's rights are, and have an easy way to identify that in the purchasing process...

One of the reasons it's important to get EULAs standardized and DRM disclosed is that when you talk about different [delivery] systems like Steam... there are still controls in place. While it's not SecuROM, it's another form of DRM, it's just in a different way. Consumers need to understand that...

 

Some [game] publishers... feel that the vocal minority of consumers who spoke up about Mass Effect and Spore represent the 'pirates' and in doing so fanned the flames for a much larger percentage of consumers who now feel like they're not being listened to. A dismissive attitude from the industry probably came back to haunt them in sales...

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.
 

Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica reports that he caught up with Entertainment Consumers Association President Hal Halpin (left) at the Game Developers Conference this week.

While Ben has a full, issue-oriented interview with Hal coming up, he has in the meantime posted some good news for ECA members: You'll now get a 10% off software purchases at Amazon.com.

Of the deal, Hal told Kuchera:

If you buy three games or so a year through Amazon, your [$20] ECA membership is basically free.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

The Federal Trade Commission's much-anticipated Town Hall Meeting on digital rights management (DRM) will take place today at the University of Washington Law School in Seattle.

The all-day event begins at 8:30 A.M. Pacific and will be webcast live.

Among other participants, Entertainment Consumers Association President Hal Halpin will serve on the 1:15 P.M. panel "Informing Consumers." According to the FTC's agenda, "This panel will discuss how companies communicate the existence and effects of DRM protections on products and services to consumers. It will explore ways of providing consumers with better notice."

In advance of his panel appearance, Halpin issued a statement on the Town Hall Meeting:

Over the past year we have witnessed a growing concern from gamers about the issues of increasingly invasive Digital Rights Management (DRM) and End User Licensing Agreements (EULAs). While we respect the careful balance that must exist between the content community and the customer, and agree that piracy is an ever-present challenge for the trade, it is also becoming evident that consumer rights are being diminished in the process...

The law, in the area of EULAs in particular, is not as clear as it once was. And the software industry’s potential side-stepping of the First Sale Doctrine’s protections – by terming their products as “licensed” rather than “sold” - leaves us concerned about the future of interactive entertainment, generally...

Halpin also noted that the ECA is preparing new position statements on both DRM and EULAs. You can read the full text of his statement here.

Among others known to be appearing at the Town Hall on behalf of consumers is Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

As GamePolitics has reported previously (see: Digital Rights Groups Go To Court Over Secret Anti-Piracy Treaty), secret negotiations are taking place between the United States, Japan, Canada, the European Union and others governments. Representatives of the various nations are attempting to broker a mysterious treaty known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

Under discussion are intellectual property and copyright protection, important issues, to be sure. But while the Bush - and now, Obama - administrations have claimed that national security interests prevent consumer access to information about ACTA, Knowledge Ecology Notes reports that dozens of corporate lobbyists have been cleared for ACTA documents.

Included among these, according to the site, are Stevan Mitchell, VP of IP Policy for the Entertainment Software Association. The ESA is a trade association which represents U.S. video game publishers.

Also represented are the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and the International Intellectual Property Alliance, of which the ESA is a member.

Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has previously expressed concerns about ACTA:

Because ECA supports the balance that must exist between the rights of copyright owners and the right of copyrighted material consumers, we do not think it wise to include any portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) currently being discussed...    

We are concerned that any DMCA language in ACTA may cause enormous, unforeseen negative implications in US law.  That is why ECA, together with the Consumer Electronics Association, the US Internet Industry Association, Intel, Yahoo, Verizon and others, sent a memo asking the USTR to carefully consider that any discussions of “Internet issues” in ACTA be carefully circumscribed, consistent with U.S. law, and not include any portions of the DMCA.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo can't be happy with the news that his firm, which has owned the used game space for years, suddenly has not one, but three major competitors.

Indeed, financial website The Motley Fool reports that the entry of Toys R Us into the used market will hurt GameStop and likely force the retailer to give consumers a better deal - and we're all for that.

On the publishing side, used game sales hater Ben Feder, President of Take-Two Interactive, must be absolutely frothy now that four major retailers - not just one - will be pushing pre-owned copies of GTA IV.

While the news that Toys R Us, Best Buy and Amazon are all - rather suddenly - entering the used game market is terrific for consumers, the timing seems a bit... odd. How do all three happen to get into used games in the same week?

GamePolitics put the question to Entertainment Consumers Association President Hal Halpin, who, in a past life, founded a trade group for game retailers. In other words, he knows the retail side of the business quite well. Here's what Hal told us:

Toys R Us and Best Buy getting into the used games business makes sense because they really serve very different markets than GameStop, demographically speaking. Amazon getting in is especially bright because of their model - they're positioned really well to cut the market wide open.

 

For Toys R Us and Best Buy, it's likely just coincidence [that news of both came this week]. They're victims of the same economic turmoil as everyone else and looking for growth areas. They have examined the used business before, but [then] it was likely too far astray from their core. Now, it's a matter of exploiting high-margin business extensions, of which Used clearly is one.

 

For Amazon, my guess is that it's much more organic a move. I'm excited to see them invest so heavily in games and with gamers. Overall, it'll be really interesting to see how the landscape is changed by the news. And the bottom line is that it's great news for consumers.

Meanwhile, analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush-Morgan offered his take on the developing situation and agreed that used games are a smart move for Amazon.

It's obviously a great business.
 
Amazon is the only one that matters. The sweet spot of consumers who trade in games are 13 - 18 year-old boys, and they don't typically shop at Toys R Us or Best Buy, but they most definitely frequent Amazon.
 
It seems to me that the Amazon offer is pretty compelling, insofar as there is no cost to ship games to Amazon, and there is an opportunity for gamers to trade in games and purchase other stuff on Amazon.
 
With that said, Amazon's market share of NEW games is only 2 - 3% (around $200 - 300 million annually), and GameStop's USED game business is over $2 billion.  That means it will take a LONG time for Amazon to make a dent in GameStop's business

GP: Going forward, the developer/publisher response will be something to watch. Will a quartet of major retailers selling used games cause the industry to stop rattling their sabers (as they have been doing toward GameStop of late)? Or will it motivate them to fight harder?

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Last week we mentioned that readers could follow GP on Twitter and many of you jumped on board.

Today I wanted to follow up by letting you know that Hal Halpin, President of the Entertainment Consumers Association is on Twitter as well. Click here to follow Hal's Tweets.

If you're not on Twitter, check it out!

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

As states try to plug their budget gaps, some are preparing to levy taxes on digital downloads.

Such action will have a direct impact on gamers who use digital distribution to purchase games and DLC. Music and other digital content will also be affected.

On behalf of game consumers, the Entertainment Consumers Association has launched action campaigns against such initiatives in Washington, New York and Mississippi. ECA President Hal Halpin explained the move in the letter below to Washington state members yesterday:

The Washington state legislature is currently proposing a bill which would impose a tax on digitally distributed products, known as House Bill 2075.  The timing could not be worse. This bill would harm Washington consumers - including you - by raising prices at exactly the time that so many are feeling the repercussions of the economic fallout.

Speak up now and tell the Washington state legislature "no" to HB 2075.

One result of this legislation will be to suppress consumption, which will cause layoffs at effected businesses, including the video game industry, which employs many Washington residents.

Tell your representative to vote "no" on HB 2075.

In the midst of a financial crisis, bills such as this are precisely what consumers don't need. Please take the time to write your state representative, and also help spread the word by telling your friends in Washington State.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.