With all the hubbub about Manhunt 2 being banned, it's not surprising that it's caught the attention of the people, particularly a certain Mr. Jack Thompson. In an email that also spoke of Take-Two's troubles with its admittedly ultra-violent title, the lawyer states that the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) has given itself some much-needed credibility by slapping Manhunt 2 an Adults Only rating. He elaborates that by doing so, the ESRB has proven that its ratings actually mean something, and not just a fancy label.

Here's Mister Jack Thompson's email, verbatim:

This is all absolutely delicious. I warned Take-Two months ago that there would be huge problems if it went ahead with Manhunt 2. Who was right about that kiddies?

Secondly, the BBC and the world are now laughing at Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick for his idiotic statement yesterday that Manhunt 2 is "a fine piece of art." Find the BBC story on that! Right, and Jack the Ripper was his generation's Rembrandt. Please.

Take-Two has been hemorrhaging cash over the last few financial quarters, and this must makes it worse. I love it. If you all would stop and think about this for a minute, this development is a HUGE benefit to the video game industry.

It fits nicely with their argument that the ESRB ratings are real and actually mean something. Responsible people within the industry, even Doug Lowenstein, have been saying for quite sometime that Take-Two had become a problem for the entire industry because it was painting a bullseye on the back of the whole industry and making it more difficult for the industry to get US politicians off its back.

Now the ESRB does something that indicates is might be trustworthy, and you nitwits go bonkers because of that development. Grow up and smell the hot coffee. This is the best thing that could have happened to the industry. The isolation and ostracism of Take-Two by the industry was long overdue. Now that it has come, rejoice.

Certainly strong words coming from Mr. Jack Thompson, but they do carry water, specifically about the ESRB. The fact that the AO rating was enough to instigate such a reaction gives more credibility to the ratings system, which means parents will be able to trust the label on the games they're buying for their kids.

 In the last paragraph of our previous report of Jack Thompson's countersuit, we noted that he mentioned GameSpot, Penny-Arcade, and a whole lot of other media outlets and accuses them of conspiring with Take-Two to commit racketeering activities.

Well, thanks to the folks at SPOnG, here's a bit more details on the mention that he made towards the end of that filing, made in the United States District Court for the southern district of Florida in relation to the case numbered 07-20693-civ-altonaga:

34. Take-Two, either directly or through its agents, including but not limited to Blank Rome, has collaborated and conspired with third parties to commit these racketeering activities (sic, including but not limited to the Entertainment Software Association, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the Entertainment Consumer Association, Gamepolitics, Kotaku, SPOnG, Joystiq, Gamespot, ign, Game Informer, Electronic Gaming Weekly, Penny Arcade, Doug Lowenstein, and others.

35. As a result of this collaboration, individuals have repeatedly threatened the life of Thompson, visited his residential neighborhood to hand out libellous (sic) pamphlets, filed SLAPP Bar complaints against Thompson, having been encouraged to do so by gaming web sites, sent dozens of items to Thompson’s home and office via overnight courier and mail, sent sex aid products to his wife, threatened Thompson’s son, shot at his home, sought to incarcerate Thompson, "bookstormed" his book, Out of Harm’s Way, at Amazon.com, orchestrated and knowingly incited harassing phone calls and letters, and Case 1:07-cv-20693-CMA Document 6 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/21/2007 Page 33 of 37 34 generally engaged in a knowing, purposeful, and illegal "shoot the messenger" strategy against Thompson directly and through surrogates.

Hmm, aren't Kotaku, Joystiq, SPOnG, IGN, and Gamespot all competitors? Are we going to have to take a red pill to be awakened and be free from this Gaming Matrix that we're all jacked into?

One righteous man against a cruel evil world, or a kid with a water pistol and bucket full of water? Well?

Back in September, one of our MyQJ contributors talked about Kansas Senator Sam Bronwback (R) and his introduction of a bill called the Truth in Video Game Ratings Act. The gist of the bill is that the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's (ESRB) game ratings should be based on the game's entire content and not just on viewing a game's most offensive content.

Fast forward to today. Doug Lowenstein has relinquished his ESRB presidency and Senator Brownback is gunning to be the next top inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (that's the White House for those who don't know). He is also re-introducing the said bill. This is what he said in a statement about it:

Video game reviewers should be required to review the entire content of a game to ensure the accuracy of the rating. The current video game ratings system is not as accurate as it could be because reviewers do not see the full content of games and do not even play the games they rate. The Truth in Video Game Rating Act would also commission a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to determine the efficacy of the... ESRB ratings system.

Former ESRB head Doug Lowenstein said in September that this bill will not succeed and that people would not be represented by the average American parents. With him out of the picture, what happens next?

At the DICE Summit, Reggie already said his piece, Phil Harrison got some bad press with his reported DICE statements, and Doug Lowenstein's final speech was emotion-packed. Now, it's id's Software's director of business development, Steve Nix's turn to hog the limelight.

In a recent DICE session called "Studio Survival, One Level at a Time", he said that in spite of id's relatively small number of staff, "leadership and company culture were the most important aspects of long-term studio health".

He also mentioned that the games industry is in effect, "more constrained". He also divulged more about id's philosophy in making games, by saying:

I think we're at 'fast, cheap or good, pick one. You can say you're going to do a 12-month title, maybe it ties with a movie, but the thing is, don't plan on being cheap and don't plan on being good also. Pick one...At id, we always pick "good." If we turn out a game that’s not very good in one of our brands, it ultimately hurts the value of the studio. So we always focus on good. Quality is always number one.

He also emphasized the importance of having the best dev team and the best technology and that to have a team like theirs, it all boils down to company culture.

It turns out when a new employee starts at your company, they're usually fired up, and they really want to come in and do a great job for you. If they're in a really great organization, they look around, and if they see someone focused next to them working on the game, they tend to work on that. They mimic what they see around them.

The id director also boasts of their team leaders as he described them as the "hardest working people I've ever seen in my life. There's zero burnout, there's 100% dedication. They're there the longest hours, they're going to push you constantly." And that a company should do all they can to fix leadership problems.

id Software is responsible for games like Quake (Xbox 360, PC), Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Commander Keen among many others.

The gloves come off for former Entertainment Software Association (ESA) president Doug Lowenstein.

In his final speech over at the DICE Summit, Doug fired off rockets at game developers, the game press, and publishers for their failure to protect the future of the video game industry. "I'm sick and tired of people in this industry sitting on their hands and waiting for others to do the hard work," he said.

Lowenstein targetted the industry's lack of participation in the likes of video game-related legislation, further elaborating on the poor presence shown in movements like the Video Game Voters Network.

"You have to go on a website, click a few keystrokes, and you can send letters to Senators and Congressmen. And 90 percent of the people in this room who have a stake in the future of this industry haven't bothered to take the time to do that. And it makes me sick."

Moving on, Lowenstein also presented stern words for developers and their stance on creating controversial content in their products (like, say GTA?). "If you want to be controversial, fine - that's great. But damn it, don't duck and cover when the sh*t hits the fan."

Lowenstein went on to state his view of the the gaming press, which he felt was not holding up to its role as an informative entity for the gaming and non-gaming community "I think the games press doesn't ask enough of itself, and I hope that it does. It needs a higher level of maturity. It needs to take itself seriously," Lowenstein said. He further criticized the press for their allocation of resources to controversy-related topics - such as the likes of anti-gaming lawyer Jack Thompson - and the press' lackluster coverage of the ESA's activities.

Lastly, Doug lamented on the E3's notorious downsizing. "It put this industry on the map like nothing else could have done. We never could have drawn the mass-media without a central event," he said. "In 1994, this industry was unknown, it was backwater, it was the stepchild of entertainment."

Last month we posted an article about the confirmation of Doug Lowenstein's resignation as President of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Further reports have revealed that Lowenstein will be making his last speech as ESA President before attendees and guests at this year's DICE Summit.

According to Games Industry, Lowenstein's talk is titled "The ESA: Past, Present and Future". He will be delivering the talk on the second day of the summit, which will take place at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from February 7 to February 9. Later in the month, Lowenstein will start his new role as as head of the new Private Equity Council in Washington DC.

The keynote speaker for this year's DICE Summit will be Yair Landau, vice chairman for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Personages such as Sony's Phil Harrison and Will Wright, creator the popular Sims games, will also be speaking at the summit.

This may be one of the last few occasions we will ever hear something about Doug Lowenstein. We all know that he will be leaving his position as the ESA president come February. While we will never really know what made the influential official resign, we guess at least we can tell you where he is going.

The new group that Lowenstein will be heading is called the Private Equity Council. We haven't heard nor read much about this group yet, so we'll just quote the official press statement:

[It is a group] whose purpose will be to conduct research and provide information about the industry to policy makers and others interested in understanding what private equity is, how it operates and the increasingly important role this alternative asset class plays in the U.S. and global economy.

Furthermore, Lowenstein will start heading the Private Equity Council as soon as he steps down from ESA presidency. Lowenstein claimed previously that despite this development, his days at the office is still very busy, and that he is still very much involved with ESA until he leaves.

Guys, it is now official. Entertainment Software Association (ESA) finally confirmed today the rumors circulating about the resignation of Doug Lowenstein as the organization's president. The rumors, that began before the weekend, were also true about Lowenstein starting a new trade group.

Furthermore, ESA mentioned that they have began looking for someone to replace Lowenstein. While no prospects were named yet, everybody knows that the group's ex-president certainly left a big void that is hard to fill in. Twelve years ago, Lowenstein founded ESA together with a companion. Today, he left it with 32-strong employees and a strong reputation regarding anti-piracy enforcement, domestic and international intellectual property policy, government and media relations as well as research.

Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) President Bo Andersen reflected on the void the resignation created. He reiterated how the guy slaved and built ESA into a positive and influential institution in the videogame industry. Finally, Lowenstein leaves everyone in the industry this message:

I have been honored to represent the amazing companies of the ESA, to serve as their advocate and to be part of an industry which is having such a profound and positive effect on our culture and the world of entertainment. Like our industry, the ESA has grown and matured and is now stronger and more robust than ever before. The future of video games and its trade association is very bright indeed.

You guys are all aware what the heck Entertainment Software Association is, right? Being the main videogame trade group in the U.S., the said association used to take care of the annual anticipated E3 expo trade show. Used to. Not anymore. Things have changed, haven't you heard about "it"?

At any rate, ESA is in the news again today as words about the resignation of President Doug Lowenstein continues to spread. This actually began as early as Friday but we decided not to report it yet because information are still scarce. However, it seems that the resignation will indeed push through.

Various reports have mentioned that Lowenstein accepted a position with another trade organization that is yet to be launched. Furthermore, the said group will be composed of representatives from a consortium of investment community forms. The reports have mentioned that the president will leave ESA early 2007. There is now a question, if these are true, whether Lowenstein would finish his term or not. His term is to expire this coming February.

More importantly, everyone is wondering what further repercussions this would have in the upcoming E3. The reports finally mentioned that an announcement was made during the weekend but it would be revealed within today or tomorrow. Try checking later for updates regarding this matter.

Ever feel like you've never been cool enough to enter a club, or that you're too sober to get into Alcoholics Anonymous? We can tell you right now that the emotional blow is like being hit by lead pipe in the back: excrutiatingly painful but it straightens you out some.

The E3 Media and Business Summit, once proudly seen by fans everywhere as The E3 Gamer's Gankfest and Freeplay Galore, seems to be firmly in the hands of game makers at large. Doug Lowenstein, President of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), told folks at GameSpot that the ESA will be more hands-off in the invitation process for next year's event. Instead, the list of people who will get an invitation will be based upon recommendations made by ESA members rather than by the the ESA itself.

What does this mean? In business terms, Lowenstein is quoted by GameSpot as saying, "[T]he point is for attendees to be the people participants want to see in one-on-one meetings...[but] that is not for me to say or influence." In practical terms, it means that because the members of the ESA is comprised of big-name game and console makers from Activision to Ubisoft (is there a company starting with a "Z" somewhere?), the people who will be visiting the event will either be big names in media, important members of the gaming press, or possibly PR people for the different companies.

Darn.

Guess we'll just have to visit the other E3 then.