The Entertainment Software Association ( ESA ) is the trade association of the video games industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as an Interactive Digital Software Association ( IDSA ) and renamed on July 16, 2003. The company is based in Washington, D.C..
Most of the top publishers in the gaming world (or their American subsidiaries) are ESA members, including Capcom, Electronic Arts, Konami, Microsoft, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft and Warner Brooch. Interactive Entertainment.
ESA also hosts the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade fair in Los Angeles, California.
The ESA policy is based on member companies serving in three ESA Working Groups:
- Intellectual Property Working Group
- Public Policy Committee
- The Community Relations Working Group
Video Entertainment Software Association
Histori
The IDGA/ESA concept emerged from the controversy that the violence depicted in the Mortal Kombat video game drew. This led to a US Congressional hearing in late 1993 in which the video games industry was placed under scrutiny for violent levels in games such as Mortal Kombat and Night Trap. During this hearing, Sega and Nintendo blamed the others for the situation, citing differences in how they would rate game content for players. After the hearing, Congressman Joe Lieberman proposed the 1994 Video Game Ranking Act, which would set up a government-supervised commission to create a ranking system for video games, and threatened to push it through legislation if the video game industry did not voluntarily come with own. Recognizing the threat of government oversight, the company decided to assign the IDGA to a single entity and represent all video game companies at this level, and then develop the Software Rating Board (ESRB) to create a uniform but disguised rating approach for match videos. In July 1994, IDGA representatives returned to Congress to present the ESRB, which Congress accepted and became the standard for the American industry.
IDGA was officially renamed the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) on July 21, 2003. The renaming was made to reflect that related companies were primarily in the field of making entertainment software on various devices, and new names were chosen to more clearly define the industry.
Doug Lowenstein founded ESA. On December 14, 2006, the Kotaku gaming blog reported that he had resigned to take a job in finance outside the industry. On May 17, 2007, Mike Gallagher succeeded Doug Lowenstein as president of ESA.
Maps Entertainment Software Association
Activity
In addition to overseeing the ESRB, ESA organized the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). After the establishment of IDGA, the video game industry became concerned over the treatment they received at Consumer Electronics Shows recently and was looking for other trade show venues. IDGA partnered with International Data Group (IDG) to set up the first E3, which was held in May 1995 in Los Angeles. The first E3 proved to be more successful than originally expected, and IDGA negotiates with IDG to take E3 ownership and its intellectual property, with IDG serving to help handle the execution of events.
ESA is leading in the face of legislation that will be harmful to the video game industry, particularly related to the controversy of video game ratings under the ESRB. From the record, ESA is one of the plaintiffs at Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass'n , a Supreme Court case that considers protected video games to work under the First Amendment in 2012.
ESA is also involved in lobbying Congress. Some of these lobbies are considered controversial to get legislation passed that benefits industrial copyright protection. According to Bloomberg reports, ESA spent about $ 1.1 million in the first quarter of 2011 on lobbying efforts in Washington DC ESA initially became a proponent of SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy proposals, Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern founded League For Gamers (LFG), who intend to advocate the interests of gamers, who may be in conflict with industry protection measures of ESA supporters. In January 2012, ESA downgraded its support for SOPA and PIPA, while calling on Congress to create a more balanced copyright approach.
Gregory Boyd, chairman of the Interactive Entertainment Group at the New York law firm, stated, "When it comes to lobbying, the" industry main group "suspended by the company is the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which spends $ 4.83 million on its own in 2012 - from Facebook, Google, or even the National Rifle Association (NRA). "
ESA also serves to combat and reduce copyright infringement from video game-related works for the companies it represents. This is usually done via takedown delivery or stop and stop notifications to the infringing hosting site, and work with search engines like Google to remove sites that host infringing files. They also work with law enforcement agencies to train agents how to handle copyright infringement.
List of ESA members and their subsidiaries
As of May 2017, the following companies are members of ESA
Former member
Some companies chose not to renew their membership at ESA in May 2008, including Activision, Vivendi Games, LucasArts and id Software. This follows from the ESA option to change in E3 format in 2007, which significantly reduces the size and place due to complaints from the events of 2006, but ultimately leads to much lower visibility and impact on the industry. This step spends ESA $ 5 million and requires them to increase membership fees for the next year.
Crave Entertainment left ESA in June 2008 due to a pending acquisition by Fillpoint LLC.
On October 9, 2008, Codemasters has also suspended its membership in the ESA.
NCSoft left ESA in December 2008, believed to be a cost-cutting measure for the company due to weak financial conditions at the time.
In March 2015, Sega of America and Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) have suspended membership at ESA.
On May 10, 2016, Disney Interactive Studios membership has been terminated due to company closure.
As of March 30, 2017, Mad Catz membership has been terminated due to company closure.
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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