Doug Lowenstein's bitter exit from the ESA
- February 09, 2007 12:00 PM PST
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Entertainment Software Association president Douglas Lowenstein presented some harsh words to the industry before walking off into the sunset.
By Eugene Huang
In a speech peppered with candor and mild resentment, Doug Lowenstein presented his final public words as president of the ESA before his imminent departure from the trade association. The speech, which most convention-goers would have described as brutally honest, contained complaints towards the numerous sources of frustration Lowenstein had encountered as president.
First to draw his ire were what he called "cut & run" developers: game creators who "make controversial content and then cut and run when it comes time to defending their creative decisions."
"Nothing annoys me more," he stated. "If you want the right to make what you want, if you want to push the envelope, I'm out there defending your right to do it. But damn it - get out there and support the creative decisions you make."
Also drawing criticism is what Lowenstein labeled as "the Greek chorus," or the multitude of pundits who offer harsh criticism of the industry, yet offer neither constructive suggestions nor financial or political support to help make the industry better. "[W]here are these people?" he asks. "Are they getting in the fight? Are they making political contributions? Are they going to their senators? No, they're sitting on their hands. I'm sick and tired of people sitting on their hands."
After asking for a head count of the number of audience members who joined the Video Game Voters Network, only a few raised their hands. "That's pathetic!" he responded. "You go to a website, click a few keystrokes and that's it. [...] You can not expect this industry to grow and prosper if you're not willing to take the time and effort to help it."
Lowenstein wasn't mute with his criticisms of the enthusiast media either, claiming that, "a lot of maturity needs to happen in the gaming press. It's not just because there's a cozy relationship between the press and the industry they cover."
"The game industry press has the ability to push this industry to greater heights of creative success," he added. "I just don't think the games press has asked enough of itself, and I hope that it does."
He also broke into a tirade over the gaming media's legitimization of anti-video game crusader Jack Thompson, who had, on a number of occasions, pressured Lowenstein's resignation from the ESA. "It drives me crazy. You know who gives Jack Thompson more attention than anyone else? The games press. [...] Everyone gets so upset that Jack Thompson has so much ability. I just... [head-clearing pause] ...I just think it's nuts."
Other key points in the speech included his open praise of the ESRB and his reminiscence over the history of the ESA. This included the formation of E3, something he considers to be one of the most important things the ESA accomplished. "It put the industry on the map in a way that nothing else could have done," he proudly claimed. "We never could have drawn the mass press to the industry without an event as large as E3."
As for the recent state of E3, he says, "I have a great deal of sympathy for those who say E3 was too loud.
All in all, he is proud of his work with the ESA. He concluded his speech: "[P]erceptions about this industry are very different from twelve-and-a-half years ago. In 1994, this industry was unknown; it was backwater, it was the stepchild of entertainment. We matter now. People pay attention to what we say and do."
Lowenstein takes his leave of the ESA this month to head the Private Equity Council, an association whose primary focus is to inform interested parties about the importance of private equity investments in the US and global economy.
