Lowenstien pulls no punches at DICE

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.”

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.”