Philthy

By PHIL PALIOS

The ECA (Entertainment Consumers Association) covers a variety of issues, with the majority being related to freedom of speech, but also including things like net neutrality. Once panel attendees began asking questions the conversation quickly jumped to titles with Adult Only ratings. Hal described the problem as being rooted in the stigma of all games being for kids and a title rated Adult Only not fitting into that model. Publishers won’t publish titles with AO rating, because console distribution channels won’t accept them, and retailers won’t carry the games. Of course, the retailers and console channels argue they don’t carry the games because publishers aren’t making them anyway. The solution? The ECA is trying to help publishers start releasing AO titles, with the hope that this will reduce the bad stigma and force retailers to start carrying the games.

After attending the panel I felt that Hal and the ECA were working hard to ensure gamers’ voices were heard and went directly to their booth in the expo hall to join. At the low membership cost of $20 annually, I felt I got my money’s worth immediately with a free t-shirt and access to free drinks and snacks in their member’s lounge. In addition to joining, if you want to help further, Hal suggests joining a local ECA chapter or forming one if there are none in your area. These grassroots efforts gain a lot more attention from people in state and federal government, Halpin claims, because they are not “astro-turfed,” and consist of real citizens making their voice heard, instead of template letters that thousands of people sign and politicians tend to ignore.