Just because the Entertainment Software Association, or ESA, is a video game trade organization doesn’t mean it defends you, the gamer, as well. In fact, the ESA has been quite active in attempting to discourage debate on mod chips and abandonware. Apparently, the ESA spent their time editing Wikipedia entries during the period from August 2006 until this past April, stamping a big ol’ illegal on top of everything, when plenty of legitimate defending of the video game industry needed doing.
This sheds some light on the whole organization for me. You see, when I found out about how the ESA was supposed to be a trade and lobbying group, I was outraged at the complete lack of effort on their part to actually do anything meaningful. You know how when Jack Thompson was attacking Bully, complaining about how you can hit teachers? There are a lot of examples of lies and complete misinformation like that that concerned parents and media figures latch on to. Stuff that the ESA probably should be trying to, you know, correct — perhaps by contacting media outlets to weigh in on the other side of the debate. But this whole time that I thought the ESA was doing nothing, it turns out they were actually doing something. They were out supporting Homeland Security in mod chip raids instead.
I can’t really say I’m surprised. I used to be amazed at the utter waste of existence that is the ESA, but now I feel safe converting to open hatred for them. Gamers need a voice in government and in the public, and that’s why I support the Entertainment Consumers Association, or the ECA. Check it out and take part.
