In the last paragraph of our previous report of Jack Thompson's countersuit, we noted that he mentioned GameSpot, Penny-Arcade, and a whole lot of other media outlets and accuses them of conspiring with Take-Two to commit racketeering activities.

Well, thanks to the folks at SPOnG, here's a bit more details on the mention that he made towards the end of that filing, made in the United States District Court for the southern district of Florida in relation to the case numbered 07-20693-civ-altonaga:

34. Take-Two, either directly or through its agents, including but not limited to Blank Rome, has collaborated and conspired with third parties to commit these racketeering activities (sic, including but not limited to the Entertainment Software Association, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the Entertainment Consumer Association, Gamepolitics, Kotaku, SPOnG, Joystiq, Gamespot, ign, Game Informer, Electronic Gaming Weekly, Penny Arcade, Doug Lowenstein, and others.

35. As a result of this collaboration, individuals have repeatedly threatened the life of Thompson, visited his residential neighborhood to hand out libellous (sic) pamphlets, filed SLAPP Bar complaints against Thompson, having been encouraged to do so by gaming web sites, sent dozens of items to Thompson’s home and office via overnight courier and mail, sent sex aid products to his wife, threatened Thompson’s son, shot at his home, sought to incarcerate Thompson, "bookstormed" his book, Out of Harm’s Way, at Amazon.com, orchestrated and knowingly incited harassing phone calls and letters, and Case 1:07-cv-20693-CMA Document 6 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/21/2007 Page 33 of 37 34 generally engaged in a knowing, purposeful, and illegal "shoot the messenger" strategy against Thompson directly and through surrogates.

Hmm, aren't Kotaku, Joystiq, SPOnG, IGN, and Gamespot all competitors? Are we going to have to take a red pill to be awakened and be free from this Gaming Matrix that we're all jacked into?

One righteous man against a cruel evil world, or a kid with a water pistol and bucket full of water? Well?

Back in September, one of our MyQJ contributors talked about Kansas Senator Sam Bronwback (R) and his introduction of a bill called the Truth in Video Game Ratings Act. The gist of the bill is that the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's (ESRB) game ratings should be based on the game's entire content and not just on viewing a game's most offensive content.

Fast forward to today. Doug Lowenstein has relinquished his ESRB presidency and Senator Brownback is gunning to be the next top inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (that's the White House for those who don't know). He is also re-introducing the said bill. This is what he said in a statement about it:

Video game reviewers should be required to review the entire content of a game to ensure the accuracy of the rating. The current video game ratings system is not as accurate as it could be because reviewers do not see the full content of games and do not even play the games they rate. The Truth in Video Game Rating Act would also commission a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to determine the efficacy of the... ESRB ratings system.

Former ESRB head Doug Lowenstein said in September that this bill will not succeed and that people would not be represented by the average American parents. With him out of the picture, what happens next?

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."

Last month we posted an article about the confirmation of Doug Lowenstein's resignation as President of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Further reports have revealed that Lowenstein will be making his last speech as ESA President before attendees and guests at this year's DICE Summit.

According to Games Industry, Lowenstein's talk is titled "The ESA: Past, Present and Future". He will be delivering the talk on the second day of the summit, which will take place at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from February 7 to February 9. Later in the month, Lowenstein will start his new role as as head of the new Private Equity Council in Washington DC.

The keynote speaker for this year's DICE Summit will be Yair Landau, vice chairman for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Personages such as Sony's Phil Harrison and Will Wright, creator the popular Sims games, will also be speaking at the summit.

Ever feel like you've never been cool enough to enter a club, or that you're too sober to get into Alcoholics Anonymous? We can tell you right now that the emotional blow is like being hit by lead pipe in the back: excrutiatingly painful but it straightens you out some.

The E3 Media and Business Summit, once proudly seen by fans everywhere as The E3 Gamer's Gankfest and Freeplay Galore, seems to be firmly in the hands of game makers at large. Doug Lowenstein, President of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), told folks at GameSpot that the ESA will be more hands-off in the invitation process for next year's event. Instead, the list of people who will get an invitation will be based upon recommendations made by ESA members rather than by the the ESA itself.

What does this mean? In business terms, Lowenstein is quoted by GameSpot as saying, "[T]he point is for attendees to be the people participants want to see in one-on-one meetings...[but] that is not for me to say or influence." In practical terms, it means that because the members of the ESA is comprised of big-name game and console makers from Activision to Ubisoft (is there a company starting with a "Z" somewhere?), the people who will be visiting the event will either be big names in media, important members of the gaming press, or possibly PR people for the different companies.

Darn.

Guess we'll just have to visit the other E3 then.

ESA boss Doug Lowenstein has mentioned in an interview snippet with MCV that his previous attendance estimate of 5,000 for the new E3 Media and Business Summit might be a bit too generous. Lowenstein says, "currently I think that figure is high. The point is we don’t want people wandering around that aren’t the people companies want to meet."

He said that invitations would be arriving "in the next month or so." Moreover Lowenstein adds that he expects that the traditional big three (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) E3 press conferences will be integrated into the event.

That "we don’t want people wandering around" part of what Lowenstein said has a lot of weight to it. Goodbye "Vegas" E3. The E3 Media and Business Summit will be held July 11-13, 2007 in Santa Monica, California.

Yeah, by now, every person that has seriously embraced video gaming as part of his/her life is aware of the sudden changes that'll prompt him/her to bid farewell to the E3 as he/she knew it. The Halls of QJ has been ringing with dead silence every single time the matter is brought up (it's happening right now). But we all have to move on as E3, arguably gamers' own version of World Cup and Winter Olympics, undergoes some major tweaks that'll indirectly affect all of us.

Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein, in an interview with Wall Street Journal, has revealed what exactly those "major tweaks" will be - a new name, a new venue and a new date. According to him, the event will be dubbed as the E3 Media Festival starting next year, cementing thoughts that the affair will now only be joined by members of the press from various media.

From last E3's groundbreaking attendance of 60,000 visitors, next year's event will have a toned-down population of around 5000 people. In fact, Lowenstein has cited that the huge number of participants is primarily the reason why all the changes are being made, saying that "some companies were frustrated because E3 was such a huge, sweeping event it became increasingly difficult to get their messages out."

Instead of the traditional May affair, the next E3 (if we could still call it that) will be held on July to give publishers more time to develop their projects and to strategically bring it nearer to Christmas where most games are usually released. The event will also say goodbye to the Los Angeles Convention Center as the ESA divulged plans to use two hotels, holding press events and meetings in suites and conference rooms - there goes our booths and the booth babes along with it.

As much as we want to present this news as an objective one, it's really hard not to choke out some disappointments while tackling the matter. The gamer in us conquers the inner writer/reporter as it cry for the game demos open for civilians, promos for the attendees, E3 booth babes, lost opportunities for smaller developers, and the shed "people image" of the event we used to know as E3...