Feature: 'Hot Coffee, Lawsuits And You: IEMA's Hal Halpin On The Retail Struggle'

In today's main Gamasutra feature, we spoke to IEMA head Halpin, who represents the major North American video game retailers, about the problems of violent game lawsuits, the effect of the 'Hot Coffee' mod on the retail environment, and more. One of the most interesting parts of the interview concerns attorney Jack Thompson and the ramifactions of 'Hot Coffee', as Halpin explains: "Attorney Jack Thompson is someone whom I believe has his heart in the right place actually," Halpin said. "I think it's clear to all involved that he earnestly believes his perspective shall be the one to prevail and he is willing to put all of himself - personally and professionally - into that fight...a position which I don't see countered on the 'pro' side of the debate. That said, we take issue with his opinion that our members have not done enough to stem the sale of Mature-rated games to minors, and in that regard, we appear to be adversarial." In addition, Halpin addresses the continued controversy over the ESRB's voluntary ratings for games, commenting: "The IEMA has been supportive of the ESRB and self-regulatory efforts since before our formal incorporation, and it's my opinion that it is quite simply the most comprehensive ratings system that I have seen to date. The IEMA members and ESRB have had our share of disagreements on a variety of matters, but generally I think we work together quite effectively. We have been fairly vocal about increased retail involvement in understanding the idiosyncrasies of the ratings process and its management, and we have been making slow but steady progress toward that end." You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject, also including plenty more fascinating opinion from Halpin (no registration required, please feel free to link to the article from external websites).