TVGB: So are there plans to expand to more sites then?

HH: As a non-profit there are only a few ways you can raise money. One is with trade shows and at the beginning we decided we would rather main agnostic and not have our own event and just partner with all of them out there like the Penny Arcades or the Digital Lifes, and that way we can pass on discounts and access to different events because we want to give them that opportunity. The other one is obviously dues which is our main source of getting revenue in, and then the last one is publications and what we’re trying to do is strike a formal balance between having informative tools that serve our constituents and not stepping on the toes of our partners. We don’t want to do what the media already does really well and so it’s difficult to envision having more publications that do stuff that they’re already doing. That said, if there is a new opportunity for something that isn’t being met, I wouldn’t exclude the possibility.

TVGB: You mention partners with the site, but what about gaming businesses? Has it been hard to get their attention?

HH: I’d say the vast majority knew who our team was because of what we had done previously and so that was sort of a great opportunity; to go to them and say that they knew us and we were going to do great things for consumers and many of them really bought in early and aggressively. They were saying we’re here and we’ve been saying for decades that we’re all about gamers and gaming and here is an opportunity to put our money where are mouth is, but we do it on a barter basis so it doesn’t even cost them anything. EGM will give us remnant space for example, so when there is free space they’ll throw our ad in there. It’s a great way to increase that marketing we were talking about earlier. We partnered with Video Games Live and the Midnight Gaming Championship series too.

TVGB: What are the top three more important political concerns coming up?

HH: Clearly first amendment issues are going to be problematic for the foreseeable future. So the same battles that we’ve been up against for the last few years and the industry has been up against for a long time will continue.

TVGB: Do you see that ending any time soon?

HH: (laughs) No, no. You know, I get questions from members and consumers about what will happen with Jack Thompson’s role being diminished because of his issues with the bar and really it’s not a matter of one individual and one individuals ability to affect an entire sector, although he certainly does. Even if he is disbarred that certainly doesn’t stop him from having a voice and being in the media and being passionate about his beliefs. And the same thing is true for lots of anti-games advocates and special interest groups. They’ll still be that counter balance on both sides and the good news is that we’re sort of winning the war on attrition because there is more of us everyday and the more we can educate the more us will come along and we can impact that change.

TVGB: Sounds good or like it eventually will be good. So beyond the first amendment?

HH: Other issues like universal broadband and net neutrality are both great initiatives and they’re both really different in terms with how we interact with much larger companies, namely telecommunications partners. With universal broadband specifically one of my personal pet peeves is that we’re falling behind other countries and that just shouldn’t be allowed to happen. There are lots of ways we can work with companies to roll out universal broadband. It happened in Kentucky in a specific targeted effort. Beyond that, we’re very involved with fair use. Fair use is related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and basically it went almost unopposed when it was passed and the problem is that we saw the law as too restrictive. Fair use is a good way for it to come back a bit without going all the way over to the other side. You know we’re not interested in rampant piracy or anything like that, although sometimes people paint us in that corner. I really see the ECA as being in the gray area about a lot of things. It doesn’t need to be draconian legislation, there is a common ground where we are just trying to make sure that we’re taking care of our customers. The ones that are doing things illegally will and should be taken care of.

TVGB: You’re obviously a gamer. What are you most looking forward to at E3?

HH: I actually just got to play Spore for the iPhone.

TVGB: Very nice.

HH: Yea, I don’t even have one yet but that could be a reason for having one. I just love the whole concept behind Spore … Whenever I hear an artist or a scribe describe his work it always means a lot more to me and I can attach myself more emotionally. Hearing Will Wright say he grew up as a Montessori school student and he was playing with things tactfully and he wanted to extrapolate that out to the universe, starting with an atom - that’s huge. To get kids and older gamers to think about ourselves in such a large perspective. Then to get all that down in an iPhone with whole new interface is really cool. (laughs) So there are lots of really cool things here and I’m really glad I got to see that one.

TVGB: And what are you playing now?

HH: Most recently was… well each weekend my kids have been getting really good at Mario Kart for Wii and Mario Kart for N64 was sort of my go to game, so they’ve bent over backwards to kick my ass on the Wii whenever they get a chance. So this weekend was the first time I’ve gotten a chance to get them back and won a whole series.

TVGB: Now you mention the Wii and that brings up the giant influx of brand new gamers coming in. Are you trying to reach out to them in any way?

HH: Yea. I mean ultimately we end up representing everyone who purchases games and that includes parents who might not be gamers themselves because they’re consumers and minors who can’t be members but are still consumers too. The broader the base for the publishers, the broader the base theoretically is for us. Although, it’s really the 18-40 year old male that’s the primary demographic for games and it seems to be ours as well.

TVGB: Well thanks. That was all the questions I had. Any final words of wisdom?

HH: Well you can always tell people the website.

TheECA.com

Done and done, Hal. Done and done.