REPORT FINDS VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO BE MAJOR ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTOR
Last month, news outlets across the U.S. were buzzing about a new report released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) that highlighted the computer and video game industry's contribution to the national economy. As one CNBC reporter wrote, "It's hardly a secret that video games are a growing force in the entertainment industry, but they might be bigger than many people think." Local publications from the Hawaii Reporter to The Detroit News and The Boston Globe also featured the news, highlighting the industry's growth and job creation within their home states.
 According to the report, Video Games in the 21st Century: The 2010 Report, the entertainment software industry added nearly $5 billion to the U.S. economy in 2009. With a real annual growth rate of more than 10 percent from 2005 to 2009, the industry outpaced national economic growth, which was only 1.4 percent during the same period. The report also found that the computer and video game industry directly employs more than 32,000 individuals, a number that has increased by nearly nine percent annually since 2005. These employees earn an average annual compensation of $89,781, proving that a career in the entertainment software industry can be a lucrative option for young graduates with a background in game development and design.
The 2010 Report, the second such study conducted by Economists Incorporated for the ESA, also examined the strong and growing impact of the entertainment software industry on state economies across the country. According to the report, California remains the largest employer of computer and video game personnel in the nation, followed by Texas, Washington, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois. California companies account for approximately 41 percent of total industry employment nationwide and added more than $2.1 billion to California's economy in 2009. The state's computer and video game industry also grew by a real annual rate of 11.4 percent from 2005 to 2009, compared to a period of negative growth for California's overall economy.
"We are a shining exception and a ray of light in what has been a pretty dismal time," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA.
The 2010 Report provides ample evidence of the strength of the entertainment software industry. As the findings suggest, the industry makes an important contribution to the U.S. economy while stimulating technological innovations and expanding the impact of games on our daily lives.
VIDEO GAME VOTERS NETWORK @ PAX
 The Video Game Voter's Network (VGVN), a grassroots organization of more than 200,000 voting-age gamers, will join the enthusiastic crowd at this year's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Prime, to be held September 3-5 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington.
Created in 2004, PAX Prime is a three day festival that celebrates video game culture and technological innovations. The event is open to the public and includes speeches from industry insiders, game-inspired concerts, panels on game industry topics, exhibitor booths from independent and major game developers and publishers, tournaments and free-play areas. This year's PAX Prime expects to draw crowds of over 50,000 gamers, developers, publishers and members of the media.
VGVN will be among the PAX Prime exhibitors, signing on new members and educating them about important policy issues affecting the computer and video game industry, including the upcoming oral arguments in Schwarzenegger v. EMA/Entertainment Software Association before the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. VGVN is mobilizing game enthusiasts around the country to make their voices heard at this crucial time for the industry.
VGVN is committed to ensuring that video games receive the same First Amendment protections as other forms of art and speech. VGVN will ask PAX Prime attendees to help preserve computer and video games' status as protected speech by joining the Network.
GAMERS AS MEDICAL RESEARCHERS
Computer and video game players have a knack for solving difficult puzzles, and these talents have recently been recognized by the medical community as a potential resource. A group of medical researchers have invited gamers to use their talents to make a real impact on serious medical issues.
In 2008, researchers at the University of Washington developed a computer game that allows players to help scientists solve complex biological problems. Fold.it challenges online gamers to figure out how best to fold proteins into their complex 3D forms through a series of 10 puzzles. Players earn points based on how well they fold the proteins into more efficient structures. Interestingly, the University recently announced that Fold.it players outperformed their advanced computational software in figuring out these puzzles, despite the fact that few participating gamers had biochemistry backgrounds.
Scientists hope to use the game results to enhance their understanding of protein structures. Proteins are involved in nearly every cellular process in the body, from feeding muscles to copying genes, and protein interactions are highly dependent on their 3D shape. Proteins can fold in a tremendous amount of ways, only one of which is actually functional. Improperly folded proteins are associated with a variety of diseases and other illnesses including allergies. If scientists know the basic rules of protein folding, they can more easily predict the 3D shape that an unknown protein will adopt. This information can then be used to develop new drugs, fight cancer, and even block pathways used by the HIV virus.
Fold.it was inspired by the mass computing project Rosetta@home. Rosetta is a non-interactive program that functions like a screen saver, working to fold proteins on personal computers when they are not in use. Volunteers who watched the program's progress noticed errors the software was making. The research team received so many letters from Rosetta@home participants claiming that they could do better that the team decided to give them a chance and developed Fold.it.
Achieving the highest scores at Fold.it translates to more than just the joys of winning a game as players will see their work turned into actual protein structures. By playing Fold.it, gamers have an opportunity to help scientists conduct real medical research that could ultimately help cure major diseases. The research team at the University of Washington is grateful for all the innovative folding methods they gained from players and acknowledged all 57,000 of them in their recent report.
Interested gamers can log on to http://fold.it/portal/ to learn more about Fold.it and sign up to play. |
