ESRB President Issues Open Letter to Utah

ESRB president Patricia Vance has written an open letter to Utah Lawmakers and parents in a last ditch effort to appeal to some common sense - as she sees it. The letter is response to a law that was drafted with the help of Jack Thompson, who has shifted seamlessly from game hating ambulance chaser to full fledged anti-gaming campaigner.

This probably marks the first time in many years that Thompson has successfully helped produce something that could affect consumers and game makers. The legislation fines retailers and movie theaters that knowingly provide M or R rated products to minors. Yes, we know that the language of the law is vague.. ESRB President Patricia Vance’s letter after can be found after the break:

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The ESA’s Top Posts Pay Pretty Well

While I have no opinion on how much a CEO of any company should make these days (there are plenty of stories of CEO’s of failing banks making ridiculous amounts of money in salaries and perks) it is nonetheless interesting to see how much the Entertainment Software Association pays out to its top two executives. Apparently the top executives at the industry’s ratings board and the top trade organization for the interactive entertainment industry could afford a fancy condo in Manhattan.

According to a Game Politics report citing IRS records, CEO Mike Galagher earned a salary that was slightly over $800, 000 USD including benefits. The ESA’s top executive was paid $789,929, along with $19,015 in benefits for the reporting period of April 1, 2007. ESRB President Patricia Vance was paid a salary of $535,397 according to those same IRS disclosure documents.