[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View] [Friends View]
Wednesday, June 8th, 2005
Time
Event
5:08a
Although many pundits and politicians would like to place the blame for youth violence on video games, a Xavier University psychology professor points out that the issue is not so simple. An article in the Cincinnati Enquirer explores an upsurge in violent crimes committed by teens in Hamilton County, Ohio. In the article, Xavier University psychology professor Kathleen Hart notes that many observers blame media influences, such as violent T.V. programs and video games. But the underlying issues, Hart said, are far more complex.
"A child's understanding of what happens if they shoot somebody depends on what their experience of death has been, their overall intellectual level and how old they are. A typical young child - below the age of 8 - does not understand death is final." Teens, however, should understand the finality of death, Hart said, adding that among those who understand that violence is wrong, some simply don't care - because often they don't see a future for themselves.
Hart's comments cut to the heart of the matter. Politicians who would seek easy answers like video games to complex social issues like juvenile delinquency are deluding themselves and the public they were elected serve. In the historical context, isn't it obvious? Video games have been around for 25 years. When did juvenile delinquency and youth violence begin? Perhaps when Cain killed Abel.1:35p
"Follow the money..."
So said the mysterious Deep Throat, long ago in a shadowy Washington, D.C. parking garage. Now that the secret of Deep Throat's identity has been revealed, GamePolitics takes the famed whistle blower's advice to heart as we look at the current labor troubles swirling around game publishing giant Electronic Arts.
"Follow the money..."
For many gamers, the first public indication that there might be rumblings among the troops at Electronics Arts came with the posting of the now-famous "EA Spouse" blog in late 2004. The anonymous author complained that her significant other was forced to work 7-day, 85-hour weeks by EA with no additional compensation.
"...for the honor of this treatment EA salaried employees receive a) no overtime; b) no compensation time...c) no additional sick or vacation leave. The time just goes away. Additionally, EA recently announced that, although in the past they have offered essentially a type of comp time in the form of a few weeks off at the end of a project, they no longer wish to do this..."
Not long after, an EA programmer named Leander Hasty filed a class action lawsuit, alleging that he and others were denied overtime by EA despite working long hours, including weekends and national holidays. Hasty worked on the hit PC strategy game Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. Neither he nor his fellow programmers ever earned more than $41 per hour. And that was for the first 40 hours. If you factor in the 85-hour weeks with no additional compensation, the pay rate drops to less than twenty bucks per hour. Yet another class action suit, Kirschenbaum vs. Electronic Arts, makes similar claims regarding overtime with respect to employees such as animators, texture artists, and modelers.
In this environment, quality of life issues have become even more important to those who make games. In fact, the International Association of Game Developers (IGDA) has an entire section of its web site devoted to the topic. At the Game Developer's Conference earlier this year, attorney Tom Buscaglia warned that it may take as long as three years to resolve the class action suits.
"Follow the money..."
While EA's employees and their families continue to struggle with these issues, there are some interesting facts about EA's executive compensation available in the corporate giant's most recent SEC Form 10-K, filed on June 7th, 2005.
" On June 24, 2002, we hired Warren Jenson as our Chief Financial and Administrative Officer and agreed to loan him $4,000,000, to be forgiven over four years...the loan does not bear interest. On June 24, 2004, pursuant to the terms of the loan agreement, we forgave two million dollars of the loan and provided Mr. Jenson approximately $1.6 million to offset the tax implications of the forgiveness..."
"Follow the money..."
Those who thumb through EA's Fiscal 2004 Proxy Statement will find:
CEO Larry Probst: Salary - $672,759 Bonus - $781,000 Stock Options Exercised: $22,785,397
President Don Mattrick: Salary - $585,607 Bonus - $565,000 Stock Options Exercised: $9,383,663
CFO Warren Jenson - Salary - $450,000 Bonus - $450,000
Whew! That's a lot of money to follow. Class action? Sounds more like a class struggle to GamePolitics.
<<
Previous Day
2005/06/08
[Calendar] Next
Day >>