California, one of the most budget-strapped states in the US, is reimbursing the Entertainment Software Association $1.3 million for court costs. That’s the high price of losing the battle to ban the sale of violent video games to minors. In July 2011, the United States Supreme Court ruled the controversial law unconstitutional.

The battle between the video game industry and the State of California ended with the Supreme Court ruling California’s law unconstitutional. The 2005 law would have made it a crime to sell violent video games to minors. Now the Entertainment Software Association filed a motion for reimbursement of $1.1 million in attorneys fees from California. The ESA motion argues that numerous states had tried to pass similar laws and had them shot down as unconstitutional. Thus, the ESA contends California was wasting time and taxpayer dollars defending legislation doomed to fail.

Another study has been released claiming children who are classified as being “addicted” to videogames are at higher risk of development some sort of mental illness in their lifetime. This study was conducted on 3,000 school children in Singapore over the past two years.

Every year E3 attracts thousands of people from the videogame industry. Writers, retailers and other business types converge on California to check out the latest advancements gaming has to offer. A huge event such as this has unfortunately spawned some shady ways for people to get in. In response to badge counterfeits and other unauthorized ways to enter E3, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has cooked up a new method for obtaining badges.

Gamertell has taken all the tiny labels and pasted them into JPEG versions of the E3 2010 floor maps, labeling all of the booths and the corresponding companies for the West, South and Concourse areas.

A California law banning the sale of violent games to minors will get its day in the highest court in the United States in October 2010. The legislation in question was supposed to take effect in 2006, but has been tied in legal wrangling for years now. A California federal appeals court ruled that the state hadn’t produced sufficient evidence that violent video games harm minors.

The Video Game Voters Network, an organization that strives to get gamers involved in the political process, has announced it now has more than 200,000 members.

The group is backed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and keeps gamers in the loop about political debates that involve the video game industry. It also encourages members to contact their lawmakers regarding game-related issues.

It seems this year’s E3 (2009) is doing well enough that ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has announced the dates and venue for the next Expo.

E2 2010 will take place June 15 through 17, 2010, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. According to the ESA press release, more than 41,000 attendees from 78 countries have attended E3 2009.

This year’s expo brought a return to what is being called “the old format” by many companies and media outlets, with…

Thanks to live broadcasts on G4TV and live blogging through outlets such as Gamertell, millions of eyes throughout the world are on the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It’s not just the games and consoles at this industry showcase that are under intense scrutiny, it’s the showcase itself.

After 2008′s E3, gaming luminary than Will Wright called the show the walking dead. Activision opted to skip the 2008 event altogether, holding its own press event at a separate locale and sending a clear message that E3 had issues. Entertainment Software Association CEO Michael Gallagher cautioned against calling this event a return to the old E3, but did promise to deliver the show “the industry deserves.”

It’s no secret that the Electronic Entertainment Expo has been in a state of flux for the past couple of years. These days the companies that don’t show up for the event make as much news as the companies that do.

Conspicuous by its absence from E3 2008 was the world’s largest publisher, Activision Blizzard. In 2008 Activision discontinued its membership in the Entertainment Software Association, the organization that puts the event on.

Although the publisher and the ESA probably still won’t be exchanging Wii Friend codes anytime soon…