Hal Halpin
Hal Halpin is an American computer game executive and entrepreneur, and is the president and founder of the Entertainment Consumers Association.
Background
Halpin is perhaps best known as the founder of the US video game industry's retail trade association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association which merged with Video Software Dealers Association to form Entertainment Merchants Association in 2006. He is currently the president of the Crest Group, a consulting company serving the video game industry. Crest Group is the association management company that previously managed IEMA and now manages the Entertainment Consumers Association. He is also a Contributing/Guest Editor for 1UP.com, BitMob, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer Magazine, GameDaily, GameTheory, IGN, iMedia Connection, IndustryGamers, and The Escapist.Career
The Entertainment Consumers Association was launched in response to the need for consumer rights advocacy following a string of anti-games and anti-gamer legislation which would have criminalized the sale of certain video games if not for the efforts of trade groups in opposition. The industry itself was well represented by the International Game Developers Association, the Entertainment Software Association, and the Entertainment Merchants Association, but those that purchase and play games went completely unrepresented until the launch of the ECA. Notable ECA publications include GamePolitics, and .While running the IEMA, Halpin was involved in a number of historically important changes including the Hot Coffee scandal, retailers carding for mature-rated games, and the standardization of PC games packaging and related platform identification marks. During that time he also became a favourite target of noted anti-games activist and attorney, Jack Thompson. The two opponents were scheduled to debate publicly at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo, but the debate was cancelled and replaced in the schedule with keynote speaker, Wil Wheaton.
Prior to Crest, ECA, and IEMA, Halpin was the founder and president of Cyberactive Media Group, a business-to-business publishing company. There he was publisher of Interactive Entertainment Magazine, which was the leading trade publication serving the sector. He also previously founded and was the publisher of GameDaily, the category's primary daily news outlet.
Although he claims credit for coining the phrase "interactive entertainment," this claim is certainly untrue. Halpin previously founded and was the publisher of GameDaily, the category's primary daily news outlet and career site and job board,, which remains a staple HR tool serving the trade. Halpin also re-published David Sheff's Game Over, a book on the history of the video game industry considered by many to be the "Bible" of the video game business and re-launched the industry's first charitable organization, Games for Good.