Report: ESA Spent $1.1M On Lobbying In First Quarter

Industry trade body the Entertainment Software Association spent $1.1 million in the first fiscal quarter of 2011 on lobbying the federal government on a number of issues, according to media reports. In a disclosure report obtained by Bloomberg, it was revealed that the ESA spent the money lobbying on topics such as regulation of game content, international trade and the First Amendment. The ESA had previously spent $1.1 million in the fourth quarter of the 2010 fiscal year, during which it lobbied on a bill regarding warning labels for mature-rated video games. In comparison to this latest figure, the group spent $1.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. The group includes the likes of Microsoft Corporation, Electronic Arts, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Nintendo of America. Earlier in the week, the ESA saw a victory in its opposition to government regulation of video game content, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the video game industry in a 7-2 vote on Monday morning, striking down a hotly-debated California video game law that sought to place government restrictions on the sale of violent video games to minors.