The Game behind the Video Game: A Conference on Business, Regulation, and Society in the Gaming Industry

Virtual world expert Greg Lastowka and others will examine the growing virtual economy and society

The conference will examine the complex policy, legal, ethical, economic, and social issues arising from the proliferation of games and virtual worlds such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, as well as the use of video games in government and business. The School of Communication and Information at Rutgers and the Institute for Information Policy at Penn State are hosting the event.

Registration for the event is open, with early-bird prices in effect until February 28.

• Greg Lastowka, author of “Virtual Justice: The New Laws of Online Worlds” (Yale University Press, 2010) and a professor at Rutgers School of Law—Camden. Lastowka is also a co-founder and author of the popular virtual world blog Terra Nova (http://terranova.blogs.com).
• Aaron Kornblum, director of security policy at Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, which produces the Xbox 360. Kornblum is an attorney and leader of a global team focused on anti-piracy, privacy, content ratings, online safety, geopolitical affairs, and accessibility.

The conference has attracted scholars and experts from across the United States as well as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Canada, and Switzerland. Representatives from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the European Commission, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will be in attendance.

Video games aren’t merely a diversion these days – the size of the virtual economy in virtual worlds and social games has grown to more than $2 billion, a number greater than the gross domestic product of 48 countries.

“The world of video games is changing quickly, and offering new opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals to capitalize,” said Jorge Reina Schement, conference chair and dean of the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers. “At the same time, there are tough questions that have yet to be answered.”

Several of the submitted conference papers examine the case before the United States Supreme Court – Schwarzenegger vs. Entertainment Merchants Association – that challenges a 2005 California law banning the sale of violent video games to children. Other topics include international governance and market regulation in virtual worlds and video games, international and regional views of the gaming industry, and workplace games intended to increase employee productivity.

“A lot of hot issues in virtual worlds carry over to social software generally,” Lastowka said. “Virtual worlds are on the cutting edge of technology and society. They’re kind of like the canary in the coal mine.”

Links:

Conference Website: http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/conferences/game-behind-the-game/

School of Communication and Information: http://comminfo.rutgers.edu

Institute for Information Policy: http://comm.psu.edu/about/centers/institute-for-information-policy/

Greg Lastowka: http://www.chaihana.com/pers.html

Terra Nova: http://terranova.blogs.com

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Media Contact: Ashanti M. Martin
732-932-7500 ext. 8012
E-mail: ashanti@rutgers.edu