ESA ratchets up Q2 lobbying to $1.2M

In 1999, the International Digital Software Association spent a total of $360,000 lobbying federal legislators on behalf of game publishers for the entire year. A decade later, that amount wouldn't even cover the organization's lobbying tab for a single month.

According to a filing with the Senate Office of Public Records, the Entertainment Software Association (formerly the IDSA), spent more than $1.2 million on lobbying from April through June. That's up from the $980,000 lobbying spend the ESA reported for each of the previous four quarters.

While the organization spent more over the quarter, the slate of issues for which it lobbies didn't change significantly. The topics include constitutional issues, copyright law (piracy, intellectual property, and patent modernization), trade concerns, Internet governance, and access to H1-B visas for highly skilled workers.

By comparison, the Motion Picture Association of America spent $460,000 on federal lobbying in the second quarter, while the Recording Industry Association of America dropped $1.67 million over the three-month span.

Not all the ESA's attempts to influence legislation are reflected by its lobbying spend. As ESA president Michael Gallagher explained in his E3 keynote address, the association organizes the Video Game Voters Network to convey its message to elected officials across the country.