Q&A: IEMA president Hal Halpin

LAS VEGAS--With the fifth annual Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association Executive Summit in full swing, Hal Halpin paused to consider how far the IEMA has come, as well as comtemplated ways the industry can kindle more sales and build its growing consumer base.

GameSpot: Good crowd, Hal. What happened to E3 as the premier venue for deal-making? Is E3 out and the IEMA Summit in?

Hal Halpin: The E3 event and the IEMA Summit serve the same industry, but have very different purposes, not unlike the Game Developers Conference and E3. Audience overlap is more substantial with a small event such as ours, but the focus, too, is very different. I believe that the industry needs all three equally and that their fates are intertwined.

GS: With giant titles including Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Doom 3, and GTA: San Andreas on the way, how can retailers generate consumer interest in the slew of other high-quality titles on their shelves?

HH: Today, store-level staff is much savvier than they were five years ago. That said, publishers and retail executives are relying upon them to intelligently answer questions about a much wider assortment of products offered. While customers may be motivated to come in for a known "triple A" game, add-on sales come from getting them interested in breakout games that are equally compelling. A great game without the marketing and merchandising to inform simply won't sell.

GS: Is a launch price of $19.99 good for business or does it pose problems for retailers? Do you expect to see more value-pricing attached to launch titles?

HH: The easy answer is that it depends. We've seen value-priced software for years, and in the process we’ve seen some do exceedingly well while others do not. As publishers and retailers determine what mix works, you're likely to see more wisdom in the pricing of titles, but not necessarily more lower-priced launch titles.

GS: What do you see as the industry’s tools to break new business and sell into the non-core marketplace?

HH: One truism is that a lower entry price point for hardware translates into building the mass market; another concerns diversifying the capabilities of that hardware, be it consoles, PCs, cell phones, or handheld gaming devices. What they offer to compel an atypical consumer to become interested boils down to value for the dollar versus experience gained. Content is equally important in that value proposition: The Sims introduced nongamers to the business because it was compelling, obviously in a different way than the way the GBA brought nongamers into the fold.

GS: What’s your perspective on the sharp rise in sales of used games specialty retailers are reporting? Who wins and who loses when sales of used games climb?

HH: Used-game sales were an inevitability of the business model. I believe that they benefit all parties; the “high tide raises all ships” analogy applies. Publishers get exposure to a wider audience, retailers get a second bite at the apple, and developers have larger fan bases toward which they can target new games.

GS: In that same vein, are game-rental companies a publisher’s friend? Is there anything to fear from a robust number of companies in business only to rent games?

HH: No. Rental has been great for the business. It took several publishers, and one notable hardware company, to embrace game rentals because of concerns that it would erode the sell-through market, but it has done the opposite. Rental is a test bed and it has qualitatively increased the market.

GS: What are the key indicators you are looking for that will signal the show’s success?

HH: It is the IEMA Board’s wish that the event is successful for our invited vendors. That can be as easy as being able to conduct all of the meetings a road sales tour would, but in a more cost-effective and time-efficient manner. We already know that the event has ballooned from 600 to 700 attendees, that the meeting rooms and suites are sold out, and that the panels are well attended. I tend to favor the less tangible indicators. It's the more personal feedback from a VP of Sales for XYZ publisher that means more to me personally. Positive feedback is rewarding, and constructive criticism helps us build a better event.

GS: Can you bullet point some of the more dramatic metrics that you are aware of so far from this year's event?

HH: The Summit is only five years old, and as such, is still in a steep learning curve. We're trying to determine what the appropriate maximum number of publishers, retailers, analysts, and media are while still keeping the event intimate. We sell out each year earlier, and have sustained a 100-person growth year on year due to allowing more executives from a substantially similar pool of vendors and retailers. Managing that success has been and will likely continue to be our challenge.

GS: Thanks, Hal.