GameDaily BIZ: It's been almost two months on the job now as ESA president...

Mike Gallagher: Six weeks.

BIZ: What's the experience been like for you?

MG: Taking a drink of water from a fire hose. [laughs] It's a remarkable industry, in the sense of not only the products, but what goes on behind the scenes; also understanding each one of the member companies and how they approach the marketplace preparing for this show, E3, and also beginning to plug into the key leadership on the Hill (Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.) as well as in the states. I went out to Sacramento Day, which was June 16th, and was in Sacramento and we visited with the governor and a couple of other folks. We cover probably thirty offices as an industry, so all of that activity has just been terrific in the sense of getting to know and to listen to the stakeholders in the industry. That's been the focus for the first six weeks. That, and understanding the ESA operations. We've had some very interesting activity from the publishers intersecting with the ESRB. So there's been activity there, and we've had the doctors making allegations that somehow video games are causing obesity. All of that has been happening. It's been very, very eventful month and a half but it's only attracted me more to the industry and solidified that I'm just delighted to be part of ESA and a leading figure in the industry.

BIZ: Did you speak with outgoing president Doug Lowenstein?

MG: Doug? Absolutely! I knew Doug when he was in the job. When I was over at the Department of Commerce we would intersect a couple of times, because at the Department of Commerce, the focus was convergence. "How do we create the environment for investment in networks?" Whether they're wireless, wireline, fiber optic, cable, let's push that investment to create a rich environment for broadband. Doug came in and would say, "That's what we do. We're a broadband application and we have a significant consumer base that really is important for driving broadband." So I knew Doug then, but I've had two different conversations with him, I had lunch with him, I'm going to have lunch with him in a week or so again, but absolutely keeping in touch with Doug and learning from his experience so I can be as effective as quickly as possible as I come in. As a side note, he's got a real tiger by the tail with the private equity council that he's running right now. Anytime you pick up a newspaper or trade publication, they're talking about private equity and not always in a positive way. So he's got a real challenge there and he's very energized about that.

BIZ: Do you see him as your advisor, did he give you any specific advice about how to handle this job?

MG: Oh, I've asked for his advice because there's no one who has more experience doing this job; he's the only other holder of the position for thirteen years! (laughs) So if I didn't ask, it would be a mistake and he is a reservoir of a lot of knowledge and experience, which I want to tap into so that I don't have to reinvent the wheel and also to understand how he got to certain decisions or how did the industry find itself in a certain set of challenges or opportunities around the country, whether in the states or on the federal level. He's a great source of information there and he's been terrific to offer me advice when I've asked for it, but on the same token, he's been pretty busy with his new challenge.

We couldn't help but notice the little bird perched over his right shoulder...

BIZ: During the initial conference to announce your appointment you said you had a lot to learn from others in this industry. What have you learned so far?

MG: You know, I've spent a fair amount of time working with and listening to the member companies and one thing I'm getting much better understanding is the mechanics of how companies approach the marketplace. I am a fan of all three platforms; I am an equal fan of all three platforms. I think that the software that's being written right now is good, some of it is really good, but the best by far is yet to come. And I'm learning that just simply because of the cycle, learning the industry itself... we went through an investment cycle: very expensive, very high-capital expenses for the companies. Now we're going to reap the benefit of that over the next four to five years through software sales. So understanding those mechanics and also understanding the various companies' approach to the marketplace [is important].

Nintendo is very focused on expanding the universe of video game players... and they're having a great success at that! I was out visiting at Nintendo – wonderful meetings there – but there is an energy and an excitement there at Nintendo that you can feel when you walk in the door. It's really, really terrific for them. Also I was with Microsoft when I was out there and Microsoft's approach is very different. When you talk to their senior leadership, the Xbox 360 is a very rich platform. They're all for growing the industry as well, but they're about that in depth experience that takes advantage of technology and a platform that makes it so that the Xbox 360 is a multifaceted device that you turn to for a lot of things – very, very different perspective than Nintendo. Sony, very similarly, they're closer to Microsoft, but with some differentiation themselves and [I'm] learning a lot about their financial situation by reading the trade publications, but there is an excitement around the titles that they're going to be coming out with here at E3 and the whole package of understanding that, I think I'm getting a lot closer to that.

The other thing that I've done is that I've probably talked to 20 different leaders on the Hill. I've had a California visit, visited with the Attorney General from Washington State. I'm drawing a much deeper picture of what the policymakers' view of our industry is and that's important because that's one of the key audiences that we need to impact at ESA... understanding "where are they right now?" and "how do we move them to where they're meeting the goal of creating a positive policy environment for the growth of video games?" We need them to think that way, because right now you have leaders on the Hill that want to make a better policy environment for broadband. You have leaders on the Hill that want to make a better policy environment for wireless technology. You have the same type of leaders that want to create a positive environment for software or high tech. What we need to cultivate is leaders who want to do the same thing for video games.

BIZ: Right, I think it's a matter of respect. I read your interview with the New York Times and you had said that when they see someone like Bono they're kind of in awe.

MG: Exactly.

BIZ: But let's say if they were in a room with one of the real visionaries of this industry, Shigeru Miyamoto, would they have that same sort of awe?

MG: Probably not and no disrespect to Mr. Miyamoto; it's just that that's the fact. Bono walks in and there's this bow wave and this entourage and orchestra that follow him and he can get a meeting in anyone's office just like that. (snaps fingers) Our industry has a challenge to meet that we need to create those types of star power capabilities on the Hill and we'll reap the benefits of it.