A look into game makers' political campaign contributions

by Scott Jon Siegel { Feb 15th 2008 at 4:00PM }

Our coverage of American electoral politics rarely extends far beyond cheesy flash games, the occasional virtual world appearance, and the ever-looming threat of federal video game legislation. Thanks to Fundrace 2008 and 1UP, however, we have an opportunity to take a peak at the political leanings of the industry's biggest companies.

1UP has combed Fundrace's database of political campaign contributions to create an impressive list of contributions made by members of companies like Activision, EA, and Blizzard. These contributions are entirely separate from the ESA's proposed Political Action Committee, which is not planned to go into action until March.

Obviously political leanings have little to do with the creative output of these companies (and the leanings of some company members certainly have no weight on the leanings of others). Still, it's interesting to see how the big names of these companies spend their money (and, amazingly, how many contributed to failed campaigns).

Tags: politics

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

BigD145 @ Feb 15th 2008 4:13PM

Wow. Someone gave money to Huckabee. At least it was only 1.

Valve? Firaxis? Good call. EA? Your people obviously have little in common and it shows in your games; both sides sabotaging each other.

Marty @ Feb 15th 2008 4:43PM

Whoa, you are right - I guess I have one more reason to like Valve and Firaxis now, hehe.

Though I think EA represents the views of *everyone* a little better, since they have a more diverse roster of contribution destinations.

Marty @ Feb 15th 2008 4:41PM

Will Wright donated to Giuliani? Too bad - big loss of respect from me.

NoDivison @ Feb 15th 2008 5:20PM

I thought the same exact thing when I saw it. I don't know how anyone could have thrown money at that black hole of charisma.

Nicky Smith @ Feb 15th 2008 8:28PM

That's the exact same thing I though when I saw that.
From interviews I've seen with him, he definitely didn't fit the stereotype of a neocon.
I had such great respect for him.
Now I have none.

ThornedVenom @ Feb 16th 2008 3:02AM

Will Wright is probably supporting Giuliani because the latter used to play a real life version of SimCity. ;)

Lonin @ Feb 15th 2008 4:57PM

I'm surprised to see as many Republican contributions as there was. I figured it would slant more towards the Democratic side. Then again, a lot of those contributions were for Paul, who garnered a lot of support from voters who usually go Democrat.

The most shocking is the contribution to Giuliani from Will Wright though. That seems totally against his public persona. Interesting none-the-less though.

Burritoclock @ Feb 15th 2008 5:05PM

It's a myth that republicans are the anti-game party. Fact is the Dems are just as bad, they both suck.

Like the person above thinking its crazy that anyone donates to Huckabee, when if you actually compare Huckabee with anyone running they probably disagree on less than 5 issues.

BigD145 @ Feb 15th 2008 8:34PM

One of those issues being Creationism. Huckabee pretty much sets himself apart from the other candidates (R and D) by showing his colors as a retard. The other candidates are merely conniving.

aldynes @ Feb 15th 2008 5:20PM

Marty, why lose respect for Will Wright? He is entitled to his opinion, no? Typical liberal..... "We welcome diverse opinions... as long as it agrees with ours."

G.Park @ Feb 15th 2008 6:04PM

Will Wright - entitled to his opinion on Giuliani
Marty - not entitled to his opinion on Will Wright

Damn liberals! Thinking they can make up their own minds.

Phillip @ Feb 15th 2008 7:02PM

Will Wright - entitled to his opinion on Giuliani
Marty - not entitled to his opinion on Will Wright
aldynes - not entitled to his opinion on Marty
G.Park - not entitled to his opinion on aldynes
Phillip - IS entitled to his opinion on G.Park
...

jmood88 @ Feb 15th 2008 5:59PM

I can't believe that EA had so many Democrats, I never would've guessed.

Lone Starr @ Feb 15th 2008 6:43PM

"Obviously political leanings have little to do with the creative output of these companies...."

Really? I suppose that's similar to saying the political leanings of Hollywood in no way affect its creative output. Wait a second...

BigD145 @ Feb 15th 2008 7:05PM

"This Film Is Not Yet Rated."

ThornedVenom @ Feb 16th 2008 12:35AM

Didn't know that there were so many people pro-Ron Paul in real life (in the videogame development industry).

But I guess that everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

Lucky @ Feb 16th 2008 11:38AM

I guess they weren't let out of the spawn in TF2 till they donated for Ron Paul.
XD

but joking aside, it looks like the video game industry LOVES Ron. In all honestly and the way I see how the government works, it may not be a bad idea to vote for Ron Paul with all that video game industry backing behind him.