Hal Halpin

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Hal Halpin
Born	September 1, 1969
Nationality	American
Known for	Founder of the videogame industry's trade association IEMA.

Hal Halpin is an American computer game executive and entrepreneur. He is perhaps best known as the founder of the video game industry's retail trade association Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) that merged with Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) to form Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA).

Halpin is currently the president of the Crest Group, a consulting company serving the video game industry. Crest Group is the association management company that previously managed IEMA and now manages the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA). He is also a Contributing/Guest Editor for Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), GameDaily, and 1UP.com.

The association was launched in response to the need for consumer rights advocacy following a string of anti-games and anti-gamer legislation which would have criminalized the sale of certain video games if not for the efforts of trade groups in opposition. The industry itself was well represented by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), but those that purchase and play games went completely unrepresented until the launch of the ECA. Notable ECA publications include GamePolitics, GameCulture and ECA Today.

Prior to Crest, ECA, and IEMA, Halpin was the founder and publisher of Interactive Entertainment Magazine, which was the leading trade publication serving the sector. Although Halpin claims credit for the phrase "interactive entertainment," this claim is certainly untrue. He also previously founded and was the publisher of GameDaily, the category's primary daily news outlet.

He also launched the leading interactive entertainment business recruitment site, GameJobs.com, which remains a staple HR tool serving the trade. Halpin re-published David Sheff's Game Over, a book on the history of the videogame industry considered by many to be the "Bible" of the videogame business. He successfully relaunched the industry's first charitable organization, Games for Good, and is frequently called upon to represent the trade in mass-media outlets, speaking at conventions and trade shows, and in representing the sector to federal and state government representatives.

Halpin's brother Spencer created a documentary about video game violence, Spencer Halpin's Moral Kombat, in which Halpin is interviewed.