Senator Larry Campbell kicked off the second annual Vancouver International Game Summit by defending video games against critics who claim they can lead to real-world violence. “Equating violence with computer games is comparable to me watching Silence of the Lambs and deciding to become a serial killer,” the former Vancouver mayor said on May 21. “It makes no sense.”

Campbell joked that upon his return to Ottawa he would change the name of the Senate to “Electric Playground, or Deep Fried Entertainment, or Naughty Dog”, referring to a locally produced television show, a Vancouver video-game developer, and a California–based developer, respectively.

At the Hyatt Regency during the conference, Gregory Spievak, CEO of conference organizer Reboot Communications, told the Straight that while the 2007 sessions focused on management and business issues, technical sessions were added for 2008 at the request of participants.

Spievak reported that about 475 people attended the summit, up 25 percent from last year. He admitted to being disappointed that there weren’t more attendees from local studios.

Howard Donaldson, vice president of studio operations at Vancouver’s Propaganda Games and cochair of the summit’s advisory board, said discussions are taking place with GC Developers Conference, held in Leipzig, Germany, about possible partnership for 2009 that would not only make the Vancouver event larger, but would add a retail component that would be open to the public.