The NCGP Defends Its Existence in the Wake of New Details

So just the other day I reported that the games industry was apparently founding a new self-regulating agency called the National Committee for Games Policy, or the NCGP. This raised a few eyebrows, as the organization, which claimed to be made up of Industry experts and influencers, cropped out of nowhere with a suspicious, poorly made website and a general air of desperation no one could reasonably take seriously.

Well, things have changed a bit since I wrote on it last, thanks to some digging done by Forbes writer Erik Kain.

In a new article he posted just the other day, Erik decided to dig into the identity of both mysterious figures listed in the members section, Jack and Kenny. His investigation led him to discover a man named Kenneth Tran, the full name of the founder of the entire organization, who admitted on his blog post last September that he was a prolific internet troll. On top of that, his claim to be an industry leader is founded on the idea that hes the cofounder of Incuvation Games, known as the publisher of Nemexia which is swell and all, but Nemexia is published by a Bulgarian software company known as XS Software JSCo. On top of that, Tran seems to have no links with Incuvation Labs either, not showing up on the companys LinkedIn profile.

He also discovered Jack - full name is Jack Wegrich - who has a LinkedIn profile that clearly lists he was born in 2000 which would make him 17 years old and the Vice Chair of the NCGP.

The article, which I linked above, goes on to examine the other members of the organization who are all either very sketchy or randomly small time, nothing close to the experts and influincers the organization claims to be.

But wait, we're not done just yet. The NCGP actually contacted the author after the story went live and defended itself, claiming it was a real organization and not just one of Kenneths trolling operations (because trolls are well-known for their honesty) but ALSO provided a 527 group IRS filing, which is one of the things a non-partisan group needs to actually operate. Its authentic, BUT, it was also only filled out the day the article went live.

So what are we left with? Frankly, Ive stopped fearing this is a scam, and it seems more like the over-ambitious project of some kids who want to feel important and make a change in the games industry. And hey, thats admirable. But to kickstart their goal with something so needlessly and indefensibly grand? Thats questionable.

I really have no idea if this is the last we see of the NCGP or not, but Ill keep yall posted.