I haven’t updated the blog in awhile because for a couple of reasons. One, I’ve been posting it over at Imagigrafx’s web site. Two, I’ve been hosting the Paper Money podcast. The podcast covers the business side of the game industry. My co host, Rett Kipp, and I do a new show every two weeks covering the latest news, trends and the occasional interview. Give it a listen. We’re at http://www.purplepawn.com/category/papermoney or you can download the show from iTunes.

The US government decided to at least postpone the testing requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 for one year.Manufacturers will still be required to meet the new lead and pthalate limits, but won’t have to test their products…yet.

Thank God. The whole thing was becoming a three ring circus. The Toy Industry Association is still unhappy, by the way. I’m not sure why - I think they wanted a general absolution from testing or an honest-to-god clarification of what the heck the testing requirements were actually going to be. Frankly, I’m just happy that we can get games made in the short term without wondering if we’re meeting all the testing requirements. I mean,  a board game and plastic pawns are about as close to lead and pthalate free as you can get in this world, so it’s a safe bet that these products will meet the safety requirements, but the testing requirements were vague and confusing, and possibly draconian to boot. Nice combo.

Suffice to say that my previous column about the safety law being the “hot topic” of conversation for the first half of 2009 is now moot. Work on the law’s implementation proceed quietly in the background, leaving everyone free to kvetch about the awful economy. More on that in a future post…