id ESA departure 'probably temporary, not political'

by Scott Jon Siegel on Jun 9th 2008 3:30PM

Developers and publishers have been jumping ship from the Entertainment Software Association as of late, without much justification for the departures. The Washington Post reports on possible reasons for this trend, and speaks to Doom developer id Software on why they, like so many others, have moved on from the ESA.

According to CEO Todd Hollenshead, id's departure is "probably temporary," and due to business priorities. Hollenshead reiterates that the ESA is a "credit to the industry." According to the Post, many companies might be concerned at the continued expense of maintaining ESA membership, no longer having the perks of "the spectacle of E3," to use analyst Michael Pachter's words.

The ESA itself, meanwhile, is nothing if not concerned at the growing trend, and what it means for the organization's stability.

Source

Tags: esa, id

Reader Comments (2)

Multiple sites have reported that these companies are trying to force Michael Gallagher's resignation. Once Gallagher leaves, the companies will rejoin the ESA.

Musgrove's article seems to refer to this indirectly, when he notes that he can't get any of the ESA members to speak on the record about Gallagher in the article.