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Collapse of the ESA? Activision and Blizzard announce leaving
LibrarianThorne
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Activision and Blizzard parent company Vivendi Universal games are no longer part of the ESA. This broke when news broke that neither company would attend this year's E3 expo. Four more publishers (NCSoft, id, Her Entertainment, Codemasters) have also confirmed they won't be a part of E3 this year though all say they will remain in the ESA.
So, this is a pretty big shift in the wind, I think. Perhaps, as GamePolitics (where I discovered this story) suggests, their absence is something to do with the impending merger, however this is still an extremely odd happening. Perhaps these two publishers, as well as the four others who won't be at E3, are expressing displeasure over new the new ESA president, but this too seems a strange way to go about it.
Now, the failings of the ESA are many, but a lot of gamers around today likely don't recall the days pre-ESA. The haranguing of Mortal Kombat was easily on par, if not greater than, the heat placed on the Grand Theft Auto series and the creation of the ESA was a necessary step in ensuring continued freedom for the industry. Gaming is extremely mindful of the lessons of the comic book industry and the Comics Code Authority and naturally seeks to avoid a similar circumstance affecting the games indsutry.
Does anyone have any clue as to why the publishers would make such a move? Or, conversely, has anyone heard about grumblings within the ESA?
So, this is a pretty big shift in the wind, I think. Perhaps, as GamePolitics (where I discovered this story) suggests, their absence is something to do with the impending merger, however this is still an extremely odd happening. Perhaps these two publishers, as well as the four others who won't be at E3, are expressing displeasure over new the new ESA president, but this too seems a strange way to go about it.
Now, the failings of the ESA are many, but a lot of gamers around today likely don't recall the days pre-ESA. The haranguing of Mortal Kombat was easily on par, if not greater than, the heat placed on the Grand Theft Auto series and the creation of the ESA was a necessary step in ensuring continued freedom for the industry. Gaming is extremely mindful of the lessons of the comic book industry and the Comics Code Authority and naturally seeks to avoid a similar circumstance affecting the games indsutry.
Does anyone have any clue as to why the publishers would make such a move? Or, conversely, has anyone heard about grumblings within the ESA?
LibrarianThorne on
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I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't see this as the event to bring about the fall of the gaming industry or anything, but it could look really bad to those outside looking in.
Not especially thread related, but AWESOME sig dude. The sandman comics are incredible... and that is a sweet context haha.
GP's article on the matter says that this may be related to the new president of the ESA, in that he's apparently a guy who knows nothing about the industry and isn't going out of his way to learn about the companies and what they need. This might be political manuvering and, if I were in the ESA, I'd desperately hope it is. If Vivendi and Activision can stand without the ESA's help, that'll be a signal to other prominent developers to get out of dodge.
This also reflects, I think, on the ESA's "new" E3. A lot of the devs I met at GDC08 were talking up PAX and other gamer-centric conventions as better places to advertise projects and better places to get noticed. The new E3 might be too low-key when the industry is still looking for another headliner event.
If any companies can survive without the ESA it'd be Activision and Blizzard. That being said I've noticed a greater ESA presence patrolling scene sites as of late, in that there actually is a presence now.