Id Departure From ESA 'Probably Temporary'

Speaking to The Washington Post, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead has stated that the company’s decision to leave the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) trade group was a business decision and not intended as political statement. As recently reported, Id Software followed soon to be merged publishers Activision and Vivendi Games, as well as LucasArts, in leaving the ESA, which helps to lobby on behalf of the games industry in Washington and which also organizes the annual E3 event in Los Angeles. Hollenshead stated that the ESA “is a credit to the industry” and “our departure from ESA is probably temporary and was not political. It was just a question of other priorities this year that we wanted to focus on." In the same article, ESA president Michael Gallagher attempts to play down the four high profile departures, pointing out that, “There are hundreds of trade associations in Washington and virtually all feature member turnover and the ESA is no exception.” However, industry analyst Michael Pachter posits that the exits could purely be for financial reasons, saying: “these [publishers] got rid of E3 so they wouldn't be spending money, and they suddenly find they are spending the same amount of money, but without the spectacle of E3."