NCsoft is dropping out of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), at least temporarily. It has become the seventh company to leave the ESA, creators and organizers of E3. Other memorable leavings from this summer include Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts.
Although NCsoft insists that their financial situation has nothing to do with their decision to leave the organization, the most likely reason for its departure would be still financial problems. The ESA is quite an exclusive little club, and its membership fees are nothing to sneeze at. NCsoft has seen its profits be cut in half this year, due only partly to the slow creeping demise of Tabula Rasa.
"We can confirm that NCsoft decided not to renew its ESA membership," ESA senior VP Rich Taylor said. "We respect their decision and remain committed to serving the public affairs needs of the computer and video game industry."
In a follow-up, NCsoft's David Wofford has said that the decision was not a financial one.
However the larger issue here might be a lesson for the ESA. NCsoft's departure will mean that the ESA's membership has decreased from 28 companies to 21 - a reduction of 25 percent - in 2008 alone. With the practical death of their show E3 (at their own hands), and now a dwindling membership, perhaps they need to take a close look at themselves and decide what they really are. While E3 isn't the only thing the ESA does, maybe it was the only thing that its members were willing to pay for.
Related Stories:
E3 2009 Opening Its Doors To The Public Next June
The E3 No Shows: Why They Weren't There
Activision, Vivendi Pull Out Of ESA, E3 2008
click here for full image
