Matt Martin
08:13 (BST)
09/06/2008
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id: ESA departure temporary, not political
id Software has said that its decision to quit the Entertainment Software Association was not a political one.
The Doom studio is one of four high-profile companies to abandon the trade association. Last month, Activision and Vivendi confirmed they would be leaving the group, with Star Wars studio LucasArts taking a similar decision only weeks later.
"Our departure from ESA is probably temporary and was not political," said Todd Hollenshead, chief executive of id Software, reports the Washington Post.
"It was a question of other priorities this year that we wanted to focus on," he added. This year id's QuakeCon begins on July 31, only weeks after the ESA's E3 Media & Business Summit takes place.
Last week, the ESA and the Entertainment Consumers Association came to blows over the choice of keynote speaker for E3, Texas governor Rick Perry.
The Entertainment Software Association currently has 24 members, but according to Hal Halpin, head of the ECA, more members are likely to leave and others "are unhappy but remain with the organisation."
"It's really concerning for all of us," Halpin told the Washington Post. "Anyone who cares about the games business should be concerned about what's going on with the ESA."
According ESA president Michael Gallagher, the recent departures are simply a case of members leaving the association of their own accord.
"There are hundreds of trade associations in Washington and virtually all feature member turnover and the ESA is no exception," he said.
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