EA on ESA Departures: "They Lack Leadership Skills"
May 19th, 2008 by Rajiv Ashrafi in Business, News
The ESA saw major blows last week, following the departures of Activision, LucasArts and Vivendi. While no reason was cited for their exit, EA has publicly commented that these companies withdrawal from the US-based trade body shows “an unfortunate lack of leadership.”
“They’re a big company and we feel that when you’re a big company you’ve got a responsibility to consumers to work on policy issues which are very, very important to consumers,” said Jeff Brown, EA’s VP of corporate communications. “And the best way to do that is with an industry consensus. That’s the way it’s been done with the ESA in the US, and with ELSPA in the UK.”
He added that EA was not reconsidering its position in the body, but is urging the ESA to make a strong case to remaining members for their ongoing participation.
“There are always tensions inside these organizations, but for the most part it works,” he insisted. “So it was sad to see them step away from that responsibility. We hope that others don’t do that, but I think that the onus is on the ESA to prove that membership in it is good for the company and good for consumers. And I think we’re going to see the ESA redouble its efforts to prove that.”
The ESA currently has 25 remaining members. It is going to hold E3 2008 from July 15-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Centre.
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