ESA departure motivated by sale of company, says Crave president

The latest publisher to leave the Entertainment Software Association says that the decision was not based upon politics nor of a lack of confidence in the organisation's leadership.

"Crave's departure from ESA at this juncture is not a statement against the value provided by our longstanding membership, but rather was motivated by our need to focus on the impending sale of our company," company president Michael Mass told GamesIndustry.biz.

"We will be re-evaluating our decision, hopefully in the near future. Crave still supports the goals and aims of ESA."

Activision and Vivendi left the ESA in May in the midst of their merger - a decision which was criticised by EA's VP of corporate communications Jeff Brown. He said that it showed a "lack of leadership" from publishers who have a bigger responsibility to the industry as a whole.

id Software and LucasArts left the ESA shortly after Activision and Vivendi. All the departing members have stated that they still support the goals of the organisation.

ESA president Michael Gallagher has noted that, as with the hundreds of trade associations in Washington, the ESA is not immune to experiencing member turnover.