The Entertainment Software Association, or the ESA as it’s commonly referred to, is falling apart fast. For now we can only speculate as to why developers are leaving the association en masse – there are no proven "whys" yet. But unless another group forms and unifies developers, the industry as a whole could lose a lot of ground.
The aforementioned exodus started as a snowball but is starting to look like the beginning of an avalanche. It began when Activison and Vivendi left at the beginning of May, but LucasArts followed shortly thereafter. It was when id Software also packed up shop and took off last week that you could almost feel the ground rumbling – a sign that snow could be coming down the mountain. Will more follow? No one knows but the developers, but the ESA needs to do something to curb this escalating trend.
Maybe that something is performing the job they were meant to do. The ESA was formed to perform a number of actions including organizing and producing E3, supporting the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board), fighting copyright infringement and most importantly fighting government attempts to regulate and censor video games. With big names like Hillary Clinton running around blabbing about supporting gaming legislation, the ESA’s job is as important as ever. While laws haven’t been passed just yet, they are being proposed. Events like the "Hot Coffee Mod" are gaining the attention of the upper echelons in our political machine. The ESA’s job is to lobby and keep stuff like this from happening. If American citizens can pay over $4 a gallon for gas and continue to smoke themselves into a coma with government support, I should be able to ice a few digital hookers, no? The lobbyists from those other industries are doing their jobs well. I worry the ESA isn’t as on top of things, especially now that developers are cutting loose.
Of course, the ESA doesn’t seem to think they’re in any trouble, or, at least didn’t before people started leaving. But with E3 2007 ending up a near bust because of the changed format, why did someone decide it would be a good idea to raise membership fees from $1 million to $5 million? The current rumor is that the increase in membership dues is what prompted those who left to do so. With the ESA’s job performance slipping, can you really blame them?
Someone needs to step up and be an advocate for gaming, and while the ESA was the perfect outfit, the operative word in that idea is "was." The ESA’s reputation has been shaken by recent developments. If they can’t fix things, someone needs to step up and unite developers in the same way the ESA used to, or else the industry runs the risk being regulated or worse: censored. A united industry is a strong one, but a splintered one could allow the government to sweep up the pieces and put it back together how they see fit. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
