It's Official: LucasArts Bails on ESA
It's Official: LucasArts Bails on ESA
May 16, 2008
Following Activision and Vivendi out the door, LucasArts has made its exit from the Entertainment Software Association official.
GamePolitics broke the news last week that signs pointed to LucasArts leaving the organization which represents the interests of US video game publishers.
Since that time, both LucasArts and the ESA went into silent mode - until late today (Friday afternoons being the corporate mind's preferred time for dropping bad news).
Despite giving the kiss-off to ESA, LucasArts says that it will still exhibit at E3 in July.
We should note that while working on this story no fewer than five LucasArts PR reps failed to return GP's phone calls, e-mails and IM's. The ESA also chose not to respond. Notice that nobody was denying the rumor. Obviously, there was a good reason for that.
Joystiq has the ESA's press release, which the publisher's group did not deign to send to GamePolitics. I assume that's by way of payback for reporting the rumor.
Classy.
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Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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Comments
None of these press releases reveal the reason why these companies are jumping ship.
Surely some insider could anonymously tip someone about what the hell is going on here.
As far as I can see ESA has been quite adept in addressing the industry issues. I can't imagine the companies are having this much of an issue with E3. Or are they?
Do the rats tell the crew why they are jumping ship? Will the captain openly admit fault when his crew is about to die?
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Wow... ESA. Time to come up with a game plan while you still have members.
-Loudspeaker
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."
Yeah... This isn't looking too good...
Jack Thompson, do you care to comment? We all know you're here trolling.
One, if I'm not mistaken, J.B. is still banned. Two, he's probably too busy coming up with conspiracy theories.
----
Papa Midnight
http://www.otakutimes.com
http://www.thesupersoldiers.com
it's not really a JT kind of story, not the kind of thing he would wade into. Also, there's no reason to pull him into this. It's like, industry dirty laundry, mainly...
Why wouldn't they bail? the ESA doesn't do a damn thing!
-GRIZZAM PRIME(c)is property of the U.S. Marine Corp. Wetworks Dept., and also The Incredible Hulk-GRIZZAM PRIME is not to be associated with GRIZZAM 512 or any other GRIZZAM entity under penalty of law, so sayith ZARATHOS.
Sorry you weren't invited to the party Dennis.
I too want to know the reasons why these companies are jumping ship.
Will someone think of the gamers?!?
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Perhaps, given their damn-near zero success rate, the ESA should deep-six it's lobbying functions and functionaries and, given their damn-near perfect record, concentrate on litigation. Because they're generally able to re-coup on litigation fees (i.e., the losing state foots their attroneys' bills) , this would effectively allow them to cut their membership fees by -- I'd imagine -- more than 50% and in so doing, perhaps, stop the growing membership defections.
Dear ESA:
I'm available for consultancy at reasonable rates. Name's JackDon'tKnowJack. Holla achta ya boy.
So why are these guys leaving the ESA anyways?
everyone is very tight-lipped about that.
But let's put it this way: they ain't leaving because they're happy with what they're getting from ESA.
Well, the ESA's had little success lobbying, been unable to do much about piracy, and has screwed up E3 to the point where companies are throwning their own things as an alternative.
At a guess, the big companies that pay the most are probably starting to feel as though they aren't getting their money's worth. It seems odd that they'd just up and leave, rather than try and change things though.
True, the ESA has had little success lobbying, but piracy is almost at the point of being an urban myth - it's hard to do much about something that people are deathly afraid of, but which doesn't exist in anywhere near the numbers that people think it does.
Not that it's cool for ESA/LucasArts to cut anybody out of the loop by way of retribution, but sarcastically calling them "classy" and flinging accusations of blackballing doesn't really make this site look any classier. Call me old fashioned for thinking that blogging could sound a little more like journalism, I guess.
I've always believed that, because most of the people who cover video games are really into gaming, the biz has gotten used to a very compliant gaming press. While I am likewise a gamer, my commitment is to the story, not the industry.
I call 'em like I see 'em, based on the facts. And the facts in this case are that I got the brush-off while working on the original rumor story. I also pursued a follow-up with the ESA on the status of LucasArts on Tuesday, with no response. It's not like the ESA didn't know I was tracking this story. To issue the press release and then not send it to an established site with an obvious interest in the situation?
All fair on your part. And hey, it's your blog. But my comment related more to tone than to content. Just giving some feedback on how this came across to someone who's used to seeing political analysis discussed otherwise. Use or ignore as you will.
GamePolitics seems to be on the recieving end of Chest Beating press releases from the ESA at all other times. So what makes this one different. It is not like the ESA forgot this site existed.
I think they were a little upset that a drop out that they were trying to keep quiet was announced internationally. It was very disturbing that GP was not in the loop.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
I'm curious as to why you say it is disturbing.
I guess disturbing isn't the proper word to use. But it is odd that they would contact other game news sites before sending anything to Game Politics, or not at all as in this case. I guess they were kind of ticked that GP broke the story.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
I thought based on comments from past articals that the fact they are often quiet about critics and stuff and not defending and leaving us to do the defending, is a reason they are leaving?
Again, I don't know the entire reason. Kotaku ran a story indicating that some in the biz thought they should be speaking out more against critics. There was also a suggestion that some of the companies just didn't want to pay the membership fee.
It sounds like one of those situations that we'll learn more about as time goes on.
Some People claim that the ESA shouldn't bother with every no name who wants to complain about games. They are right. THere is no reason to send a response to every local news story that wants to trash games.
On the other hand, when you have a high profile organization such as the PTC, NIMF, CCFC, or high profile individuals such as politicians, or certain lawyers or national media figures trashing games, The should be speaking out.
The ESA has made a habit of ignoring all negative press, except when it comes to actual legislation.
Perhaps if they were doing more for the public image of games, you would see less bailing right now.
This is actually leaving an opening for another representative group to form.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
"We should note that while working on this story no fewer than five LucasArts PR reps failed to return GP's phone calls, e-mails and IM's."
Take it from me, that's just LucasArt's PR in general. You have any idea how hard it is for us smaller Game Journalism Publications online just to get a phone call? EA is the same way, if your curious.
I've been writing about games since 1993 so I'm pretty familiar with dealing with PR folks. It was obvious from the cone of silence which rapidly descended upon this story that there was something to it. I really only mention the LucasArts angle as a gentle way of saying that they can play their PR games, but that doesn't mean I'm going to play along with them...
Heck we broke the story of the company leaving the ESA and despite weeks of phone calls to all of their reps, it ended up being the ESA who finally confirmed the parting to us through an official statement.
It was only then that Lucas would return our calls.
Stay tuned Monday for bigger news. ;)
@GP:
Sorry for the off-topic post, but I think your comment counter's shorting the comment count.
Long time troll, first time poster....
It's really interesting to watch these companies break away from the ESA. Each one probably has their own reason, but the two main ones have got to be E3 and Gallagher. If I remember correctly, I think it was the companies themselves who decided to tone down E3. What a dumb decision that was. By bet is that E3 will be back to its normal self sometime after Gallagher's term is done. The other main reason seems to be Gallagher. Why did they hire this guy? Anyone know? It looks like he has a good resume, but this guy should have sucked up to some of these companies badly to keep them.
Btw, I wouldn't be surprised if a couple more companies drop out as well. Hopefully not any big names, but you never know.
Nintendo is indeed selling SOME of these on the Virtual Console but not even close to all of them. While i agree in part to his piracy he was filling a market that Nintendo failed to recognize. Maybe someone doesnt want to buy a Wii. maybe they just want a console with 50 - 100 NES games on them?? maybe just maybe?
but no Nintendo wants everyone araba kiralama to buy the Wii. thats their excuse but thats not what copyright is supposed to protect. i am real sure that the makers of 10 yard fight were losing sleep because they were missing out on their $0.00025 worth because they didnt get royalties from this player. *smirk*
my question is, should Super Mario Bros. be banned from public domain forever? isnt 23 years enough time for Nintendo to have made their profits?
If you have followed the Steamboat Willie case regarding Mickey Mouse you can rest in your bed well at night knowing that the MOUSE will still be under copyright law, away from public domain after your great grandchildren are in nursing homes. That is beyond ridiculous dont you think??
Gallagher can araç kiralama say all he wants, but I strongly rent a car believe it's due to his crappy leadership and E3 being a joke. ESA's Board of Directors need to find a way to get out rent a car of this horrid contract with this Bush cronie before there's no one left on the Board.
Btw, I think Atari and Midway will drop out too, but mostly travesti because these guys have done nothing ttnet vitamin or little and need to start saving costs.
YES.
Now I don't have to get off my ass for the important shit anymore!
Whats next, ordering pizza from Xbox live?
Wait... I think that sounds like a good idea.
But I think voting should MAKE you get off your ass, and see outside or a second while you go vote. I mean, your picking the president of the United States of America for God's Sake... least you can do is drive down there and punch out a card.