Rebels

We don't need no stinkin' ESA?

Man, I used to look forward to e3 every year. Now its not so much of a highlight as it used to be...

Does this mean there will be no Blizzard at e3? Think of the fanboys!

So now the second biggest publisher isn't showing up? EA will follow suit just to show they're not chumps (hint: they're chumps)

This is a shame. I always thought it'd be a cool experience to go to E3, but it seems to be diminishing. I guess I should go to PAX instead.

Hmmm.... One must wonder what a big publisher gains/losses over leaving the ESA. Also, what does this do to the rest of the community. Are we going to see copycats as sisedi suggests? Are we going to see the ESA just vanish due to no support from the publishers?

@antialias02: so what if there is no blizz at E3, last thing I need is them showing off more WoW stuff. It's like putting crack in a stick in front of a horse pulling a cart full of carrots laced with opium.

I mean I miss WoW but it destroys everything I hold dear.

Although I mean if Blizz wants to goto PAX to unveil Diablo 3 I wouldnt mind.

Are there any rules or regulations that are required to be apart of the ESA? Could they be trying to dodge something like that?

Activision breaking from the ESA is a bigger deal than Activision not showing up at E3.

I wonder why they chose to leave the ESA. Most of the bigger publishers support it, and Activision leaving will be a pretty big blow to them.

Wow so Ubi won't have to give us advance warning about their upcoming buggy first party titles.

I don't get why they're doing this. Is it a too big for their britches kinda thing? Is their penis size now too big and mighty for E3? Will their newly gigantic money-schlong not fit through the tiny doors of the LA Convention Center?

I don't know what to make of this.
...thankfully, most of Activision's output is crap, so I guess it's no big loss unless you're into WoW.

I had no idea publishers were unhappy with the ESA. I mean it's the primary games lobby and with increasing backlash against violent games, you'd think they'd need them more than ever.

And doesn't the ESA run the ESRB? Does this mean they can't get ratings any more?

@sisedi: Largest PC publisher, mind you.

OH the drama!

@Mr. Fap☆Fap!:
One reason why publishers are not too keen on events like E3 is the expense. E3 was a way for the industry to get media exposure, but with print media losing it's dominance to other outlets the industry is going to have to change the way it interacts with the people covering it. Publishers and devs can set up their own media events to make sure of coverage, unlike a big gathering like E3 where they can get lost in the shuffle. It can also drag devs away from the actual game because they are often pressured into making an E3 demo by marketing. Silicon Knights is a great example of how a bad showing at E3 can really bite you in the ass. "Too Human" was getting alot of hype until E3 2006 when the game shown was less-than-stellar, and got written off by many.

@coalhalo:
True, but E3 is really meant for retailers and trade press outlets, which are actually doing fairly well still, considering the situation. It just happens to also be hugely covered by the commercial publishing outlets, too, whether they be EGM or Kotaku.
And with E3's toned down presence, I'm not entirely sure I can sign on with saying it's partially expenses or worry about getting lost in the crowd. Equally, it would be REALLY abnormal for a publisher the size of Activision to actually care about dragging the developers away from the game to pump out a demo. They don't usually care what devs think.

I dunno...something fishy about all of this, if you ask me.

@Mr. Fap☆Fap!: Definitely.

I'm sure it costs money to present at E3, but not goo gobs of money....

Who cares? Blizzard didn't do anything at E3. They were too good for it for the past few years.

Thats what Blizzcon was for.

damn I used to work at Vivendi and didn't see this coming..as to why they're pulling out seems pretty odd...every year at E3 they had some of the best booths (and Babe Booths as well :P) and to pull out seems like some thing's-a-brewing...