Crave Entertainment president Michael Maas has commented on the publisher's recent exit from the Entertainment Software Association, adding that the publisher still plans to present at the E3 Media and Business Summit.
Maas told Kotaku that Crave left the ESA because the company is being sold. Music distribution firm Handleman Company currently owns Crave, after purchasing it for $72 million in 2005.
"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," said Maas. We will be re-evaluating our decision, hopefully in the near future. Crave still supports the goals and aims of ESA."
Maas' comments echo the statements of support for the organization's goals stated by other publishers who have left the ESA, a list that now includes Activision, Vivendi, LucasArts and id. Yesterday, the ESA commented on Crave's departure, and today the organization updated its official member list to reflect this most recent exit.