The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), best known as the organization behind E3, just got a little bigger, announcing in a press release today that it had added one of the most well known publishers in the United States and a major player from China as well.
For gamers in the United States (and the whole world, for that matter), no introduction is needed for Activision Blizzard. Whether it’s “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft,” “Diablo,” or “Skylanders,” just about everyone who has played a video game in the 21st Century has likely played at least one of its titles. The company’s rich history in the industry dates back to Activision’s birth as the first third-party game developer in 1979, and the only real surprise is that it wasn’t already an ESA member.
Tencent isn’t as familiar a name to Americans, but it runs the largest online gaming community in China, primarily serving players with MMOs and casual games. Like a number of gaming companies who have had success in Asia, it has designs on expanding its influence to North America. Over the last few years, Tencent has invested money in both Epic Games and Riot Games, and one of its U.S. studios was responsible for the well received “Game of Thrones Ascent” social game.
Why would the companies choose this particular time to join the ESA? It could be for the legal and public policy services the organization provides. Another possibility is for the preference ESA members get at E3; Activision Blizzard has a large booth but is usually not in a prime location, while Tencent (at least as far as this writer can tell) has not had a presence at the trade show in years past.
Activision Blizzard was conspicuous by its absence from the ESA, so while this isn’t the type of announcement that affects gamers on a day-to-day basis, it’s still interesting to note.