Today, an official announcement was issued confirming recent reports that ESA president Doug Lowenstein will be stepping down sometime early next year. The only detail waiting to be finalized–and the only thing which Lowenstein is waiting on–is the process of finding a replacement.
The Entertainment Software Association, or ESA, is the trade association for the video game industry in the United States. Its members include nearly every high-profile publisher in the world, including Nintendo, Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts. Their list of activities include the organization of the now somewhat defunct annual E3 trade show, and the combatting of governmental regulation of video games.
Lowenstein, who was the founder of the ESA back in 1994 (when it was known as the Interactive Digital Software Association), said he was "honored to represent the amazing companies of the ESA, to serve as their advocate and to be part of an industry which is having such a profound and positive effect on our culture and the world of entertainment".
He will certainly be missed by many in the gaming industry, as he was consistently a vocal champion of gaming and of keeping games unhindered by politics.
