Rumored developer displeasure with Entertainment Software Association president Mike Gallagher may be partially to blame for nearly half a dozen member publishers dropping out of this year' s E3 conference, Kotaku has learned.

This morning we broke the news that not only are Vivendi and Activision not attending this year' s E3 they' ve both decided to drop out of the association all together. We' ve since learned that NCSoft, Her Interactive and id Software have all decided not to attend this year' s show, though they are all remaining members of the association.

Several industry sources who wish to remain anonymous say Gallagher is in part to blame for issues surrounding this year' s E3.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter also believes that the drop-outs are spurred by decisions made by Gallagher, who he says is less knowledgeable and sophisticated than his predecessor, Doug Lowenstein.