The E3 is dead, long live E3
OPINION
The E3 soap is really shaking up the media and the gaming industry. Seen so much news that it makes your head spin? Still want to know all the ins and outs? We've made a selection of the best information and posted it in a single article.
E3 Media Festival
First off, the official word is now that the E3 will be renamed to the E3 Media Festival. I wonder who does the marketing for this join because the last time the word Festival was cool, was back in... 1778 I believe. In any case, there's a new name. It will also no longer be held in the Los Angeles Convention center. It will be moved to a hotel. Attendance will be brought down to about 5000 people. Shocked? Me too!
Full article on Gamespot
The industry responds
A good article about everything popped up over at FiringSquad. The author of the article gives his own reaction and then interviews some industry officials who, in general, feel that this is a good thing for both the E3 and the industry.
Full article at FiringSquad
Letters to the editor
I've only been to the E3 once but I somehow cannot fathom the idea of E3 downscaling so much, and even if I see the benefits of being able to talk to developers without all the background noises, I somehow feel it's all part of the show and the E3 can't do without it. Yet not all game editors feel this way.
IGN's Matt Casamassina says:
What you might be surprised to learn is that the editors of IGN have in a single day received phone calls from dozens of developers and publishers celebrating the downsizing of E3. You might also be shocked to discover that many of our own editors happily took part in the celebration, which seems to have spread like wildfire throughout the industry. This might be hard to swallow, but it is nevertheless true for so many. The first time you go to E3, it's an amazing and daunting experience. The second time, it's work; and when you've gone as many times as we have, it can be unforgiving work.
Interesting take? Check out the rest at IGN
Personal view
In many ways the events of the last couple of days have shown what a double-edged sword E3 was and has been for the last couple of years.
I was there back in 2000 and already had trouble navigating through the crowds. I only had intelligeble conversations with developers who invited me for a behind-closed-doors conversation because on the floor, it's impossible.
But for me, that was the real point, meeting the developers and having them all to myself for long enough to get some good information about the game and being able to ask my own questions without every other game journalist breathing down my neck and reporting the answers to 'my' questions.
What I don't really get is that so many publishers and developers were crying about the costs. I'm sure the price per square meter of expo-floor was criminal but... what they did on those meters was totally their own business. Some companies built regular palaces within the expo's halls. The reason for this is of course that they couldn't be outdone by the competition. Well, tough luck that trying to keep up with the Jones' is costing you so much, no one asked you to! Grrr....
So, why double-edged? Well, the show WAS too busy but it also gave a lot of people a chance to see what the near future of gaming looked like. I'm sure the E3 was an expensive undertaking for everyone but look at all the attention it brought? The amount of news reaching the gaming public was *massive* and no matter what you read elsewhere, it was -not- just about the new consoles and the best looking games on the floor.
The new setup may prove to be just as productive when it comes to attention from the media and yes, I do believe there's a chance that you'll get more quality information out of gaming journalists when they get back to their seats and start reporting on what they learned.
But in the end, the E3 was by far *the* coolest event on the planet. By all accounts, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and EA were the ones who pulled the plug on this event. Yup, the big 4 killed the show. I guess that makes them the world biggest spoil-sports in the world.