End of E³ As We Know It [Archive]

Liquidize105

07-30-2006, 02:14 PM

Both Next-Gen (http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3538&Itemid=2) and Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6154897.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6154897) have reported that Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the organizers behind the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, is set to announce their plan to overhaul the event for the coming years on Monday.

In a cost-cutting effort, the show will likely be moved to a modest location in the future, with attendees number in the hundreds instead of thousands.

Now, the one silver lining to this sudden announcement is the prospect of a more productive environment for games of all genre, and not simply action-based titles. I've learned this year, and it's not hard to imagine, that 540,000 square feet of ear-splitting show floor is no friend of engaging dialogues or intelligent plotline reveals.

Click here (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?p=358866#post358866) to see what others who've submitted similar news are saying.

Liquidize105

07-30-2006, 02:20 PM

Freak705 sez: Kind of a bummer, as May is always a great time for gaming news, but I suppose that gaming news would come around more consistantly, rather than it being bunched up all at once.

Royal Fool sez: Although this is surprising, I can understand that publishers are more interested in doing their own events. Electronic Arts, Microsoft and others have been experimenting with this sort of private press event (Not to mention Nintendo's Spaceworld) and it probably makes more sense to them.

Slaughter sez: Good or bad if it is so?

Last of the Red Hot Mamas sez: no comment

agentgray sez: This just came out of nowhere. One must wonder what type of impact this will have on the industry

Oddmaker sez: Good or Bad Idea? At least smaller companies can now attend.

danhoo sez: no comment

benig sez: Wow. This is kind of out of left-field! After this year's e3, I could see why some publishers might want their own event, when they get overshadowed by other displays.

Thanks to all those who submitted news!

Sion

07-30-2006, 02:20 PM

Noooooooooooo!

Nameback

07-30-2006, 02:22 PM

Wow, this seems shockingly disappointing to me. I was really looking forward to going as soon as I could but now it doesn't look like it :(.

bKangy

07-30-2006, 02:29 PM

Thank fuck, I hate E3.

thecrazyd

07-30-2006, 02:29 PM

Cool, looks like I may have been able to go to the last real E3.

Slaughter

07-30-2006, 02:32 PM

I think E3 might have lost focus over the years. In the beginning it was a great arena for developers to show their games, and talk to media and buyers face to face. Lately it's become more of a "most booth babes and loudest noise" sort of show, and that's not what it should be. ESA did try to restrict this by enforcing new rules this year, but I don't think it was enough.

In my opinion they need to find back to the roots. I went to both E3 and Vegas this year, and both places bombards you with so many impressions at once it's hard to focus. I did manage to do the interviews I had pre-planned, but a lot of time is spent looking around confused and distracted. Granted this was my first year, but I don't think it's a good way of providing information. E3 is an important event, but it has to change. Few stands and many interview and private display booths would be good I believe.

flinxz

07-30-2006, 02:40 PM

This has too be good, all you hear after E3 anymore is how awful it is for people that do not simply work at BestBuy or the like.

Sorry guys I would much rather folks of the industry (journalist and blokes with gaming websites etc…) get more information out of it than Bob of BestBuy. I imagine this would make exactly that happen. They have tried to limit "booth babes" and now, by making it simpler, it my not appeal to "Bob" anymore.

The Iron Weasel

07-30-2006, 02:44 PM

This sucks, I would have loved to go to E3 at some point, looks like its not going to be half of what it used to be.

Mozgus

07-30-2006, 02:51 PM

I'm all for this.

The Continental

07-30-2006, 02:57 PM

I've always enjoyed the media circus that surround E3, but I'd definitely be in favor of a reduction in scale along the lines of CES, that is to say tightening the entry requirements to limit it solely to the industry and the mainstream press.

Jack Random

07-30-2006, 02:59 PM

man, since i went in 01 i've been trying to get back into E3, now my dreams are dashed :(

Deathbane27

07-30-2006, 03:01 PM

Scaleback = good. I don't care what they do with the booth babes, but they really need to put a limit on the sound outside of the individual booths.

Liquidize105

07-30-2006, 03:07 PM

Funny thing, this year the number of men and women working in the industry have definitely evened out a lot more. Many of these women are fine, I mean fine. Cloths can't hide the curves, and I actually dig the played down professional look.

Flatpicker

07-30-2006, 03:07 PM

I'd prefer to see something smaller perhaps twice a year. Like with NAMM.

Zeal

07-30-2006, 03:12 PM

All a part of my secret plan to bring on...

::echo::

The Second Great Industry Crash

::Burns:: Exxxcellent.....

MaiXu

07-30-2006, 03:17 PM

If they just had a fucking show for the public! We'd PAY to be advertised to about your new games, god dammit!

Dracula-X

07-30-2006, 03:19 PM

Fantastic news.

Taco

07-30-2006, 03:21 PM

If I was going to travel to an Expo it'd be PAX. E3 is kind of a joke, very rare what you see is at all representitive of what you are going to buy.

Last of the Red Hot Mamas

07-30-2006, 03:27 PM

I'd prefer to see something smaller perhaps twice a year. Like with NAMM.

From what I understand, the twice-annual structure was one of the reasons the industry ditched CES in the first place -- the games industry is very Q4-oriented and having a winter show doesn't make much sense from that perspective. Summer is a good time to show off your Q4 releases because they're usually fairly far along by that point and it gives retailers and gamers a good 4-6 months to get excited; winter is a bad time because your Q4 releases are only a few weeks away from shipping anyway and your Q4 stuff for next year isn't ready to be shown.

Redline

07-30-2006, 03:28 PM

Hooray! Kill the current incarnation. Yes, it's a good thing. I went in '04 (Company trip) and quite frankly it was incredibly disappointing. Boring, loud... booth babes. Dull dull dull.

SexualChoc

07-30-2006, 03:37 PM

What!? No. I always look forward to E3. It was a week long orgy of going goodness. It was the time to announce the latest and greatest in the gaming industry. I always said I would go one year, and now this? People can say 'Eh, it's not that good' but while I haven't gone, it remains to me heaven on earth. I am heartbroken.

Taco

07-30-2006, 03:41 PM

It's just advertisements though, all bullshit. Games are still going to be announced, who knows, maybe with less slime coating them now.

I'd be more interested in expos for gamers, rather than something for people who'll do anything to suck money out of gamer's pockets.

The Continental

07-30-2006, 03:43 PM

If they just had a fucking show for the public! We'd PAY to be advertised to about your new games, god dammit!

Sad, but oh so true.

ldi222

07-30-2006, 03:44 PM

Ive gone several years and loved it every time. Sad indeed.

Tolkoto

07-30-2006, 03:48 PM

E3 was always a little bit like Christmas. You'd always hear about the industry types and journalists complaining about it not offering a good atmosphere for playing games, but for the people who were reading about E3 at home, it was awesome. Seriously, in one day you were would get news and pictures from new Mario games, Final Fantasies, Metal Gears, all out of no where. And all of the suprise announcements... it really was like openning a wrapped gift.

The world seems a little less bright.

Thenetcase

07-30-2006, 03:50 PM

E3 has been destroyed by idiots... And like all good things effected by stupid people... it must die.

Oh well. Such is life.

Something else will come along... and they should ban fuckers who can't prove they work in the industry (with the exception of legit press people).

-TNC-

agentgray

07-30-2006, 04:02 PM

There's gotta be something in here like...

Translation: Somebody is not making money.

agentgray

07-30-2006, 04:04 PM

Also, Ars Technica is stating that the show will be downsized not cancelled.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060730-7382.html

Xenkylm

07-30-2006, 04:11 PM

This is great news for Sony. One less annual venue to embarass themselves.

/I keed cuz I love. Sorta.

SexualChoc

07-30-2006, 04:14 PM

Also, Ars Technica is stating that the show will be downsized not cancelled.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060730-7382.html

Now from that it appears they are trimming the fat. No longer making it such a huge floor show, rather a mass gaming show for the press. Which is why it's so sad. To say you were at E3, to be there among thousands of gamers, I'm sure it would be magical.

jspeak32

07-30-2006, 04:36 PM

What do you mean exactly? I used to work at Best Buy (not anymore thank fuck), and I don't know what you mean by this. How awful it is for people that do NOT work at Best Buy? I hated working there, and everyone I know were equally as miserable there, so to me its the opposite no matter what time of the year it is (especially November/December). :o

This has too be good, all you hear after E3 anymore is how awful it is for people that do not simply work at BestBuy or the like.

Sorry guys I would much rather folks of the industry (journalist and blokes with gaming websites etc…) get more information out of it than Bob of BestBuy. I imagine this would make exactly that happen. They have tried to limit "booth babes" and now, by making it simpler, it my not appeal to "Bob" anymore.

fitbabits

07-30-2006, 04:44 PM

E3 is not being cancelled, it's just being revamped.

Tel Prydain

07-30-2006, 04:58 PM

This thread is a perfect example of why E3 had to be re-invented. E3 is a business show, and what was supposed to be a place for developers to display to publishers and the press. It became a travesty of sweaty fanboys and social-life-impaired me-monkeys who wanted to drink, ogle at booth-babes and get all the free swag they can..
What they need is a small, low-key show – one that only lets in big retail managers and a single reporter from each valid main-stream media outlet.

bean19

07-30-2006, 05:03 PM

I was at this year's E3, and it was ridiculously over-the-top. They all pay absurd amounts for booth space at the show and absurd amounts for booth decorations and special events. It probably makes a lot more sense to spend less money on a press event that is purely for your company's products than it does to spend a ton at E3.

What they may be doing is just posturing in order to lower the costs of the floor space, etc. Or they might be serious, but I can't imagine that the show will actually go away. . . not after seeing how ridiculously huge it was this year. It wouldn't make sense for Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo to stop attending the conference if their competitors are still attending it. . .

Then again, this might be a response from a company that left E3 with really bad press. . . :) Let's just say I'd be surprised if E3 suppossedly getting smaller is being spawned by Nintendo or Microsoft's departure.

TrackZero

07-30-2006, 05:07 PM

Meh. This may be a good or bad thing. Only time is going to tell.

Tentaro

07-30-2006, 05:14 PM

Good. Comdex lost sight and is no more, at least this is just downsizing. I mean how many of the people at E3 even remotely need to be there or get anything out of it aside from vacation-style trhills?

LiquidRain

07-30-2006, 05:17 PM

People can say 'Eh, it's not that good' but while I haven't gone, it remains to me heaven on earth. I am heartbroken.
This year was my first E3. I went from "heaven on earth" to "it's not that good" after it, and supposedly this year was the best it's been in a while. I'd say your "heaven on earth" is a direct result of having not gone. As somebody who, like you, was "heaven on earth" despite everyone saying otherwise, nobody will be able to convince you otherwise until you go and experience it for yourself. Then you can be as embittered as the rest of us. :)

This thread is a perfect example of why E3 had to be re-invented. E3 is a business show, and what was supposed to be a place for developers to display to publishers and the press.
Right on the nosey! This man speaks the truth. The ESA, and E3, are supposed to be there for press and exhibitors and not for anyone else. The ESA's clientele is the industry personnel and media, and oddly enough, E3 in its current state is next to worthless for both!

Heretic Machine

07-30-2006, 05:22 PM

Great, and I never got to go. Wonderful, just another thing I'll never get to do.

LilAbner

07-30-2006, 05:22 PM

Ive gone several years and loved it every time. Sad indeed.

Yes and no.

I went in '99 and '00 as a journalist for a trade pub and while it was very useful for me because I got to put a lot of faces to names, I simply don't see how publisher and developers get business done in an environment like that.

Frankly, why is there even that much glitz? Are publishers pimping their products to retailers? Buyers at retailers pretty much know that when it comes to gaming, you have to have a good selection or your customers will go elsewhere.

On a side note, get the show out of LA....that city has to be the worst, most run-down shithole in the country.

dena miscreant

07-30-2006, 05:30 PM

On a side note, get the show out of LA....that city has to be the worst, most run-down shithole in the country.

And it shits all over your ignorant face as often as possible.

I'm sure we'll here more about this very soon, by the way.

I, personally, would like to see a show with more focus and less G4.

bean19

07-30-2006, 05:41 PM

On a side note, get the show out of LA....that city has to be the worst, most run-down shithole in the country.

LA proper really is awful. . . traffic, smog, and the downtown area where E3 is held. . . well, I stayed at the New Otani which is only about a 15 minute walk, but we never walked it because it was SCAAAARRRRYYYY. Instead, we drove it. . . (we, no lie, got rear-ended by a booth babe once). Driving that 15 minute walk and parking took about an hour. Whee!

LA definitely can accomodate everyone with hotels, etc. and I think it works out well for people who are traveling in from Japan, but I wouldn't gripe at all if they moved it to Las Vegas. They might even get really good deals on the conference if they worked it out so tha Gamespot and G4 gave the casinos coverage too.

Johan

07-30-2006, 05:49 PM

I'm not in the industry; I just enjoy excellent gaming experiences, and I'm all for this, because I think the gaming industry will gain in the long run by exercising more focus and control over what had seemed to be becoming a Roman orgy of booth babes and noise. Industry gain in this way translates, I hope, to even better gaming experiences. So...YES!!

bean19

07-30-2006, 05:56 PM

to be becoming a Roman orgy of booth babes and noise.

Oh yeah. . . they aren't just girls in costumes.

CliffyB: Come check out Gears of War!!! Be sure to make love to one of our complimentary whores on your way out.

Heretic Machine

07-30-2006, 06:00 PM

Guys, what does E3 have to do with actually making better games? It isn't like the developers are sitting down and developing anything at the convention. It was a good way to show off what was coming up, and gave everyone an indication of what was going to be shit, and what was going to be shit-hot. Which, I think, is why it is going to be scaled down. So that we don't actually get to see much of E3 anymore, so we can't see someone standing on stage repeating "Riiiiiiiiiiiiidge Racerrrrrrrrrr" over and over again as he pushes a dieing product.

Less coverage = Less informed consumers = More profit for less development cost.

bboy

07-30-2006, 06:25 PM

Good riddance. What a serious waste of time/cash. Whatever will the brainless booth boobs do now? Back to sitting by the swimming pools I suppose. Then again there is CES in Vegas....

/back to work

jeffool

07-30-2006, 06:32 PM

Sure, in this age of the internet E3 has outlived its usefulness. But that doesn't mean it complete shit. For instance:we can't see someone standing on stage repeating "Riiiiiiiiiiiiidge Racerrrrrrrrrr" over and over again as he pushes a dieing product.I laughed, I cried, I wish I could live those days over. Sony's was so bad I felt like judge, jury, and executioner. Microsoft's wasn't streamed live, so I felt like I was unwashed, unwanted, and bitter. Nintendo's was so good I felt like a child again.

Demo_Boy

07-30-2006, 06:47 PM

When teams were agile enough to use the feedback they got at E3 to modify the game they wer showing, there was some value. I went this year, and several previously, and the value of presenting there and the info were got has gone through the floor due to all the flash and hype, and not enough focus on the games.

Dark Messiah was awesome. But their booth was mostly empty. wtf??

GDC for the win.

Johan

07-30-2006, 07:00 PM

Oh yeah. . . they aren't just girls in costumes.

CliffyB: Come check out Gears of War!!! Be sure to make love to one of our complimentary whores on your way out.

Get a grip...can't grasp hyperbole? Look it up.

While you're at it, look up the meaning of orgy, which clearly means more than just "whores":

1. A revel involving unrestrained indulgence, especially sexual activity.

2. Uncontrolled or immoderate indulgence in an activity: an orgy of spending. See Synonyms at binge.

3. A secret rite in the cults of ancient Greek or Roman deities, typically involving frenzied singing, dancing, drinking, and sexual activity.

antoniogaud

07-30-2006, 07:59 PM

Let's face it, XBOX LIVE and the internets killed the need for most of us to attend E3. I know it did for me.

Captain Awesome

07-30-2006, 08:03 PM

E3 game trade show will not be cancelled, but will be downsized.

Contrary to reports across the web, E3 has not been cancelled. Next-Gen had hoped that they would blow the lid off of a hot story by revealing that the show had been cancelled, but some quick fact checking shows that they are simply incorrect.

Sources close to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) tell Ars Technica that the show can and will go on, but that big changes are planned. The "Electronic Entertainment Expo" (hence E3) started in 1995 as a small but interesting annual convention for gaming, following roughly six months after the once-popular annual COMDEX computer trade-show in Las Vegas. The show has grown immensely in popularity, and that appears to be the problem.

Sources say that two major factors have led to the decision to transition the show to a more "closed-door" event. Both, coincidentally, were major reasons for COMDEX shutting down: cost and access. If you've never been to E3, let me describe it like this: long lines, truckloads of people, video games everywhere, and really fancy "booths" (where booth sometimes means basketball court-sized display area). As with COMDEX, the major players are reportedly tired of how much it costs to put on the dog and pony show. Turns out it costs millions of dollars to put the sparkle into an E3 blingfest.

more here: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060730-7382.html

This is what E3 always wanted to do gradually, to go back to their roots.

TrackZero

07-30-2006, 08:05 PM

E3 game trade show will not be cancelled, but will be downsized.

more here: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060730-7382.html

Errr....uhhh....was anyone here saying it was cancelled? I thought we were discussing the changes happening to it.

Captain Awesome

07-30-2006, 08:07 PM

Errr....uhhh....was anyone here saying it was cancelled? I thought we were discussing the changes happening to it.

Just had to make it clear :P

Camel

07-30-2006, 08:15 PM

People are acting like it's cancelled because, if attendance is going to be restricted, it basically is cancelled for most people. But yeah, I can understand why you'd want to clarify.

Zeal

07-30-2006, 08:47 PM

Rename the thread title to E3: Game Over.

Trust me, it would sound cooler.

In all seriousness, this is like canceling the Superbowl of the videogame industry.

flinxz

07-30-2006, 09:05 PM

Adam Blue

07-30-2006, 09:30 PM

I think this is good. Reminds me of "back-then".

Unzerpum

07-30-2006, 09:32 PM

Well, it'll be sad to see E3 change, but honestly... it's long overdue. I loved going to E3 myself, but I usually went to visit friends in the industry. As a trade show, E3 (in its current form) isn't condusive to showing anything but the games with the flashiest graphics, most popular licenses, or greatest amounts of T&A. When the original Deus Ex was shown during the '99 E3, it was practically ignored -- all the gamers and journalists were lining up to take pictures of the model playing Lara Croft, front and center in the Eidos section...

The new E3 will be less fun, but maybe it will have an actual purpose now.

Zulu107

07-30-2006, 09:38 PM

Yes, I think the economy had a lot to do with the numbers and the decision so this royally sucks ass!

mikeohara

07-30-2006, 09:52 PM

being I've followed E3 prior to the LA Move (it was in Atlanta before), anything that makes it more about the games than the decadence works for me. I would suggest making the event public for one day at least, but that's me.

f1sh3r

07-30-2006, 10:19 PM

hopefully it comes back to atlanta, it would be nice to attend e3 again, even if it's lower key than before.

Slacker

07-30-2006, 10:42 PM

TrackZero

07-30-2006, 11:27 PM

Quite frankly I'm glad it's being restructured but for entirely selfish reasons. Getting a demo down to E3 always derailed most of the team for a month or so beforehand and then of course we lost a good portion of them that week. And afterward we'd have to rip out a lot of the temporary code that was slapped in there and the build would be broken for a couple of days.

Not that there won't be other trade shows that a demo is required for, but this one always seemed to take the most time and effort.

Plus, as most of the other folks here pointed out you had to have a back room set aside for talking to people if you actually wanted to conduct any sort of business. The floor was just too loud and overpopulated to try to do anything but let the teeming hordes play your demo.

I always found it strange that E3 as an event has existed. I can't think of any parallel in the movie industry (I know, some people are vehement that the two industries aren't related, but I digress...). The amount of money and effort put into E3 probably should be spent elsewhere (like when said game actually gets released). It always just comes off as too much of a PR orgy.

Deathbane27

07-30-2006, 11:44 PM

I always found it strange that E3 as an event has existed. I can't think of any parallel in the movie industry (I know, some people are vehement that the two industries aren't related, but I digress...). The amount of money and effort put into E3 probably should be spent elsewhere (like when said game actually gets released). It always just comes off as too much of a PR orgy.

I'm thinking you get more bang for the buck building hype at E3 than using traditional advertisement. Is there anyone whose company has done a cost-benefit analysis on this that can confirm or contradict this? Slacker?

Johan

07-30-2006, 11:44 PM

It always just comes off as too much of a PR orgy.

I agree with you, but watch out...bean19 may not like your use of the word 'orgy.' ;)

Oh yeah. . . they aren't just girls in costumes.

CliffyB: Come check out Gears of War!!! Be sure to make love to one of our complimentary whores on your way out.

easi

07-31-2006, 12:32 AM

And I feel fine.

bean19

07-31-2006, 06:38 AM

I agree with you, but watch out...bean19 may not like your use of the word 'orgy.' ;)

You really don't let things go, do you? Okay, I'll reply to you then. Orgy changes meaning with context. . . so a PR orgy is a lot different than an "orgy of booth babes and noise". Many people talk about the booth babes, but really they are just models in costumes that will get their picture taken with nerds.

So maybe you were implying that booth babes are whores with your phrase, or maybe you were just using hyperbole to vulgarly denote that the E3 press event is becoming a circus. Still, I think the booth babes come under attack often, and honestly now that they are required to cover themselves decently, they are harmless fun (though I'd like to see more videogame mascots that aren't just females. It would be fun to get my pic taken with Solid Snake, Pac-Man, Mario, or Naruto. . . and I wouldn't feel creepy getting them because booth babes aren't video game characters (except for Medusa and I did get my picture with her!) - they're just hot girls that have some loose association with the game. Lara Croft was there but she just gave out some Nvidia prize. . . no photos were allowed. Anyway, booth babes = really harmless and probably very inexpensive. Even if they work the entire show for $100/hour, they would be a minor expense.

I imagine the major dough goes into the gigantic set peices and television screens. The most ostentatious things I saw at the show this year were not booth babes but:

1. Full skate-ramp with skaters performing constantly.
2. NCSoft full stage with band. . . honestly too loud as I had trouble hearing demoers during the Mutators set. Also, if your going to pay for that much space, why not get a named band? I'm sure Mutator was super inexpensive, but I bet there are some bands that are LA native that would do the gig on the cheap and would actually pull in a crowd. Mutator's floor show with fire juggling, etc. is pretty cool though.
3. Most expensive bit was probably the Huxley setup. 50 or so networked gaming PCs and several absurdly large flat screens that showed the action.

On the main subject, the reason that publishers are leaving is not because the show is too crowded like people seem to imply. The mass media coverage and the crowds are IDEAL for a press event. The problem seems to be that many publishers feel that the investment is not worth the payoff.

Honestly, they're right. It's stupid to spend several million dollars to impress buyers and press at an event where the lead story is going to be about Solid Snake putting a gun in his mouth or the new Halo 3 trailer, etc. How much more attention would the Heavy Rain trailer have received if it released today compared to during the middle of E3? Just the other day, about 3 really well-informed posters on here stated that they didn't know what the next big MMORPG is even though Gods & Heroes was clearly the winner of the most E3 awards. . . either they didn't see the game because of the E3 media blitz, or they didn't get excited because there were two new consoles coming out and that held their attention.

MosBen

07-31-2006, 06:44 AM

bean19

07-31-2006, 06:54 AM

This is fine. E3 was always a time for big announcements, but it never really was intended as a gathering place for fans of the industry in the way the San Diego Comic Con is. This just means that E3 gets to be the industry trade show that it's supposed to be and PAX gets to be the gaming fan convention that it's supposed to be.

No, it doesn't.

They are going to have fewer exhibitors because the costs of going to E3 are not equivalent with the press pay-off. The same companies could have their press events elsewhere for less money and they'd get more attention.

If what you are saying was the case, then they'd need to stop letting all the little fake internet "news" people in, and only allow actual buyers from companies Best Buy, etc. come instead of their employees.

While the press bitches about E3 being busy, there is already a badge system and a closed-sho system for showing off the games that works well. There are stories out for every major title at a show and I even found my way up to many developers to ask them direct questions about their games. So I don't think that this is that big of a problem, nor are they doing anything to solve it.

TWO COMPLETELY UNRELATED THINGS.

Stormwatcher

07-31-2006, 07:35 AM

Meh. This may be a good or bad thing. Only time is going to tell.

that is got to be the most useless post I've read in a long while... ;)

Well, as a reader of news, I'm gla e3 died.
I hate the whole overload of info, it is too easy to miss cool stuff and it creates a news draught in the previous and following months. I'd rather have the same amount of news spread along the months... just like I hope the publishers do with the games.

fitbabits

07-31-2006, 07:36 AM

It needs to move to Denver, and that's all I'm saying about it.

Undertakr

07-31-2006, 08:36 AM

E3 now isn't what E3 used to be. Now it's all marketing people trying to shill the game. When it started, you could actually talk shop with programmers, talk to the design guys about reasons behind things, get cool information, find out easter eggs in games. Now, if you aren't press or a marketer, you're ignored. Top that off with a 100x100 booth showing off 1 game. It's just lame.

And I agree, how a scrub from Best Buy is someone that's in the industry is beyond me. E3 has sucked the last 3 years, so anything different is a step in the right direction.

MadSamoan

07-31-2006, 08:56 AM

In my opinion as a developer, I would have to say this is a good thing. Far too many promising games get crippled or cancelled because they were forced to rush a playable version or they got lost in the stampede for whatever game is getting the most floorspace. I think many, many game developers are relieved to hear this because planning a production cycle around an effin tradeshow is not in the best interests of you, the gamer, because it takes valuable time and money away from making the actual game. Imagine cracking open a bird's egg when it's only been incubated halfway through and you get a picture of what developing around E3 is like.