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View Full Version : E3 2007: Developers Speak Out

JCalCGM
05-09-2007, 01:42 PM
With E3 2007 now just two months away, how are developers feeling about the new version of the video and PC game trade show. FiringSquad has a new feature article (http://www.firingsquad.com/features/e3_2007/) with comments from several developers on their opinions of the new show and it seems to show that there is still a lot of debate on whether the new E3 will be an improvement over the old version. Here is a snip:
Others are adopting a hopeful attitude for E3 this year. Randy Pitchford, the head of Gearbox Software, told us, "I’m curious to go through the experience. I’m hopeful and believe in some of the intent. But, none of us have gone through the experience yet. So I’m sure there will be learning that can be applied to future events." Tim Gerristen, the former CEO of Human Head Software, told us, "I honestly don't think that the new E3 is a replacement for the old show. This is an entirely different animal that is nothing like the old show. Until I see the show, it's too early to call it an improvement or a disaster. However, it is a different show entirely, and the E3 of old has gone the way of the dinosaur, regardless of how this version does."
agentgray
05-09-2007, 01:56 PM
Wow. That would have been this week. Go figure.
KingGorilla
05-09-2007, 01:57 PM
Who are the developers saying:
"What the fuck is this NEW E3 about, I thought we killed that motherfucker?"
AntB
05-09-2007, 02:16 PM
I don't know I loved may because of E3, lot's of cool shit was always announced this time of year, maybe me blissful inside.
The Great Gatsby
05-09-2007, 03:03 PM
I miss it, but don't miss the giant rooms full of nerds that didn't belong in there while us industry folk had to squeeze by them. So all in all, it was probably for the best to do away with it.
Heretic Machine
05-09-2007, 03:27 PM
What is the point? What exactly is the point of this E3? What are people going to be doing there that they need a convention for?
DaedalusFolly
05-09-2007, 05:30 PM
So... who's going to 'win' E3 this year and will it mean anything. The debate of the merits of each console's show performance usually keeps the internet busy for a fiscal quarter.
MaiXu
05-09-2007, 05:32 PM
I miss it, but don't miss the giant rooms full of nerds that didn't belong in there while us industry folk had to squeeze by them. So all in all, it was probably for the best to do away with it.

Those were journalists ...
bapenguin
05-09-2007, 05:52 PM
What is the point? What exactly is the point of this E3? What are people going to be doing there that they need a convention for?

See the thing is, from the material I've gotten the focus isn't so much on the convention itself at the hangar, but on the individual companies press briefings at hotels. There are 19 hotels involved in the new E3 and each one will be hosting press events for the companies prior to the opening of the Barker Hangar. These hotels are where the real show will be at.
Deadend
05-09-2007, 11:16 PM
Why do I have the strange feeling that everyone bitching about E3 being gone are not the people who would go to it anyways? As if you go back to most E3 impressions from last year, it doesn't sound like anyone who is there on... you know, business is having a good time of it.
MaiXu
05-09-2007, 11:23 PM
This "new" E3 really just feels like a repackaging. I'm sure we're going to get a lot of big announcements, especially from The Big Three. The madness may not be as centrally located or loud as it was before, but I still think many companies are going to use whatever spotlight E3 provides to make some noise about their upcoming stuff.
Scramble
05-10-2007, 01:32 AM
I miss it, but don't miss the giant rooms full of nerds that didn't belong in there while us industry folk had to squeeze by them. So all in all, it was probably for the best to do away with it.

Without the nerds, your industry is fucked. Be thankfull so many people wanted to see what was on offer there. I would have loved to go to E3 and check everything out but I live across a giant ocean.
EGO
05-10-2007, 09:27 AM
What is the point? What exactly is the point of this E3? What are people going to be doing there that they need a convention for?

See, here's what people don't understand (fanboy gamers, "journalists", developers, etc). E3 brought a spotlight to the videogame industry that wasn't about; murder, lawsuits, child corruption, legislation, etc.

The media would have something "big" to cover about how the videogame industry was booming, growing, something to aspire to be part of, whether it be for fame, fortune, creativity, whatever.

Now, the videogame business doesn't have that spotlight, that focus. I know for a bunch of you kids (and I mean that, independent of age) say, "Good!" But you're wrong.

Want more games? Better games? Cheaper games? More pay for those of you in the industry? Well, being "mainstream" and "legitimized" does that, and E3 was part of that.
megaman
05-10-2007, 09:50 AM
One can easily see this new "E3" fizzle out in a few years and eaten up by other big shows it has freely given away ground to. Such a pity a show like that had to be killed but for what exactly?
MacD
05-10-2007, 01:51 PM
PAX. And maybe Leipzig. And then there's Tokyo (but that's oddball japanese stuff, for a large part).

I guess E3 was a gaming focal point...it's where N discovered their Wii would be a succes, and where countless other games/services/hardware debuted. But it was a costly thing for gameco's, and brought very little if any direct benefit except as outreach to the fans.