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On E3's Awards, Anticipation, Predictions
Thanks to HomeLAN Fed for its article discussing the state of the annual 'Best Of E3' game awards, in which the writer suggests that the "E3 awards are a bit of a sham and... a lot of games that get these awards are either not released in the coming year or if they are they are not as good as their E3 presentations make them out to be." He points out that "...out of the 16 categories that the Game Critics E3 awards had last year, 10 of them went to games that have not yet come out and won't be out until after E3 2004." Elsewhere, GameSpot focuses its 'GameSpotting' editorials on the forthcoming E3 trade show itself, suggesting that the show "is becoming a bigger and bigger source of stress and anxiety to the gaming industry as time goes by", even taking into account the excitement of "the biggest video game convention on God's green earth."
I'm not completely sure this ever happens, but what if one or two of the top ten awards ended up having that game cancelled? I'm guessing that probably won't happen as the developer figures they'll make money on it, but what about all those other "moneymaking" games that got cancelled, a few were on IGN's article the other day about mysteriously disappearing games, and other games too like Interplay and Volition's supposed Descent IV, etc.
the Political Inquirer
"is becoming a bigger and bigger source of stress and anxiety to the gaming industry as time goes by"
... trade shows ... or rather, the insipient demand for new products to be released at the trade show ... puts a lot of stress on mfr's. time and again, i've been to trade shows/conventions where new products were announced, proto's were made, and then 4 months later, the project is -still- not ready for public release. this screws with markets, and is generally unhealthy.
... but its the best policy for tech mfr's ...
its true
at this years music messe, my company (a leading musical instrument manufacturer) opted not to participate - we all still went to the show, and enjoyed it very much - but since we've long since stopped timing our product releases to the show period of the year (and only release things when they're -ready- i.e. manufacturing is producing shelf-storable product), we no longer feel a demand as a mfr to invest so heavily in the show.
its a double-edged sword, though. a lot of customers expect new stuff at the show. nevertheless, it feels better as a company not to have to cater to the mob-think that trade shows == target product release date. 'its ready when its ready' is definitely not something you'll hear much at a trade show
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
But since I can't be, I'll have to make do with the different webcomics that do go there (like Penny Arcade and their dancing robot)
- 05 -16&res=l
Can't find the link to that one,
But this is basically what I mean
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=1999
This is the sig that says NI (again)
While I agree with the overall subject of the article, what is the root cause that is driving the awards?
Who exactly is hypeing these games that gets them the awards? If E3 is such a source of anxiety to the developers and publishers, maybe they should start by setting realistic expectations of when they're games will be delivered. It's not that I don't agree with id's philosophy of "when it's done" - but why show the game that early if they know the game isn't going to be released until *after* the following year's E3?
Do they need all the publicity to hype a game that far out? I would assume that the smaller game developers probably do - but if you look at the ones winning the awards - Doom3, HalfLife 2, Halo 3, they're going to get the coverage in the press regardless if the game is there or not.
I don't know what the answer or the solution is - my choice would be for E3 to have a rule that games to be shown should be released within 6-8 months of the show, but the inevitable "code leak", "revamping", or some other excuse would poke holes in that quicker than anything.
It's not all bad... Some games get awarded, when you'd never think twice about them otherwise. For example, "Stretch Panic" on the PS2. It's a very odd, unique game, with a weirdly odd and unique play mechanic.
But i was laid off six months ago. Not only would i have to come up with about $300 bucks for the registration cost, in order to meet their requirements for entry i would also have to pretend to still be employed by my ex-company and hope they didn't check up on it.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Yes, the E3 awards are usually fluff pieces. Of course, all "previews" of games are usually fluff pieces. The reporter can't give an honest opinion of the game, since the problems may not be there when the final version is released. Even taking that into account, I can't count how many times the preview has said something about a flaw in the gameplay, mentions that hopefully the developer will fix it in time, yet the problem is still in the finished product and hurts the overall rating of it.
E3 is not all bad though! New hardware such as the Nintendo DS is always fun to see unveiled and next-generation titles usually incite some drool when revealed. Come on, you know your jaw hit the floor when the Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer was shown for the first time.
I think the overall lesson is that all news/hype/etc. that you read before a game is actually released should be taken with a grain of salt.
I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
Wait till MS announces their handheld.
Check out Guildwars E3 for Everyone
The what looks to be awesome game Guildwars (from former employees of Blizzard, making it out to be a "Diablo 3" of sorts) is offering their client for everyone to play during E3. I think it's a great idea, so you can judge for yourself how it is, rather than reading hyped up previews. I don't know about you, but I would love to go but probably would never be able to, so I think opening up more to the public works well. Either way free gaming is free gaming.
The deal with E3 is, ITS NOT FOR YOU. E3 is a trade show. This means it is for people involved with the trade. E3 exists so publishers can sell their wares (pun quite intended) to retailers. The hype is in the hope that Wal-Mart will buy 1M copies instead of 20k. Games are shown far in advance so that important people (I think you guys call the PHB's) can make long term decisions for companies all along the manufacture and distribution trail. Sometimes a game wins an award in a year wherein the game is not ready to be released. That's noone fault but all the other companies who failed to produce a demo better than one for a product THAT IS TWO YEARS AWAY.
In summation, don't drool over E3. Its only you that will be hurt. E3 is not approached at all as a way to hype up fanboys, but to hype up Blockbuster so it buys more copies to satisfy is Guarenteed to be There promise or whatever. Once again, if you hang on every word of every report from E3, its your own fault.
That said, I'll be there. HA
John Callahan of HomeLAN Fed is missing the point. E3 is to games like ShoWest is to movies. Hey, everyone knows that the games aren't finished yet. It's the entire point of having E3; pitch your unfinished game to retailers in hopes of having it finished in time for the Christmas buying season. If all the games were finished, there would be no need for E3. Sheesh, everyone knows that the E3 awards are based on impressions made on the journalists and public. The real awards that count are the IAIAA awards or whatever they're calling themselves now.
Like my bud Greg Kasavin at Gamespot said in his editorial, these games are often at the show two years in a row. Is it stressful? Well yeah, because you're working not only to impress the buyers but other developers at the show. The years I worked at Microsoft's booth at E3, we did our best to impress the press but we worked harder to impress the guys from Blizzard who wandered over to see our game. (And vice-versa). E3 is what it is. Personally I think HomeLan Fed is complaining about nothing and this year's E3 is no less stressful than any other year.
Well, that is unless you're Infinium Labs...
But when they slap those awards onto advertising - the awards sure as hell are, and I think people should know how these awards were granted.
If you saw a box that said "Best Action Game of 2001!!!" are you telling me you don't expect that that game actually was playable in 2001?
If the trade show is just for insiders, keep the awards on the inside.
And Yes, I am a game programmer...
E3 exists for two reasons.
1) So publishers can convince retailers to carry their games (which has already been pointed out).
2) So Developers can sign publishers for their product.
3) So Publishers can sign Developers.
4) For the "Big 3" can sign publishers to their consoles.
Essentially, E3 has a huge impact on the financial side of the game industry. It is where most deals are made. You need your stuff to look good so someone can use it to impress someone else.
Its also a pissing contest among peers. Its onething to convince an end user that your game is kick ass. Its another to convince your competitors that you are the 'hot shit'.
Unfortunately, E3 can screw with the schedule of a project. The tightest crunches on any project will be for its Beta / Gold milestones, and for E3. This is because if you show at E3, then people will want to play your game. And if you crash, it gets around.
Ever try to get software to a non-crashing state when its between 40% and 60% done?
END COMMUNICATION
Am I the only one who cracks up when demos are awarded 'Best of E3' by websites?
A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men... --Willy Wonka
And we pretty much know where THAT game has ended up this year, right?
Mod that post up people. He's spot-on correct. E3 is all for Publishers showing their Products to Retailers.
The purpose of e3 might be to have publishers convince stores to sell their game, but as a side effect, it gives everyone a sneak peak of all the games and hardware they'll be playing in a year or so. I don't think it's an unintended side effect, either - they do let members of the media in...
Anyhoo, I'm going to e3. Next year. I'd love to go this year (there's a FF concert too!) but unfortunately, I'll have to wait. But seeing as how next year is shaping up to be the time when all of the nextgen hardware is shown (it is looking more like a 2006 release than 2005, but hey - e3's not here yet) i'm sure it'll be worth the wait.
Think whatever you wish Mr Mike Hawk. I think that you are replying to your own posts pretending to be someone else in order to look like a victim.
People like you live off of people replying to your posts. It has something to do with being weened from your mothers teat or potty trained too young. This is probably the best social contact you get in a given day isn't it?
And quit posting as an AC coward.
Really man, stop just making shit up. Either you work 15 different jobs or else you need to re-read your own crap and avoid continuity errors.
PS I left some mispellings in this post so you won't have to think to hard when you need a snappy come back. Enjoy.