There Is No Point To E3

Modesitt writes "Corpnews offers some thoughts on how E3 has changed for the worse. Several factors are mentioned, but the increased number of people sporting 'Exhibits Only' badges courtesy of Best Buy, CompUSA, and EB Games is focused on as a cause of the descent of E3." From the article: "The only legitimate purpose to E3 is as a media event, for companies to show off their products to the public via the media (after all, such a tiny sliver of the gaming public could go to E3, even if it was open to the public, that the press must inevitably mediate this process), and it is failing terribly at that. Companies are no longer courting the press, or even attempting to develop new contacts among them; now, it is an established siege war between giant website network and shitty magazines, and arrogant companies who divulge the merest crumbs and act as if this were a thunderous pronouncement from Yahweh."

Comments

This is true

[Vektuz]

I've gone to a few E3's. There's honestly no point to E3. Publishers aren't really there, at least, not accessible. The people you see out there are promoters, hired to generate hype. They are promotion and PR firms. If a developer is there and willing to talk to you not as part of hype-generation, you're extremely lucky. Don't get me wrong, its an 'impressive' show, but its not really a trade show. Its more like walking down advertizement lane than any actual trade.

Re:Bitter.

[Metaphorically]

Not only bitter, but totally without justification. Have a look at the archives. Specifically the post titled "(Old, Repost)E3: French Wookies 2003 Redux " from E3 in 2003. Here are a few choice excerpts:

Some people recognize the Corp web link on our press passes, but few have ever actually read the site enough to know what a monumentally thorough mistake it is to let us into anything official. Between our unquantifiable-but-legitimate press passes, and Mr. Poppinfresh's ability to ninja-speak our way into VIP demos, we drift through E3 in a strange grey no-mans-land, where we see all and are required to produce nothing of quality in return.

Okay, now why is it that they can't get media kits? Maybe there are so many closed doors at E3 because a few years back him and his pals walked in to demos with this approach

Raph: This is the character creation screen. As you can see, there are many well-known races already... Pop: MAKE A WOOKIE!

It's one thing to complain that you're having trouble getting newsworthy stories at a tradeshow, but this guy clearly states the reason why is that he's ruined for himself and the rest of us.

I dissent.

[LordZardoz]

And Yes, I do make video games for a living.

I was at last years E3, as were many of my co-workers. In addition to being a media function, it also lets developers get a look at the competition. E3 serves the following purposes.

1) It shows up new games and hardware to the gaming media.

2) It gets alot of developers and publishers together in the same place, allowing for deal making.

3) It gets alot of publishers and retailers together, giving the retailers an idea of whats coming out, and helps them decide what to put on the shelves.

4) It lets developers see what other developers are up to, and serves as a reality check for your own game. It also gets the delopers out from behind their desks to do something resembling a vactation. It also lets you catch up with friends working for other companies, allowing us to network a bit, let each other know if a given employer sucks or not, etc.

I went to E3 as a develper, and was handed an Exhibits Only badge. The booth babes are getting a bit over done, but they are there more for the retailers then anything else. The booth babe gets the retailer to walk over to the display, and perhaps even see the game.

END COMMUNICATION

Re:Bitter.

[iocat]

I used to work a big game magazine, and I can confrim that most companies perform a pretty intuitive, brutal, and sorry-for-the-little-guys, accurate triage of people with media badges before they hand out kits, interviews, or sample copies of games.

Pretty much if you didn't book an appointment in advance of the show, they can't be bothered with you. This is as true for the big guys as for the little guys -- there are only so many half hour press slots at E3, and a good PR perosn works to fill them in advance with the biggest outlets she or he can find for their products. Just having a media badge doesn't count for much if they've never heard of you, and E3 isn't the place to try to make initial press introductions.

As for the "point" of E3, although PR and marketing use it as a great opportunity for press, it's as much for those much-disdained-by-the-poster folks from EB, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart. At the higher, closed-door levels, publishers want to impress buyers with their wares, including what's on the floor and what's several months out past that. At the "exhibits only" level, the idea is for salespeople to get to play the games so they can make informed comments to their customers who didn't go to the author's blog.