Game Industry Commentary on the E3 Revamp

John Callaham writes "FiringSquad examines what happened to cause the Electronic Entertainment Expo to implode and retrench for 2007, and posts opinions on the expo's revamp from game industry insiders. Interviewees include 3D Realms' Scott Miller, Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford, Rusty Williams of Flying Lab Software, Feargus Urquhart of Obsidian Entertainment and more."

Comments

Some quotes

[mobby_6kl]

During our interview, Scott Miller has mentioned that the company is "working within the industry to organize a better, more focused, trade show", the original date of the new event was set to fall 2007. However due to some changes the event was postponed to at least late 2008. "Our design phase has gone well, but we are having some difficulties with the new layout. For now, there is no date, it will be done when it's done."

No more booth girls?

[elmCitySlim]

Whats the point then?

Oh yea...videogames...

Cheaper Games?

[TheAngryMob]

All the money the publishers save by downsizing E3 will surely be passed along to the consumers by way of lower game prices. Right?

Re:Cheaper Games?

[govtpiggy]

Or it'll just get shifted into advertising budgets. Money spent on E3 was generally for the purpose of advertising anyway.

Mixed feelings

[p0tat03]

On one hand, it IS true that the industry loses a ridiculous amount of time each year just sharpening up E3 demos that don't go anywhere, and a lot of dev time is wasted (on the order of MONTHS) just on this one event alone that are not productive towards the end product at all.

On the other hand, E3 was the only event that the mass media ever covered. You don't see anything about GDC on the pages of the world, you hear only about E3. Methinks they need to do two things:

- Scale back E3 to its original model: backroom shows and press conferences. More professional, less glitzy.

- Create secondary shows *with* the glitz in the same model as the car shows of the world. Publishers come in and let the public get some hands-on time with their new hardware and software. These are darlings for the mass media, without impacting the professional side of things.

In other words, one perfectly serious professionals-only conference, and another glitzy conference from the proles.

Re:Mixed feelings

[anjin-san 3]

I disagree. I think the video game industry has become large enough that it doesn't need a carnival to promote itself anymore. If journalists stop writing about E3 because it's no longer a circus, then they're probably the guys who know nothing about video games to begin with and they're doing us a favor by not writing about the industry.

Re:Mixed feelings

[andrewman327]

I attended a balloon festival in New Jersey on Sunday. There was a carnival atmosphere and many booths promoting different things. One tent was by Microsoft and they had 8 XBox 360s crammed in with people waiting for all of them. I think this is a good marketing tactic. The whole event cost very little for them and hundreds (if not thousands) of people played their games across the three days they were there. One of the best things is that it attracted people who are not obsessed gamers who read EGM cover to cover. They were average people and there was no competition from other game companies.

Re:Bah humbug.

[p0tat03]

As opposed to car babes that reinforce the stereotype that rich sports car/muscle car junkies are clueless nerds that drool over every moderately attractive female that feigns interest in cars?

Booth babes aren't there to satiate the fantasies of hopeless nerds, they're there 'cos sex sells, clueless nerd or not.