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Did E3 Just Gasp Its Last Breath?

Posted by timothy on from the my-last-breath-will-be-a-sigh dept.

Ian Lamont writes "This year's E3 is over, and there's already talk that this could be the last one. Even before the conference started, a slew of studios announced they wouldn't be taking part, citing high costs and other 'business reasons.' At the conference itself, 'there were no huge game announcements, and Microsoft didn't even bother having Bungie show up to talk about the next Halo release, claiming that the company wanted to "shorten the presentation."' Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said he 'hated' E3's new format, adding 'either we need to go back to the old E3, or we'll have to have our own private events.' Crave also noted there are no solid plans for next year's show. On the other hand, people have predicted E3's demise in previous years, and they turned out to be wrong."

8 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. Old Vs. New by TitusC3v5 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Old E3: New games, for gamers, and coverage by gamers.
    New E3: New games, for the PR/Hype machines, and coverage by journalists pretending to be gamers.

    Yeah, no idea why it's dying...

    --
    And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
    1. Re:Old Vs. New by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Old E3: New games, for gamers, and coverage by gamers. New E3: New games, for the PR/Hype machines, and coverage by journalists pretending to be gamers. Yeah, no idea why it's dying...

      No problem is that E3 was always supposed to be a industry only sort of thing. To help show off the new & upcoming stuff to get retailers interested to buy up these new games for the holidays. But people posing as journalists kept getting in and with the internet it just got out of hand.

      It became less about games and about how much you spent on half naked girls for sweaty virgins to harass. There is no qualification for being a journalist on the internet, which is good for a lot of things, but it's not good for E3 as it was taking the focus off games.

      The industry still has a lot of growing up to do. The fact it's probably the only indutry that can't seem to hold a major business event without turning it into softcore porn should concern people.

      As much as people want to tout that gaming is growing it's not really. The numbers they use against movies includes everything including controllers, power leads, etc. We're losing imagination and genres because everything is so similar that they dare not risk doing something new. Plus they have to raise prices to keep going and we can probably expect price to rise during the next generation.

      Does that sound like a healthy world domination industry? I don't think so. The only thing they do have going for them is that gamers do tend to be more obsessive about their hobby than others so they can count on there being a certain level of sales.

      In fact I think the reason they taken to pussifying the term hardcore gamer into core gamer is because it doesn't mean the same thing anymore. It means that's their core audience that will eat up any old shit they shovel they sell as long as it's a sequel, features lots of guns and gang of hulking space marines of questionable sexuality.

    2. Re:Old Vs. New by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

      it's probably the only indutry that can't seem to hold a major business event without turning it into softcore porn

      You say that as if it's a bad thing.

      I'd suggest that the more major business events that turn into softcore porn, the better.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:Old Vs. New by Inner_Child · · Score: 5, Funny

      The industry still has a lot of growing up to do. The fact it's probably the only indutry that can't seem to hold a major business event without turning it into softcore porn should concern people.

      You, sir, appear to be forgetting the porn industry. Turning business events into softcore (or hardcore) porn is what they do.

      --
      Today is red jello day - all workers must eat all of their red jello. Failure to comply will result in five demerits.
  2. Shot in the arm for PAX? by Kumoe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So will this make the User-created conventions (eg PAX) more attractive to the gaming companies? They seem to want to be more willing to engage the customer-base where they are comfortable, so hopefully they will start to make these events more accessible.

  3. The Reason The Execs Are Unhappy by rsmith-mac · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This was an exceptionally insightful comment made on Voodoo Extreme that I am reposting, with full credit to the author. It hits the nail on the head, so to speak.

    ProphecyVE

    Its become what it should have always been in the first place, an industry trade show. What it turned into before they switched the format was just a nightmare. A huge convention center packed with millions of sweaty nerds all clamoring to see an actual GIRL who is playing a VIDEOGAME. OMGOMG. It wasn't a trade show, it was just a marketing free for all.

    And of course the execs don't like it. They got to feel like they were rockstars before, watching guys with huge guts packed underneath Star Wars parody t-shirts salivate for their crappy port of Unoriginal Game 9. At the current E3, they have to act like actual business people, and answer actual questions.

  4. E3 is dying by SnowZero · · Score: 5, Funny

    E3 is dying, Google trends confirms it.

  5. It's different now. by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A few years ago, I would have killed to go to E3. But I was but a humble student, with no game industry affiliations, and more importantly... broke.

    Since then, I've graduated and become an actual developer. I go to two events a year. PAX and GDC. E3 is obviously something I could go to, and I might if I was in the area. But it doesn't have much draw for me anymore. And I could honestly care less about the booth babes. I want actual content, and E3 isn't even a shadow of what it once was. That would be PAX. I get PAX for the consumery-side of me, and I get GDC for the professional side. There's no place for E3 anymore.