E3 to go the way of the dodo bird??
07-30-06, 03:26 PM
#1
Banned
Thread Starter
E3 to go the way of the dodo bird??
E3 cancelled indefinitely?
[Darth Vader]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!![/Darth Vader]
When I first heard this, I was expecting a link from The Onion or something similar.
"Less excitement? Like a little kid waiting for Christmas, E3 excited gamers the world across. They knew that come early May, they'd be reading about the games they'd be playing for the next year."
^That sums me up exactly. I have been following E3 ever since the very first E3 which showed off the Sony Playstation and had the first mentions of Nintendo's "Ultra" 64. May E3
Posted Jul 30th 2006 2:30PM by Conrad Quilty-Harper
Filed under: Business
Next-Gen has the scoop: Doug Lowenstein, the president of the Entertainment Software Association is expected to announce within the next 48 hours that E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the definitive video games show, has been cancelled. Industry sources have told Next-Gen that the reasoning behind this move is primarily one of cost versus return. Publishers aren't getting the media attention that they expect from the large amounts of cash that they're putting down to exhibit at the show.
Apparently publishers believe that the multi-million dollar budgets allocated to E3 would be better used on smaller, specific shows where publishers get all the limelight. There's the possibility of a smaller show taking place in May next year, but as Next-Gen puts it, "it's clear that the days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone."
Check out our commentary on the cancellation at the continued link below.
Joystiq's good, the bad and the ugly commentary on E3's cancellation.
First up, the good.
* Our jobs get easier. During E3, the Joystiq team churned out 100 posts a day over the duration of the event, but there were probably still things that we missed. If there are multiple shows throughout the year, we'll be able to cover events in more detail and breadth.
* You, the reader, get a much more even flow of information. As one of the team members that didn't attend the show, I had a hard job keeping up with the flow of content. Now that E3 is gone, I can look forward to consuming my gaming news in smaller, easier to digest chunks.
* More access to the public? E3 was not accessible to the public, and was a strictly over-18 trade and press show. Hopefully future shows will split the show between press/trade exclusive days and open-access days so regular consumers can try out the latest games and hardware.
* A cooler atmosphere. E3 is was a very stressful place to be, with every booth being designed to be as loud and as bright as possible in order to attract as much attention as possible. Now that E3 is gone, publishers and developers won't have to spend so much money hiring dancers and huge booths. In other words, the games will have a chance to shine through.
* Worldwide game shows, not just L.A? Due to the expected fragmentation that the E3 cancellation is expected to bring, we can probably expect more regional shows designed to target individual demographics in different countries.
* More focus on indies? Independent developers either couldn't attend E3 due to the high cost, or if they did, they were drowned out by the big publishers and their massive booths.
Next up, the bad.
* Less excitement? Like a little kid waiting for Christmas, E3 excited gamers the world across. They knew that come early May, they'd be reading about the games they'd be playing for the next year. The separate, publisher exclusive shows expected after E3 will probably mean less of this Christmas kid excitement. Or, the same excitement, but in smaller doses throughout the year.
* Our jobs get harder. Journalists and people covering the games industry will have to travel further and more often in order to cover the gaming industry. That could mean that smaller events get less coverage as the press prioritize their travel budgets.
* No more "big three" faceoff. One of the most entertaining parts of E3 was watching Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo try to one up each other.
* Lots more "big three" faceoffs. Imagine a world with Nintendo Space World, Sony SUPER EVENT, and MS X-event. Doesn't sound too appealing does it?
Finally, the ugly. Or: miscellaneous commentary on the cancellation.
* Gamespot states that this is merely a downsizing and relocation. That effectively means the same thing as a cancellation. Next year's E3 will be a shadow of a memory of previous E3s. If the ESA doesn't manage to get the big guys back on board, another organizer will step in within the next 18 months with a show that will take E3's crown as the king of gaming trade shows.
* Don't expect any major gaming trade shows to take place next year. If the Gamestars Live/ECTS fiasco in the UK in 2004 was anything to go by, we can expect very little in the way of trade shows next year. 2008 will feature a lot of smaller, developer orientated shows, and by 2009/10 we'll be booking our tickets to go to E3's replacement.
* In the short term, GDC is going to get big, very big. As the next biggest American gaming show after E3, expect a lot of next year's big gaming news to come out of San Fransisco.
Filed under: Business
Next-Gen has the scoop: Doug Lowenstein, the president of the Entertainment Software Association is expected to announce within the next 48 hours that E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the definitive video games show, has been cancelled. Industry sources have told Next-Gen that the reasoning behind this move is primarily one of cost versus return. Publishers aren't getting the media attention that they expect from the large amounts of cash that they're putting down to exhibit at the show.
Apparently publishers believe that the multi-million dollar budgets allocated to E3 would be better used on smaller, specific shows where publishers get all the limelight. There's the possibility of a smaller show taking place in May next year, but as Next-Gen puts it, "it's clear that the days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone."
Check out our commentary on the cancellation at the continued link below.
Joystiq's good, the bad and the ugly commentary on E3's cancellation.
First up, the good.
* Our jobs get easier. During E3, the Joystiq team churned out 100 posts a day over the duration of the event, but there were probably still things that we missed. If there are multiple shows throughout the year, we'll be able to cover events in more detail and breadth.
* You, the reader, get a much more even flow of information. As one of the team members that didn't attend the show, I had a hard job keeping up with the flow of content. Now that E3 is gone, I can look forward to consuming my gaming news in smaller, easier to digest chunks.
* More access to the public? E3 was not accessible to the public, and was a strictly over-18 trade and press show. Hopefully future shows will split the show between press/trade exclusive days and open-access days so regular consumers can try out the latest games and hardware.
* A cooler atmosphere. E3 is was a very stressful place to be, with every booth being designed to be as loud and as bright as possible in order to attract as much attention as possible. Now that E3 is gone, publishers and developers won't have to spend so much money hiring dancers and huge booths. In other words, the games will have a chance to shine through.
* Worldwide game shows, not just L.A? Due to the expected fragmentation that the E3 cancellation is expected to bring, we can probably expect more regional shows designed to target individual demographics in different countries.
* More focus on indies? Independent developers either couldn't attend E3 due to the high cost, or if they did, they were drowned out by the big publishers and their massive booths.
Next up, the bad.
* Less excitement? Like a little kid waiting for Christmas, E3 excited gamers the world across. They knew that come early May, they'd be reading about the games they'd be playing for the next year. The separate, publisher exclusive shows expected after E3 will probably mean less of this Christmas kid excitement. Or, the same excitement, but in smaller doses throughout the year.
* Our jobs get harder. Journalists and people covering the games industry will have to travel further and more often in order to cover the gaming industry. That could mean that smaller events get less coverage as the press prioritize their travel budgets.
* No more "big three" faceoff. One of the most entertaining parts of E3 was watching Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo try to one up each other.
* Lots more "big three" faceoffs. Imagine a world with Nintendo Space World, Sony SUPER EVENT, and MS X-event. Doesn't sound too appealing does it?
Finally, the ugly. Or: miscellaneous commentary on the cancellation.
* Gamespot states that this is merely a downsizing and relocation. That effectively means the same thing as a cancellation. Next year's E3 will be a shadow of a memory of previous E3s. If the ESA doesn't manage to get the big guys back on board, another organizer will step in within the next 18 months with a show that will take E3's crown as the king of gaming trade shows.
* Don't expect any major gaming trade shows to take place next year. If the Gamestars Live/ECTS fiasco in the UK in 2004 was anything to go by, we can expect very little in the way of trade shows next year. 2008 will feature a lot of smaller, developer orientated shows, and by 2009/10 we'll be booking our tickets to go to E3's replacement.
* In the short term, GDC is going to get big, very big. As the next biggest American gaming show after E3, expect a lot of next year's big gaming news to come out of San Fransisco.
[Darth Vader]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!![/Darth Vader]
When I first heard this, I was expecting a link from The Onion or something similar.
"Less excitement? Like a little kid waiting for Christmas, E3 excited gamers the world across. They knew that come early May, they'd be reading about the games they'd be playing for the next year."
^That sums me up exactly. I have been following E3 ever since the very first E3 which showed off the Sony Playstation and had the first mentions of Nintendo's "Ultra" 64. May E3
07-30-06, 07:07 PM
#7
DVD Talk Godfather
I dont mind seeing E3 scaled back, just not to the extent that they seem to want to do it. I'd simply prefer stricter policy on those that are part of the "industry" to reduce the number of attendees.
07-30-06, 08:29 PM
#10
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by Suprmallet
They actually did that this year. But what's considered "the industry"? Developers, publishers, retailers? All three? That's a lot of people.
07-30-06, 09:27 PM
#12
DVD Talk Godfather
* Our jobs get harder. Journalists and people covering the games industry will have to travel further and more often in order to cover the gaming industry. That could mean that smaller events get less coverage as the press prioritize their travel budgets.
And gamers care about this because???? They sit around for 51 weeks of the year getting paid to play & review games and whine about 1 week of that year where they have to work overtime? Cry me a fucking river. 
07-30-06, 09:37 PM
#13
DVD Talk Hero
sounds like a good thing since in the last 10 years the industry has gone from a variety of genres to FPS, MMO and RTS. A few good games in between, but it seems every other game is either an FPS designed to make the idiots over at anandtech salivate at the thought of spending $1000 for the next gen CPU or video card to get an extra 5 frames per second they swear they can see or an RTS copying the two classics they are based on with cooler graphics or something else that's hyped. MMO is the new kid on the block and now everyone is salivating at the thought of finally getting recurring revenue.
I'm hoping we'll get to smaller conventions designed around genres of games and we'll see some of the old genres not around anymore come back.
I'm hoping we'll get to smaller conventions designed around genres of games and we'll see some of the old genres not around anymore come back.
07-30-06, 09:55 PM
#15
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
And gamers care about this because???? They sit around for 51 weeks of the year getting paid to play & review games and whine about 1 week of that year where they have to work overtime? Cry me a fucking river. Plus, its a lot easier for media corporations to send a handful of writers/reviewers to a single convention in one location then to send a couple to various locations. That seems to be the jist of that particular complaint, not about writers themselves being lazy.
07-30-06, 10:34 PM
#18
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The last few years have had me less and less excited any way. It seems that there have been fewer actual announcements and surprises and just more showcasing what we already know. The biggest disappointment was that games I expected to be shown, weren't. E3 still generated excitement, but I think after a year without it, I won't miss it.
This could be a problem. A bigger site/magazine can still throw money at travel, but smaller sites, and those dedicated to genres, series, etc. that may generate some more in-depth coverage, won't have as many opportunities to see the games.
Plus, while E3 is just a big show, I think smaller, publisher planned events will be more smoke and mirrors than E3 is. More wining and dining of unethical press, inviting only those they know will give them good press, etc. The random folks who play the games at E3 and help get the word out, good or bad, will disappear.
It could affect the amount of coverage certain games get, particularly from smaller studios and developers that won't get noticed or a lot of press if they're unable to afford to attend particular events.
Plus, its a lot easier for media corporations to send a handful of writers/reviewers to a single convention in one location then to send a couple to various locations. That seems to be the jist of that particular complaint, not about writers themselves being lazy.
Plus, its a lot easier for media corporations to send a handful of writers/reviewers to a single convention in one location then to send a couple to various locations. That seems to be the jist of that particular complaint, not about writers themselves being lazy.
Plus, while E3 is just a big show, I think smaller, publisher planned events will be more smoke and mirrors than E3 is. More wining and dining of unethical press, inviting only those they know will give them good press, etc. The random folks who play the games at E3 and help get the word out, good or bad, will disappear.
07-31-06, 06:29 AM
#19
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by outer-edge
Plus, while E3 is just a big show, I think smaller, publisher planned events will be more smoke and mirrors than E3 is. More wining and dining of unethical press, inviting only those they know will give them good press, etc. The random folks who play the games at E3 and help get the word out, good or bad, will disappear.
Best I could come up with was "Bullshit." With a bunch of little shows with only certain people invited there will be a lot more bullshit than actual information.
07-31-06, 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted by deadlax
Just open the event up to the public, and problem solved.
It's bad having a lot of the Gamestop/EB employees there that don't really have a reason to be there, but the year or two that I attended along with the public was BAD. The other years that I attended with Industry only was better, but still bad.
07-31-06, 10:13 AM
#21
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Originally Posted by juanmgonzalez
You clearly haven't gone to a public E3 in the past.
It's bad having a lot of the Gamestop/EB employees there that don't really have a reason to be there, but the year or two that I attended along with the public was BAD. The other years that I attended with Industry only was better, but still bad.
It's bad having a lot of the Gamestop/EB employees there that don't really have a reason to be there, but the year or two that I attended along with the public was BAD. The other years that I attended with Industry only was better, but still bad.
I think if they had created a 'better' way to allow public access, this event wouldn't be in this dilemma.
It just doesn't make sense:
Publishers create a product and want to advertise it. E3 is there big chance. Who do they advertise it to? Video game journalists, employees that 'sell' the games, and other people in the industry. Bad move. What percentage of the population that buys videogames does this group represent? Without a doubt, a very small percentage. Then these publishers who attend E3 with some kind of booth/display count on those who attend to create an article or write-up or pass the news by mouth to others. There's way too much bias and inaccuracies that way.
Lots of money thrown into this event and your number one audience (the consumers) are left out.
Allow public access or R.I.P.
07-31-06, 11:40 AM
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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=18648
Chris
EA leading the move away from E3, claims senior source
Ellie Gibson 17:00 31/07/2006
Event in jeopardy as publisher complains about rising event costs
A senior industry source has told GamesIndustry.biz that next year's E3 expo is in jeopardy because publishing giant Electronic Arts has taken a stand over rising event costs.
The source, who did not wish to be named, claimed that EA has been meeting with show organisers the Entertainment Software Association in a bid to drive prices down.
Rumours that major industry players are pulling out of E3, resulting in a massive downsize for the show, began to emerge last week via trade publication MCV. The ESA has yet to offer comment on the rumours, but an official statement is expected within the next 24 hours.
The suggestion that EA is leading the move away from E3 is not entirely surprising. Speaking to GI.biz at this year's show, senior executives expressed concern over the value of the event - suggesting they had chosen not to show many key products there because it is no longer the correct venue for that type of unveiling.
Other industry sources have told GI.biz that major publishers are planning to place more focus on retail shows - as retailers are also turning away from E3.
EA had yet to respond to requests for comment at the time of writing.
Ellie Gibson 17:00 31/07/2006
Event in jeopardy as publisher complains about rising event costs
A senior industry source has told GamesIndustry.biz that next year's E3 expo is in jeopardy because publishing giant Electronic Arts has taken a stand over rising event costs.
The source, who did not wish to be named, claimed that EA has been meeting with show organisers the Entertainment Software Association in a bid to drive prices down.
Rumours that major industry players are pulling out of E3, resulting in a massive downsize for the show, began to emerge last week via trade publication MCV. The ESA has yet to offer comment on the rumours, but an official statement is expected within the next 24 hours.
The suggestion that EA is leading the move away from E3 is not entirely surprising. Speaking to GI.biz at this year's show, senior executives expressed concern over the value of the event - suggesting they had chosen not to show many key products there because it is no longer the correct venue for that type of unveiling.
Other industry sources have told GI.biz that major publishers are planning to place more focus on retail shows - as retailers are also turning away from E3.
EA had yet to respond to requests for comment at the time of writing.
Chris
07-31-06, 12:56 PM
#24
DVD Talk Hero
That's too bad, I've always wanted to go to one of these. And it IS about the only time of the year that non-gamers seem to be aware of games (articles in mainstream press, on regular TV, etc.)
But it makes sense, especially with each company trying to outdo the other. I can see how that would be an issue. I wish there was some way to cap the spending or tone down the noise, but at the same time if the company wants to spend millions on their booth, I don't have a problem with that personally.
But it makes sense, especially with each company trying to outdo the other. I can see how that would be an issue. I wish there was some way to cap the spending or tone down the noise, but at the same time if the company wants to spend millions on their booth, I don't have a problem with that personally.
07-31-06, 01:16 PM
#25
DVD Talk Godfather
I blame it on the ban on booth babes. If there were more babes the men running the show would be happier and not fret about silly things like losing money.
Sell alcohol!
Sell alcohol!
