The End of E3?

Ground Glass writes "Next Generation is reporting that E3 as we know it is finished. The games industry has lost its most glamorous show." Update: 07/30 21:18 GMT by Z : A reader wrote in with a link to an Ars Technica story saying that the event is to be downsized, not cancelled. From that article: "At the end of the day, the reason is very simple: ten years ago, you needed a big trade show to generate buzz and hype. It used to be that COMDEX was a special event because so much new stuff was unveiled, and this was the only way to see it. Now, however, information comes down the pipe faster than ever, and companies are wondering if there's really any benefit to spending the big money on displays only to share the floor with other competitors looking to out-wow attendees." I guess we'll see in a day or two what the future of E3 looks like.

PAX to fill void?

Wonder if PAX could sort of by default become the big gaming convention...

PAX [pennyarcadeexpo.com]

Re:PAX to fill void?

Remember, E3 is NOT supposed to be a convention. Its a PRESS event. GDC is a convention. It has "convention" in the name even. The general public is not invited, though generally anyone who wanted to go could get in. I've always thought its a pretty terrible event and generally not a good face for the industry as a whole. Most of the real stuff happens behind closed doors, and a lot of the big publishers have their own press days anyways. The real losers here are the small developers or hardware manufacturers (yay Kentia Hall) who are trying to a) get exposure, b) get funding. The indy show at GDC doesn't really fit the role unfortunately, but it tries. I think what's really needed is a serious event for indie developers where both publishers and press attend without some dufus walking around in elf armor.

They actually HAD something like that recently...

...I was just broke and couldn't attend. It was called the Texas Independent Games Development Conference [txindiegamecon.com] and it had all kinds of people that were sponsoring the thing- according to the promoters, it was a stunning success and they're doing it again next year (And I HOPE to be able to attend the next time...). It was intended for Texas indie studios for the large part, but it's a good start in the right direction- and I don't think we need to see something like GDC or E3 (GDC's good for meeting up with the tech companies supplying the resources to make the games happen and seeing the people face- but if it were to shrink or go away, it'd only be mildly annoying. E3, on the other hand... That was a massive resource sink, in all honesty- it may be that it is its time to go.)

Re:PAX to fill void?

The C stands for "conference" not "convention".

Re:PAX to fill void?

Actually, the "C" is for "Cookie," which is good enough for me. P.S. This is a joke on the other replies...

exactly...

That is the biggest problem with E3 right now. It's full of gamers. The fact that the GP thought PAX would be the replacement for it shows how off track it is.

I know that sounds stupid, but hear me out.

The cost to the exhibitors (Sony, MS, EA, etc.) of putting on E3 is huge. They spend far too much money to piss it away on gamers who will only sway themselves and 2 friends. The show was originally envisioned to be attended by buyers and other high ups, whom if you convinced of buying/distributing your game would result in thousands of sales.

If an attendee is going to deliver 1,000 sales, you can afford to spend up to $50-$100 on them. If an attendee is going to deliver 2 sales, you can only afford to spend $0.10.

Companies are paying per sq/foot charges and booth construction and design charges more in line with the 1,000 sale attendee, but the show is full of 2 sale attendees.

You could see this with the Thursday this year where only conference ($1,000 fee) attendees could enter before noon. You could also see it with the prohibition of retail associates (Gamestop mall employees) from attending without special permission this year.

E3 probably needs to change to keep the riff raff out if it wishes to survive in its current form.

On the other hand, there is a void in shows for the actual gamer. These can be made to work, with the proper cost structure. I wouldn't be surprised to see the ESA (people who put on E3) create a gamers convention or at least associate themselves with one. These shows work well in Japan, and PAX is off to a good start in the US. Many of the larger exhibitors will likely welcome a show of this sort, whereas the people with under development games would rather have a true industry only press event/trade show.

E3 sure has changed a lot. The action truly did used to be in the back rooms. That's where you had to go to see Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors back in the day.

Massive damage = walkout?

Hmmmm, Should I say it? Hmmmm,

Do I dare?

So.... these rumours, I think, that maybe, the "big-player." Pulling out. Could be.

Based on no evidence other than historical battles, giant crabs and real time weapon change

....Sony?

Too much public MASSIVE DAMAGE? It pretty much provided a focus point for the interweb community (aka early adopters) to turn against them. Maybe they don't want anymore showcases where they have to say words like "six hundred and ninety nine united states dollars" to the world anymore - when a press release would be nicer.

*runs and hides*

Re:Massive damage = walkout?

Redundant? Hmm, ok. I thought it was a fair point - but maybe it was more obvious than I thought. Bad me.

Anyway just correcting my post that should be $599. Sony aren't that mad.

Re:Massive damage = walkout?

Yeah - I know - but I was trying (badly) to make that point. Sony must realise how silly they looked with all the memes that came out of there conference. I think the same information they showed at E3 presented in press releases and "exclusives" would have worked much better for them. And I'm sure they had too.

I wasn't even bashing Sony - just pointing out all the ridicule that come to them from E3.

My personal feelings on the cancellation are actually really positive. Hopefully games like PoP; Sands of

Re:Massive damage = walkout?

Here's the funny vid [youtube.com] he is referring to for those 40% that modded him troll. I liked the "innovative gameplay" and "realtime weapon change" myself. 30% Redundant? Maybe. All this sony bashing is starting to sound redundant.

I have found the culprit

Who killed E3? [http]

I welcome the exit, if true...

Given the amount of money spent trying to get E3 builds ready, stabilize those builds, then strip out the hacks so that people can get back to work, this may actually be a good thing.

If I have to choose between E3 and essentially getting an extra month of productivity a year...farewell, E3, I barely knew ye.

Re:I welcome the exit, if true...

What idiot whould put in "hacks" and have to strip them out before begining real work again? You can make copies of a source tree. Fork the code, get it ready for E3, and keep the untouched code in the main development cycle.

Re:I welcome the exit, if true...

A lot of companies want the work to go on as long as possible before forking to reduce integration downtime afterwards.

While a pure branch with regular merge-ins from the main tree is ideal, there are many times where it can be impractical.

It figures, really...

When you go and ban booth babes [ign.com], what's the point of going to E3, anyway?

Good Riddance

E3 represented everything that was wrong about the games industry. The hype. The focus on graphics. The sexualisation. The sequelisation. The CG sell. The marketers.

Playing a video game can be a serene repose from the world, not unlike a quiet read of a good book. But you'd never gather than from the Festival of the Casual Gamer that was E3. There games are presented like six-packs and waxed over automobiles. E3 was like an arms or car show. Games deserve better.

Re:Good Riddance

E3 represented everything that was wrong about the games industry.

Playing a video game can be a serene repose from the world, not unlike a quiet read of a good book.

And you'll notice just how popular novels have become compared to videogames in terms of mass market. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard people say, "Why must kids waste their time on novels. If only we could get them to embrace videogames in the same way!"

Don't get me wrong: I love books and my wife's a writer. That doesn't chang

Gamespot is reporting it as well

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6154897.html [gamespot.com]

Well, there goes that.

E3 has been going downhill for a while

E3 has been going downhill for a while. Back in 1999 I found 2 days worth of stuff to do. In 2005 I found about 2 hours. Booths are now packed with demo reels instead of hands on play, booth babes have been outlawed, no one gives a shit about you unless you are press, and waiting 2 hours to get into an exclusive area to spend 5 minutes watching a trailer or looking at some new molded plastic isn't my idea of fun. I didn't go this year even though one of my ex girlfriends is head of press relations for E3 and has printed me up any badge I wanted.

E3 has gotten so boring that most of my friends in the industry don't care to go anymore - its viewed now as a chore.

It's Because they Banned Booth Babes

I'm not joking about this(see title). Booth babes are tremendously important to bringing in customers, and if E3 sends the message that they're taking a puritanical attitude, they only tick off the vendors who spend lots of money to set up booths, and discourage people from coming to the show.

Awesome! No G4 coverage

This is great news, no E3, no G4 coverage!

I'm really at a loss here...

How the hell is a serious gamer like me gonna to get to see boobs?

on a more serious note

if there are any out-of-work booth babes out there who need a place to stay while they're getting back on their feet, my basement apartment, several bulk packages of Ho-Hos, and a rack of size-2 Seven of Nine uniforms is available to provide you with shelter, food and clothing during this trying ordeal.

Re:What will it become?

Or perhaps Computer and Console Convention, Press Only?

(if you don't get it, abbreviate that)

Re:Interesting twist..

But you can argue that such venues for making announcements, have become irrelevant in this era of multimedia web content. All a Major Industry Company has to do is make press releases that get published on all of the major gaming and tech/new sites and reach a lot more people, much more quickly and efficiently with their big announcements. I think it's realistic to say that the web generates the vast majority of hype for pretty much all things tech nowadays. I'm sure if some sort of measurement was done, you would find that the number of game players that actually go to E3 is probably miniscule in comparison to those that surf the gaming/tech news sites.