On E3's Awards, Anticipation, Predictions

Thanks to HomeLAN Fed for its article discussing the state of the annual 'Best Of E3' game awards, in which the writer suggests that the "E3 awards are a bit of a sham and... a lot of games that get these awards are either not released in the coming year or if they are they are not as good as their E3 presentations make them out to be." He points out that "...out of the 16 categories that the Game Critics E3 awards had last year, 10 of them went to games that have not yet come out and won't be out until after E3 2004." Elsewhere, GameSpot focuses its 'GameSpotting' editorials on the forthcoming E3 trade show itself, suggesting that the show "is becoming a bigger and bigger source of stress and anxiety to the gaming industry as time goes by", even taking into account the excitement of "the biggest video game convention on God's green earth."

I realized something...

[genrader]

I'm not completely sure this ever happens, but what if one or two of the top ten awards ended up having that game cancelled? I'm guessing that probably won't happen as the developer figures they'll make money on it, but what about all those other "moneymaking" games that got cancelled, a few were on IGN's article the other day about mysteriously disappearing games, and other games too like Interplay and Volition's supposed Descent IV, etc.

Trade Show Stress.

[torpor]

"is becoming a bigger and bigger source of stress and anxiety to the gaming industry as time goes by"

its true ... trade shows ... or rather, the insipient demand for new products to be released at the trade show ... puts a lot of stress on mfr's. time and again, i've been to trade shows/conventions where new products were announced, proto's were made, and then 4 months later, the project is -still- not ready for public release. this screws with markets, and is generally unhealthy.

at this years music messe, my company (a leading musical instrument manufacturer) opted not to participate - we all still went to the show, and enjoyed it very much - but since we've long since stopped timing our product releases to the show period of the year (and only release things when they're -ready- i.e. manufacturing is producing shelf-storable product), we no longer feel a demand as a mfr to invest so heavily in the show.

its a double-edged sword, though. a lot of customers expect new stuff at the show. nevertheless, it feels better as a company not to have to cater to the mob-think that trade shows == target product release date. 'its ready when its ready' is definitely not something you'll hear much at a trade show ... but its the best policy for tech mfr's ...

Re:Trade Show Stress.

[RsD212]

Its getting to the point where a company will have 'products' to show at the trade shows, but then you cant find any more information about it for the next year. Its very misleading and perpetuates the whole vaporware idea, where what you see before your eyes may not actually ever exist in the real world. One recent example is the company Archos [archos.com] who recently announced a new video/mp3 player with built in PDA...go to their website and there is no information whatsoever, not even a press release or a hype pa

Wish I was there

[Killjoy_NL]

But since I can't be, I'll have to make do with the different webcomics that do go there (like Penny Arcade and their dancing robot)

Can't find the link to that one,
But this is basically what I mean

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=1999- 05 -16&res=l

Re:Wish I was there

[Rallion]

Me to the rescue!

Dancing Robot 1 [penny-arcade.com]
Dancing Robot 2 [penny-arcade.com]

E3 Awards

[Silwenae]

While I agree with the overall subject of the article, what is the root cause that is driving the awards?

Who exactly is hypeing these games that gets them the awards? If E3 is such a source of anxiety to the developers and publishers, maybe they should start by setting realistic expectations of when they're games will be delivered. It's not that I don't agree with id's philosophy of "when it's done" - but why show the game that early if they know the game isn't going to be released until *after* the following year's E3?

Do they need all the publicity to hype a game that far out? I would assume that the smaller game developers probably do - but if you look at the ones winning the awards - Doom3, HalfLife 2, Halo 3, they're going to get the coverage in the press regardless if the game is there or not.

I don't know what the answer or the solution is - my choice would be for E3 to have a rule that games to be shown should be released within 6-8 months of the show, but the inevitable "code leak", "revamping", or some other excuse would poke holes in that quicker than anything.

Re:E3 Awards

[yoyodyne]

The solution is don't give awards to unreleased games.

Re:E3 Awards

[chrismcdirty]

But not many games are released at E3. And most companies don't really want to show games that are already on the market. They want to show what's coming up.

But I agree. Most games are given a basic time for its release at E3. So any games that aren't scheduled to release in the following year shouldn't get awards.

Re:E3 Awards

[Alkaiser]

I ask this stuff all the time. When Slashdot posted about IDSA posting their "Best of E3 Awards" last year, I openly mocked the awards. Look at the past winners. You'll see some games winning "Best of..." 2 years in a row. Absolutely brilliant.

Why hype a video game 2 years from launch? Why saturate the market for movies that are 1 year off? Are you marketing people retarded?

Re:E3 Awards

[AnotherFreakboy]

But if the big players don't hog the press, the little players will get some publicity, pulling attention away from the big players. And we can't have that now.

It's not all bad

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not all bad... Some games get awarded, when you'd never think twice about them otherwise. For example, "Stretch Panic" on the PS2. It's a very odd, unique game, with a weirdly odd and unique play mechanic.

Wish I could go

[Daetrin]

But i was laid off six months ago. Not only would i have to come up with about $300 bucks for the registration cost, in order to meet their requirements for entry i would also have to pretend to still be employed by my ex-company and hope they didn't check up on it.

Re:Wish I could go

[shadowcabbit]

But i was laid off six months ago. Not only would i have to come up with about $300 bucks for the registration cost, in order to meet their requirements for entry i would also have to pretend to still be employed by my ex-company and hope they didn't check up on it.

So how did you like working for Ion Storm [megatokyo.com]?

the other side of the coin

[h0mer]

Yes, the E3 awards are usually fluff pieces. Of course, all "previews" of games are usually fluff pieces. The reporter can't give an honest opinion of the game, since the problems may not be there when the final version is released. Even taking that into account, I can't count how many times the preview has said something about a flaw in the gameplay, mentions that hopefully the developer will fix it in time, yet the problem is still in the finished product and hurts the overall rating of it.

E3 is not all bad though! New hardware such as the Nintendo DS is always fun to see unveiled and next-generation titles usually incite some drool when revealed. Come on, you know your jaw hit the floor when the Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer was shown for the first time.

I think the overall lesson is that all news/hype/etc. that you read before a game is actually released should be taken with a grain of salt.

GuildWars

[SpecialKae]

Check out Guildwars E3 for Everyone [guildwars.com]

The what looks to be awesome game Guildwars (from former employees of Blizzard, making it out to be a "Diablo 3" of sorts) is offering their client for everyone to play during E3. I think it's a great idea, so you can judge for yourself how it is, rather than reading hyped up previews. I don't know about you, but I would love to go but probably would never be able to, so I think opening up more to the public works well. Either way free gaming is free gaming.

Re:GuildWars

[Rallion]

I wouldn't really compare it to a Diablo 3, it's more of a real MMORPG. But without all the cash every month.

I hope to God that the economic model works, but I have my doubts. Big, gaping doubts.

Once more, the deal with E3

[Mike Hawk]

The deal with E3 is, ITS NOT FOR YOU. E3 is a trade show. This means it is for people involved with the trade. E3 exists so publishers can sell their wares (pun quite intended) to retailers. The hype is in the hope that Wal-Mart will buy 1M copies instead of 20k. Games are shown far in advance so that important people (I think you guys call the PHB's) can make long term decisions for companies all along the manufacture and distribution trail. Sometimes a game wins an award in a year wherein the game i

Re:Once more, the deal with E3

[AltaMannen]

That's maybe the idea but not the practice. E3 is for showing games to media and retailers, but most of the retailers at the show are from local stores and their friends, the wal-mart and eb games have their own things where they have presentations of games. You don't see a lot of suits standing in line to try the games, do you? Some years it seems it is all raggedy game developers playing their own games though...

E3 is about building hype and has always been fully directed by marketing departments, includ

Re:Once more, the deal with E3

[Mike Hawk]

Thanks for telling me what my job is? Actually you don't see the suits standing in line because the line gets brushed away so the suit can go to the front and get their personal demo immediately. They get a personal demo, either on the floor or in a private room, then go to the back and talk numbers. I'm sure all those games I demo'ed to all those VIPs from all over the world were all in my head.

Where do you think those deals are made? Oh, thats right, E3. Geez, connect the dots.

Is everyone forgetting the purpose of E3?

[Torgo's Pizza]

It seems like the fanboi and press seems to forget that E3 isn't about publicity or awards. It's about selling games to brick and mortar stores. The real stories of the show don't happen on the convention floor, but in the meeting rooms on the second floor.

John Callahan of HomeLAN Fed is missing the point. E3 is to games like ShoWest is to movies. Hey, everyone knows that the games aren't finished yet. It's the entire point of having E3; pitch your unfinished game to retailers in hopes of having it finished in time for the Christmas buying season. If all the games were finished, there would be no need for E3. Sheesh, everyone knows that the E3 awards are based on impressions made on the journalists and public. The real awards that count are the IAIAA awards or whatever they're calling themselves now.

Like my bud Greg Kasavin at Gamespot said in his editorial, these games are often at the show two years in a row. Is it stressful? Well yeah, because you're working not only to impress the buyers but other developers at the show. The years I worked at Microsoft's booth at E3, we did our best to impress the press but we worked harder to impress the guys from Blizzard who wandered over to see our game. (And vice-versa). E3 is what it is. Personally I think HomeLan Fed is complaining about nothing and this year's E3 is no less stressful than any other year.

Well, that is unless you're Infinium Labs...

Re:Is everyone forgetting the purpose of E3?

[JCal12345]

I don't think I'm missing the point at all. Getting an E3 award can be a big help in selling a game in those brick and mortar stores. And I don't think "everyone" knows that an E3 award is based on impressions of an unfinished game. Some people believe winning an award actually means someone played the finished game. Oh, and ShoWest has awards as well but they are mostly for people and movies who actually got released movies in the past year, with the exception of the Male and Female Star of Tomorrow and e

Maybe E3 isn't for "us"

[inkless1]

But when they slap those awards onto advertising - the awards sure as hell are, and I think people should know how these awards were granted.

If you saw a box that said "Best Action Game of 2001!!!" are you telling me you don't expect that that game actually was playable in 2001?

If the trade show is just for insiders, keep the awards on the inside.

The purpose of E3

[LordZardoz]

And Yes, I am a game programmer...

E3 exists for two reasons.

1) So publishers can convince retailers to carry their games (which has already been pointed out).

2) So Developers can sign publishers for their product.

3) So Publishers can sign Developers.

4) For the "Big 3" can sign publishers to their consoles.

Essentially, E3 has a huge impact on the financial side of the game industry. It is where most deals are made. You need your stuff to look good so someone can use it to impress someone else.

Its also a pissing contest among peers. Its onething to convince an end user that your game is kick ass. Its another to convince your competitors that you are the 'hot shit'.

Unfortunately, E3 can screw with the schedule of a project. The tightest crunches on any project will be for its Beta / Gold milestones, and for E3. This is because if you show at E3, then people will want to play your game. And if you crash, it gets around.

Ever try to get software to a non-crashing state when its between 40% and 60% done?

END COMMUNICATION

Re:The purpose of E3

[clamatius]

[quote]E3 exists for two reasons.[/quote]

For large values of two, it appears.

Your points are valid, I just couldn't resist...

Re:The purpose of E3

[buffer-overflowed]

Jibe 1 - See username.

Jibe 2 - Michael Bolton, is that you?

Re:The purpose of E3

[buffer-overflowed]

So then, why allow the media in?

Best Demo Awards

[randomizer9]

Am I the only one who cracks up when demos are awarded 'Best of E3' by websites?

New criteria for "Best of Show" awards!

[WebGangsta]

If the new criteria for the "2003 E3 Best of Show" award goes to the booth/game that draws the biggest crowd, then that would have to be for Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson showing up to pimp the AMERICAN IDOL game. Huge crowd, plus Access Hollywood and CNN (okay, and me) grabbing "Dawg" for interviews. Couldn't push through the masses to get through to the press desk for demos, but you could hear the cheers from across the room.

And we pretty much know where THAT game has ended up this year, right?

e3

[josh glaser]

The purpose of e3 might be to have publishers convince stores to sell their game, but as a side effect, it gives everyone a sneak peak of all the games and hardware they'll be playing in a year or so. I don't think it's an unintended side effect, either - they do let members of the media in...

Anyhoo, I'm going to e3. Next year. I'd love to go this year (there's a FF concert too!) but unfortunately, I'll have to wait. But seeing as how next year is shaping up to be the time when all of the nextgen hardw