Questioning the New E3 86
This year's E3 is substantially different than events of the past, with an easily navigated show floor just one of the signs of the changing times. There are a number of questions up in the air as to what the new face of E3 means. Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear series) went on record at the Konami conference saying that he considers the new format a waste of time. Game|Life's Chris Kohler has a piece up on this subject, and he says that the new E3 is all about the status quo: "Yes, there were press conferences. But when Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony all decide to only show their 2007 games (for the most part) and hold back on announcing huge news (entirely), you know something's up with the venue. At any rate, gamers hoping for some kind of shift in momentum, no matter which direction, didn't get their wish. This year's E3 is all about maintaining the status quo. Typically, it's been the 'battle of the press conferences' to see who 'wins E3.' This year, everybody surrendered."
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3 letters.... (Score:2)
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If all you're interested in is getting a glimpse of a scantily clad, non-gamer booth babe, and if you're embarrassed about being a nerd, then
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Seemed mostly superfluous (Score:2)
Re:Seemed mostly superfluous (Score:4, Interesting)
Generating hype around your product appears to be more important than delivering on content. E3 appeared to be just that. I, personally, prefer like you suggest to simply download some trailers and preferrably trailers that show in-game footage and footage of someone playing the game, as well as downloading demos.
I won't cry much if E3 goes away and companies rely more on the internet like you suggest.
What new shit? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's really braindead. Basically the most minuscle change in an interface is hyped as if it was the pinnacle of development (wow, in Supreme Commander you can now zoom in and out all the way, what innovation! This will change the world of RTS forever!), and a few new units that do essentially the same they did in earlier incarnations, just with different animations, are enough to make a game "totally new and improved".
Or the "new" MMORPGs? Where is the big innovation?
Wake me up when a game company comes up with something REALLY new. Basically I think that's why E3 and other "game conventions" are failing. Why bother going there to see the same old shit in new graphics? And now even without boobies...
Re:What new shit? (Score:5, Interesting)
I challenge you to come up with a game concept that is truly innovative. I sure as hell can't do it.
When the technology didn't exist to realize certain genres, it was a lot easier to come up with ideas for new games. Now, we have far more power than we need and that's not holding us back anymore. Nintendo tends to innovate with hardware instead. Powerglove, zapper, etc. There's not much of that left either, though. (I'd love to see a return of the powerglove for the Wii, but that's not innovation.)
Puzzle games still have innovations happening, but they don't appeal to nearly as many guys as the non-puzzle (action) games do. (Yes, I know women and old people have started gaming.) I like puzzle games, but if given the choice between an good RPG and a good puzzle game, I'll almost always pick the RPG.
So again, name an innovation that would appeal to the 'typical gamer'.
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The WiiMote isn't innovation, either, as the Powerglove and Zapper before it did everything it does. They merely improved on a concept they had made long ago.
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We need to drop the idea of the goggles and think much smaller, lighter.... and less nerdtastic.
We're the geeks, hand over the damn goggles (Score:1)
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Before VR I want to see glasses, preferably ones that extend the screen into your peripheral vision and also allow you to glance up with your eyes and see what is above you. At the same time they need something light and fairly durable. They shouldn't generate a ton of heat, and you should be able to tap a button to turn off the video and also makes them translucent, so yo
I found the goggles (Score:1)
http://www.spokane7.com/tech/stories/?ID=6278 [spokane7.com]
http://www.trimersion.com/ [trimersion.com]
However, these are not the glasses you are looking for.
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Games will have to be designed to use "VR" by allowing, very, very wide screen resolutions, wide enough so that there is stuff being rendered in you peripheral vision.The screen would have to be able to cover your entire visual range, it would also allow for a more realistic view
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Zuma? Bejeweled? Diner Dash? Oh heck, here... http://reflexive.net/ [reflexive.net] Yes, there's a ton of copycats, but there's also a -lot- of innovative games on there in the last few years. A HECK of a lot more than all other genres combined. (There are other sites as well, but Reflexive tends to have the best sampling of any single site.)
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My point (which wasn't very well stated) was that the clones should be ignored, when looking for innovation. They only cloud the issue. The fact that there are 100 beweled clones on every game site you visit doesn't take away the fact that Bejeweled was indeed an
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But you are correct, true innovation rarely occurs.
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I disagree. There are plenty of amazing games. To take one example, LittleBigPlanet would be an amazing title to reveal at E3. An guaranteed game of show. Except of course it was revealed at the Sony GDC.
The same is true of most other titles. So what's the point of E3? Why should the press bother with all the expense and effort of covering an event that shows
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The same point of just about any trade show. Showing off your products in a way that you can control, allowing the troops to travel once in a while and throwing parties on the company's dime.
Why does the press go? Vendor parties.
Re:What new shit? (Score:4, Insightful)
If you have a fun game that people have already played, and you add a minor tweak to it that makes it fun to play all over again, that's a good thing. It's a success. The goal of having FUN was achieved.
New concepts in games that are not fun are failures, even if they are the most innovative thing ever.
If you don't like games or if you're bored with them and you want something different, maybe games aren't really for you. Maybe find a non-videogame hobby for a while.
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Yep, I saw something new at E3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YzpfhAMBR8 [youtube.com]
RegardselFarto
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I think I brought this up in another thread yesterday... but what's with the double standard with movies and games? I don't ever hear anyone on Slashdot complain about how the new summer action blockbuster du jour is too formulaic and predictable. People somehow learn that, while some movies challenge the art of the cinema, others are simply meant to entertain, not revolutionize, and we can successfully leave the critical artsy part of our minds at the door and just enjoy things blowing up and one liners be
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I don't mind good games that don't change the world as we know it. What I do mind is that every single minor and insignificant tweak is called "revolutionary" and touted as if it reinvented the game industry.
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wow, in Supreme Commander you can now zoom in and out all the way, what innovation! This will change the world of RTS forever!
I think this demonstrates another problem with attempting to innovate - people notice the small changes and miss the big picture. The zoom feature in Supreme Commander actually allows quite a bit of new things in the game that can't be done without it.
One of the most obvious is unit scale - there are some units in the game that would literally take up multiple screens if you weren't allowed to zoom out. Some weapons have an area of effect that would be multiple screens. Without the zoom, these wouldn't
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Yeah, I was also really disappointed with Supreme Commander. After waiting 10 years, you would think it would ad
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E3 Is Perfect Now (Score:5, Interesting)
1) Publishers and developers to all be in one place to have meetings, sign or work on deals, and all the other face to face work that goes on to get projects in motion
2) A concentrated press event for companies to show off their stuff
Over time E3 became a magnet for fanboys to find a way in to the show to get free promotional material, lamely try to pick up on the local LA strippers working as models, and in general just clog up the place.
E3 is perfect now. I don't know of anyone who actually is involved with game development who doesn't love the new format.
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Fine, but you don't need an Expo for that.
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Right, bad bad fans, disgusting fans who show their interest in an inappropriate way, rather than applauding the 10th reincarnation of the same old idea.
No, they have a point. E3 was designed as an industry event meant for industry members and press. It was never meant for fans. The idea was to invite a bunch of people together from the industry, then whip out your proverbial cocks and have the press measure them to see whose was biggest. Honestly, the fans who did "crash the show" could be quite the annoyance, especially if they were making it hard to impossible for press people to cover the event and therefore report E3 to the people who either: a) h
Re:E3 Is Perfect Now (Score:5, Interesting)
E3 filled a niche so well that the entire world was taking note. Instead of running with their fame, they decide to gimp themselves and return to their roots.
This is actually not the first time something like this has happened!
When I was young, there was a yearly food expo in Tampa. (I think it was in Tampa.) We used to go every year and check out all the booths and get the free goodies. This often included free food samples, such as tiny (like 2") loaves of bread from Wonder and such. 1 year, they decided that the pesky customers (who paid admission!) were in the way and they didn't let us in. Guess where that expo is now? It's non-existant. Turns out the vendors found it an excellent way to promote their product to customers, instead of trying to promote it to the middle man, and get the middle man to promote it to customers.
That's what E3 was. Gamers all over the world worked themselves into a frenzy each year about each and every game announced at E3. Even the dumb games that were way overhyped saw fanboys for their products.
This year, none of that. The closest a consumer can get is a video feed via XB-live/PS-network or some bad-grammar blogger on a game news site. Many stated their intention not to participate beforehand, and all the ones that -did- participate only announced games that will release very soon.
Did anyone learn anything from any of the conferences? MGS4 - might be PS3 exclusive... Yeah, we knew that. We got a more solid release date on Mario Galaxy. They could have announced that without a major conference. The Wii is getting a fitness game... -yawn-
Just because you succeed in executing your battle strategy does not mean you will win the war. Any decent tactician will tell you that plans never go right, and you must constantly adapt. E3 is attempting to stick to the original plan and it's killing them.
Look at it another way: Many great inventions were an accident to the actual product being developed. If they'd said 'that isn't what we were aiming at' and discarded it, it would have been extremely stupid.
Sure, E3 is welcome to do whatever they want with their expo... But that won't stop everyone from telling them how stupid they are.
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No matter what MS/Sony/Nintendo say, they're lying if they say E3 wasn't worth the money. They aren't idiots, and they simply wouldn't have spent it if that were the case.
I don't see why E3 had to cost SO much money for the companies involved. GIVE them the floorspace they want, they can buy the st
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Maybe it would have been wiser to restrict the access again or open the expo to the public for 1-2 days and continue with the smaller circle later on. Excluding your customers from a "show' -and yes it has been percei
Re:E3 Is Perfect Now (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been to E3 on all sides of the fence: developer, press, and as a fan. Now while I'm all for kicking a HUGE ammount of the slobbering masses out (banning retail clerks was BIG plus this last year), but how the show is now is just crappy. If they'd just check credentials a little better, or just outright do away with the free passes anyone can get (make the entry fee $100 minimum) it'd make sure allot more people were there for reasons that don't coencide with "it was a 30 min drive from my home".
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So in other words you don't know is actually involved with game development?
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Did you even read the article summary? Last I checked, Hideo Kojima was "involved with game development".
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The gap that is left in the public sphere is the "coming
E3 also had hands on play (Score:2)
And quite frankly, alot of things that can happen in early demo's is worth hiding.
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E3 nintendo news (Score:4, Informative)
This page has the info from ninty about the E3 show, sure I guess a lot of it we might have heard of before, but Wii Fitness was a new one to me. The work out board looks pretty cool too, if they make a way to make it higher then you could do step exercises with it as well. All in all I'm glad I've got a wii/DS combo.
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E3 (Score:2, Insightful)
E3 as Press Release? (Score:2)
I think they should rename it E2. Yes, it's electronic entertainment, but it's no longer an "expo".
Mission accomplished? (Score:2)
A bit of history, and this is what you get. (Score:5, Informative)
The top exhibitors at E3 banded together and vowed to not return after last year, effectively killing the show. IDG scrambled to react, and came up with this new format in an attempt to woo exhibitors back, and continue the event. This year was something of a test. If the top companies decide the new format was an effective way to reach wholesale buyers and network with other people in their creative and supply chains, it will probably continue. If they decide it was not, E3 is most likely dead for all time.
As wild an event as it used to be, there's no return on investment for companies to slug it out in front of a seething mass of gamers who wiggled their way in to grab bagfuls of booth swag and monopolize the demo units. It's supposed to be an industry event -- not a public event -- and the new format more strongly reflects that. Actual industry insiders apparently DO like the new format much better, though I think the jury is out on whether they liked it enough to continue. Especially in light of the emergence of other, more focused gaming conferences like the Sandbox Symposium [siggraph.org] coming up in August.
It's not the big flashy public event it once was... but then again, it was never supposed to be that in the first place. It had to change into this, or it would no longer exist at all.
MOD parent up (Score:1)
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I agree with everything you said, my only beef is that in the past the only ones who truly benefited from E3 as far as getting deals done were the small guys...without
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Change change change (Score:2, Insightful)
Sony won E3... (Score:2)
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Both Microsoft and Nintendo wanted to give everyone sitting at home fullscreen showcasing of all the games the ywanted to show off, Sony didn't. Aside from, I think, four games games only two of them with actual gameplay footage (nba0
Good stuff (Score:1)
This year it's completely different for people sitting at home, and it's different because of
The action is elsewhere now. (Score:2)
The action is elsewhere. It's at the Game Developer's Conference [gdconf.com] for technology, and the Hollywood Games Summit [hollywoodandgames.com] for content.
Anyone with $799 can go to the Hollywood Games Summit. They even throw in subscriptions to both Game Developer and the Hollywood Reporter.