Posts Tagged ‘Electronic Entertainment Expo’

The Electronics Entertainment Expo is upon us once again.  I love this time of year.  Gamers all over the world look forward to this thing E3.  Why?  New game announcements and surprises of course!  What are they going to announce this year at the convention?  What does Sony have up its sleeve?  Microsoft??  Nintendo???  I hang on every word.  I really enjoy the reactions to the press conferences and the big video game industry announcements.

During this time of year I continously scan the internet read articles, watch videos, and listen to gaming podcasts about what is going on at the moment with E3.  What is being announced for the first time this year and who is announcing?  I’ll hang on for all three days.  Not all day, but I try to get those days off  from work so I can immerse myself in the expo news.  I believe E3′s of years past were better for the average gamer.  More of an exciting spectacle, like a car crash.  Company booths, flashy displays and sexy girls.  Yes, the sexy girls.  Sex sells and why not!  Why should video games be any different than the car or booze industry in that regard?  Ever heard of the newly announced game “wet”?

Now, the Electronics Entertainment Expo is a huge event for gamers.  What in the hell happened to E3?  I think it seriously shrank and needs to take a vitamin B shot or a couple of Viagra.  First, one needs to know why E3 was created?  E3 is an annual video game convention and conference created by the Entertainment Software Association(ESA) and run by the International Data Group to get the game industry together to discuss business.  Here is a quote from the E3 official website; “The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the U.S. association exclusively dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish computer and video games for video game consoles, personal computers, and the Internet.”  Why isn’t the general public invited?  They said it was too noisy, busy, distracting, and no one could get any work done.  So, they shrank the expo down to a more manageable size and spread the venues to more than one private location in 2007.  I personally beleive the way things were done before was more exciting and helped shine a favorable spotlight on the game software industry.  Any industry nowadays could sure use a favorable spotlight or two to boost interest.  So since 2007 E3 is an invitation only event.  This shrank the ranks from around 60,000 people to only around 8000.  Normal nerd gamers like me were left out in the cold.  Ok, not really the case anymore.

“All Expo” was created as a new venue to replicate E3 for the public but has not been successful.  Well, no duh!  Pay $100 and check out a few booths.  Not me.  People are not interested in E3 only for the game announcements, but for the people involved in the industry who attend the expo.  Top execs and developers at Sony and Microsoft, etc. aren’t going to take time out of their schedules to attend two events.  People who play games are interested in people who make them.  There you go.  You can quote me.  I hope the E3 of old will someday return.  If  IDG can’t handle the sort of a convention where fans can attend and be enthusiatic and company professionals can complete business then ESA should get sombody else.  E4 anyone?

There is still hope for us gamers or game enthusiasts if you prefer.  E3 isn’t as glamorous as in past, but the surprises are still there.  E3 has gone back to the one location venue which is great.  Also, good coverage from credible reporters is present.  Great presentations from different companies are televised over the net that still invokes interest from casual and hard core gamers alike.   This years E3 is again being held in one location, the Los Angeles convention center with G4 as the official E3 broadcaster.  Prepare yourself for another signature E3 and stayed tuned for a Dude’s Halo Gamer Zone Podcast discussing this years event in June.  The Dude may publish a trifecta. 

Don’t get too caught up in the hype and most of all enjoy yourself.  Happy gaming.

-dude