E3 downsized and redated?

Shino · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 8:58 am Post subject: E3 downsized and redated?

July now... and... at a fraction of the size?

Why?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6154961.html

Razer · 4934 5157 5662 5658 Gender: Joined: 07 Oct 2002

I can't see any logical reason for this so I'll have to guess. The people behind it must be seeing that the event is slipping. Consumers get their info the same day online so Publishers don't have as much reason to spend enormous bucks on floorspace. Also the cost of print advertising and game webpages (free) offsets the actual event. Without willing game companies, you have no income.

This still doesn't fully support shrinking it as such (why not just add 2-3 Open Consumer Days or something?) but it's the only thing I can fathom. And with EA and others paying as much as $5mil apiece, all you need is 4 such companies and you make $20 mil. You anger the city, state, and local businesses (taxis, hotels, etc)...I'm truly dumbfounded by this.

Girkon · Chop Chop Fiend Gender: Joined: 29 Sep 2004

It's actually a lot simpler, it all comes down to pricing as it costs a whole lot to make all the booths, hire or pay extra for people to maintain it, and in the end it's the games that suffer for it because they have to focus on the exterior which wastes time that could be focused on improving the game itself. In the end I think it will be more beneficial as it's supposed to be more about the games than anything else, and I think it's kinda lost it's meaning in that sense.

Think to all the games that didn't get as much attention or were played back because those ocmpanies didn't have the proper finance or space to put as much focus on them. With this downscaling it brings the possibility of making more games have better focus and therefore be brought into the public eye faster.

Plus in all honesty it hardly effects the vast gaming public as the odds of us ever going to E3 at all were slim to none as it is.

Robb · My freedom begins here Age: 40 Gender: Joined: 01 Nov 2004

PAX is gonna benifit hugely from this, or so they reckon on penny arcade

Ultrawolf · Mr. Roarke Gender: Joined: 04 Jul 2003

I read about this a while ago and I have to say you guys are taking it at the wrong angle. Sure it's easy to complain about them downsizing E3 but when you look at the numbers, E3 stopped making sense in the checkbooks ages ago. So much mindless expenditure, and does the turnaround really justify the cost? It's hard to say. Remember that E3 used to be just for industryuntil they slowly started loosing that and it turned into lights and consumer extravaganza. Is it really worth spending so much money on some rediculous HD displays to demo a new game? Also, you have to figure that E3's been a blackhole of gaming information. Yea it's pretty awesome to have tons and tons of info coming out, but alot of stuff gets washed away by the tide of hype and anticipation of the Halos and Zeldas. If I were a publisher, why in the name of all rational thought would I want to be competing with announcements of new Zelda games for information. Nobody would care about whatever game I'm peddling. It's a huge funnel of expenditure for sometimes little return.

I would rather have my information spread throughout the year than jam packed into one big bang. And I completely understand with downsizing the event. Everyone just needs to get over the fact that E3 wasn't made for THEM. If you want to have a consumer event, PAX or Digital Overload is where you should be looking.

Shino · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:59 pm Post subject:

I do remember when it was just for the industry. E3 has been around for 12 years... 2 of those years, it was here in Atlanta. I got to go those 2 years... as part of the industry. B/c I was working for a retail company.

Even when it was just for the industry, it was easy to get into if you weren't part of the industry.

I kinda like the flood of info, but I kind agree with wolf that I would like to have info throughout the year... But I still like the flood.

I do see some good in the downsizing of E3. It will be come less of a pissing contest on the show floor.

Smaller companies get overlooked now a days at E3 b/c their booths are not nearly as huge and elaborate as the big 3.

Tiroka · The Nocturnal Legend Gender: Joined: 21 May 2003

I think there will be some benifits from this. But i will still miss all the action there. As much good as it will do for the industry (i will admit that much), I will still miss all the fun to be had.

May it rest in peace.

Tiroka