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ESA Officially Announces "Evolution" of E3 Expo (aka: cancelled! *wink*)
- Thread starter mcdonnell
- Start date
Archer said:
Agreed. As I get older my passion for gaming has dwindled, but E3 has always managed to pull me back in to it every May. Having attended 8 shows in a row (before the last one), it just seemed like a part of my life. May rolled around, that meant it was time for a trip out to LA. It managed to draw me back in once a year and sort of renew some of the energy of my hobby.
I'll miss it, and I am especially sad having missed what was effectively the last one after attending the previous 8.
That reminds me. Does anyone happen to have a spare show floor guide from this past year? It's that thing that looks like a strategy guide. I think published by Prima in recent years. It is the only one I don't have since 1998.
Kobun Heat
Member
COLLUSIONTON: Next-Gen says that the presidents of Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and EA all got together and decided to drop out in unison.
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3548&Itemid=2
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3548&Itemid=2
DeathbyVolcano
Banned
NINTENDO DOES NOTE HATE FREEDOM, ITS NOT TRUE
WasabiKing
Member
They probably had to kick down an extra $5 million to offset the pending fees that ESA will have to eat for that lease of the LACC. Note that organizers have only said a smaller venue, that doesn't mean they are leaving LACC. So instead of South, West, Petree, Kentia, and Concourse, it might just be West, Kentia, and Concourse.
This is pretty common in the trade show industry anyway. I worked in high-tech tradeshows before I lost my job, but everyone was partnering together because companies would not spend money on more, or ANY, booth space.
And don't you think Sony is getting lots of pressure to actually MAKE money? Microsoft's investors were also upset at the last meeting (over software, not home & entertainment).
What could conceivably happen is the following:
1. Proposed partnership with CMP Media LLC's Game Developer Conference. Although not likely, both companies can reap the benefits of a partnership. Actual attendees will only go to ONE place, vs. two, cutting down expenses for every dev, pub, and media outlet.
2. LACC will likely settle out costs with ESA, meaning ESA wouldn't take a total hit. I think LACC will understand that this is just cyclical.
Who else is affected:
- Hotel industry will be crying on its knees. San Francisco has been dealing with this the last 5 years, now it's LA's turn. E3 was probably the saving grace for that industry in the last 5 ears.
- Cabbies didn't take people too and from the hotel and LACC. I know I took cabs to/from the airport, Hollywood, etc... That's huge. And the cabbies just swarm onto E3 like flies on... you get what I'm saying
- Restaurants are going to lose a significant part of their revenue. There's an Italian restaurant not far from LACC that I went to at least once a year, and during lunch, the place was slammed for 3 hours. Company dinners, those will be reduced significantly.
And everyone thought I was crazy when I said the industry would take a major hit 5 years ago. Too bad it came 5 years earlier...
This is pretty common in the trade show industry anyway. I worked in high-tech tradeshows before I lost my job, but everyone was partnering together because companies would not spend money on more, or ANY, booth space.
And don't you think Sony is getting lots of pressure to actually MAKE money? Microsoft's investors were also upset at the last meeting (over software, not home & entertainment).
What could conceivably happen is the following:
1. Proposed partnership with CMP Media LLC's Game Developer Conference. Although not likely, both companies can reap the benefits of a partnership. Actual attendees will only go to ONE place, vs. two, cutting down expenses for every dev, pub, and media outlet.
2. LACC will likely settle out costs with ESA, meaning ESA wouldn't take a total hit. I think LACC will understand that this is just cyclical.
Who else is affected:
- Hotel industry will be crying on its knees. San Francisco has been dealing with this the last 5 years, now it's LA's turn. E3 was probably the saving grace for that industry in the last 5 ears.
- Cabbies didn't take people too and from the hotel and LACC. I know I took cabs to/from the airport, Hollywood, etc... That's huge. And the cabbies just swarm onto E3 like flies on... you get what I'm saying
- Restaurants are going to lose a significant part of their revenue. There's an Italian restaurant not far from LACC that I went to at least once a year, and during lunch, the place was slammed for 3 hours. Company dinners, those will be reduced significantly.
And everyone thought I was crazy when I said the industry would take a major hit 5 years ago. Too bad it came 5 years earlier...
fallout said:
It's 1 week. Hell, it's not even that. 5 days if you stay to cover everything. Even if you get zero sleep during that time you're still being a total drama-queen if you think that job is somehow way tougher than the average. Don't be such girls.
Oh, I'm sorry, I must have misinterpreted all the journos saying they were glad it was gone because they don't have to put so much work in anymore. For a whole week.
1. Bitter journo obsessed with whether or not he fills the man-thong Che left.
2. Overly defensive because he's being taken to task over whining about doing a whole week's work
3. Jerk, in general.
But if I were you, I'd go with the mystery box. yeah-huh.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
Zenith said:
HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW.
GreggTheGrimReaper
Member
jj984jj said:
fixed.
Howard Alan Treesong
Member
Zenith, in all seriousness: have you ever BEEN to E3? Do you know what E3 is like? Or are you just going by what you've read on the interweb?
The only "con" I've been able to derive from all this is: no Robertsan and the Twins in 2007?! NOOOoooo!
The only "con" I've been able to derive from all this is: no Robertsan and the Twins in 2007?! NOOOoooo!
GreggTheGrimReaper
Member
GAF is funny sometimes.
news: "E3 is cancelled"
GAF: "finally! hells yeah!"
news: "E3 is cancelled"
GAF: "finally! hells yeah!"
i mean WTF?!
I really, really should be ignoring you, but I just can't help it.Zenith said:
I've worked my ass off in a kitchen, pulling 70-80 hour weeks, little breaks, etc. and you know what? I didn't mind. Why? Because every minute I was there, I was accomplishing something. If I were spending those 5 days at E3 actually covering video games, it would be a completely different story.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
Jesus, dude. Do you just want people to wait in lines to make yourself feel better in comparison? If there's a way that the same work can be done in better conditions, is it wrong for them to prefer it?Zenith said:
Howard Alan Treesong
Member
Zenith
Queue junkie
(Today, 02:13 PM)
Queue junkie
(Today, 02:13 PM)
WasabiKing said:
I think at least the ones in the area around the LACC won't take as big of a hit. USC graduation is that week as well. Now all the parents who had to get hotels further away will be able to get ones closer. I'm sure there will be some losses however, and this will impact hotels further away from downtown.
Its unfortunate though, as I usually head up the planning for E3 accomodations etc for our site; yet now with 'e3' in flux, not knowing who can actually go to this new show, and whether or not Nintendo will do their own North American show, it's putting a huge wrench in plans that would have already been taken care of by the end of this month.
d
d
element
Member
It will hurt the hotel and resturant industry a great deal.bluemax said:
Every hotel within 10 miles of E3 is booked. I mean EVERY HOTEL. That is millions upon millions of lost revenue that doesn't have anything to offset it.
Going from an event that has 75,000 to 5,000 hurts the entire area.
element
Member
I wouldn't say that. Even this year with all the behind closed door showing, it was difficult as a developer to see things. Not to mention Irrational Games now wanting to show ANY outside developer Bioshock. Just become more of a private club.chespace said:
If the format moves to a open floor, with high restrictions of attendees, then you might have something. But these VIP/backroom sessions would suck.
chespace said:
because there are other people who are paid poorly to make clothes. or something like that. all we have to go on so far are false assumptions and bullshit generalizations.
che's thong fits quite nicely, thanks very much.
I haven't whined about shit. and you certainly haven't taken shit.
this part is probably true. YA GOT ME.
..pakbeka..
Member
great, they cancelled e3 before I ever had the chance to go to one, thanks a lot
CarlosX360
Banned
Me either.DopeyFish said:
Fine it makes the job easier! Great!chespace said:
We will never have all of the things that made E3 so special, you have no idea how much damage this kind of news hurts the gaming industry as whole right now...I promise you next year will ****ing suck any way you slice it.
Seriously, I agree with him. stop being a baby, its not as worse as working 40 hours carrying merchandises, stocking them in the stockroom, reaching higher heights, and trying to get that same job done. I worked 40 mother ****ing hours each week during christmas doing that shit, and yet, you're complaining about working at E3, getting your shit together, walking around, getting your shit done...Hey, I was exhausted, I even ****in' embarrassed myself when I finally got to the M$ Community Connection Celebration "pre-briefing" with the girl, hyping them up. Now tell me you're being a baby all because you're working hard during the week of a spectacle.fallout said:
element said:
Well, you do have a point. It'll probably be harder for devs to see the works of other devs. Which, ultimately, might be a good thing since it'll keep folks from ripping off ideas and implementing them late in the game -- I dunno, maybe not. But I think the point of E3 was for publishers and devs to show their wares to retail and press in order to generate sales interest as well as marketing/PR buzz. That basic routine is essentially getting streamlined. All the usual media that you guys check now will still have a shitload of E3 coverage -- hell, maybe even better coverage since they don't have to deal with all the chaos. The point is that publishers and devs aren't at E3 to show other devs their hard work. That's what GDC is for, I guess.
Still, I guess now I kind of regret not having gone to Sony's party back in May because it'll be their last. Oh well, at least I went to 6 previous ones.
Edit: It makes our jobs easier, and yeah, I won't deny this sucks for the no-access fanboys who make the pilgrimage to mecca each year. But the end result is that you'll still get to find out plenty about the games that are coming out in fall, and still get to play them when they do come out. What's the big deal?
Howard Alan Treesong
Member
WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE T-SHIRTS
Crab Shaker
Doesn't pay his sources
I've never been to E3 and I honestly don't know if this is good or bad. On the one hand I will miss the grand gaming news event of the year as it always was...on the other I've been to anime expo which was essentially--and hilariously--called "line-con", so I would understand the frustration behind some people trying to get their stories done.
But wouldn't the much simpler and better solution be to have 2-3 days dedicated to serious journos/devs with creditation and the other 2-3 open admission as an exhibit to keep gamers' interest up?
But wouldn't the much simpler and better solution be to have 2-3 days dedicated to serious journos/devs with creditation and the other 2-3 open admission as an exhibit to keep gamers' interest up?
Chris Remo
Member
How would that solve any of the problems the publishers have with the event though? If anything it would become even more costly than it already is.Crab Shaker said:
CarlosX360
Banned
The big ****ing deal is that we will not find a expo similar to E3, EVER again, unless TGS, and other conventions get as large as this. Nobody can match E3 in its sheer size of media contacts, exhibitors, and companies.chespace said:
This is the reason why I HATE, I seldomly ****ing hate EA. They're the ****ing world's largest company in the world, yet they're complaining that "some people have no reason being there" THAT kind of complaint should come from smaller publishers, not ****in' EA.
EA has no common sense. No common business sense of a show like this.
Crab Shaker
Doesn't pay his sources
I don't know where the 5 million in costs or whatever per booth is coming from, but it's ridiculous. Either the ESA is laughing and growing fat with money or they were retarded and didn't have some japanese businessmen with them when they signed that contract. I say that ignorantly of course...but really, there are conventions everywhere, and this event boosts their economy, there's no reason the city of LA or whoever is in charge of that convention center should be stiffing them, especially with a cancellation scare.Chris Remo said:
Anyone know more specifically what the cost per booth really is and where it's all coming from?
So making E3 smaller by cutting out all the fancy stuff (models, big displays, etc), and reducing people count by weeding out the people who weren't supposed to be there anyway, is somehow akin to the industry exploding? (LOL at those people claiming they're out of gaming from now on)
I don't think so.
This isn't the Game Industry's equivalent of Mecca. You aren't less of a gamer if you've never been there, and most gamers have never been there anyway - and they're perfectly fine with that.
There will still be megatons - you think publishers somehow want less attention for their games? It'll either still be at the slimmed down E3, or some other event.
This isn't about the industry hating its fans. It's common sense cost cutting on bullshit.
But I suppose people want their circus.
I don't think so.
This isn't the Game Industry's equivalent of Mecca. You aren't less of a gamer if you've never been there, and most gamers have never been there anyway - and they're perfectly fine with that.
There will still be megatons - you think publishers somehow want less attention for their games? It'll either still be at the slimmed down E3, or some other event.
This isn't about the industry hating its fans. It's common sense cost cutting on bullshit.
But I suppose people want their circus.
You missed my point entirely. Perhaps I should have clarified a bit more.CarlosX360 said:
It's not the working hard that's the problem. I don't mind hard work, in fact, at times, I relish it. Accomplishing a lot is a good feeling. However, at E3, for the time you put in, you don't accomplish a whole lot.
A lot of people seem to be confusing "hard work" with "hard to get work done".
I feel for you Dean, I do, but I assume that just about everyone is suffering with this. Hopefully the ESA gets some plans put out soon.DrEvil said:
chespace said:Still, I guess now I kind of regret not having gone to Sony's party back in May because it'll be their last. Oh well, at least I went to 6 previous ones.
You didn't miss much. Most poo-pooed Incubus and I personally wasn't wowed until some mystery DJ came on really late in the night and wowed me with his magical trancey synth and beats.
But yeah, my feet are liking this news. They're quite liking it. Having things compacted down into fewer halls means less running around trying to juggle appointments for print and online at the same time. Hooray!
CarlosX360
Banned
You think every media company gets their jobs done? You think GameSpot, IGN finished their jobs after 5 to 6 days on the job? I laugh at you if you think that way. Small websites, medium websites, even large websites don't finish their job, but do they complain? No. I think working for a recognized media website, is more of an accomplishment for me, than working for a small website, who is a no name. Xbox Evolved, last august, renewed their home. Guess what? Over the next few months, leading up to E3, things start to look up, and start to look better for us, since E3 and other events took place. If you feel like you delivered to your readers, then that must mean something.
And, instead of just deleting your users, and try to "accomplish" quality on your forums, then you would feel a sense of accomplishment during E3.
I hope so, too....and it better look good.
KyanMehwulfe
Member
To fuel the fire a bit, the following was posted at a PC board I frequent.
"You guys give $1, and I'll tell you the REAL story. I have friends at the ESA, as I used to work there for a few years. Don't believe the PR spin! "
"SFLU knows I live in the DC area, and if you go through my post history, I'm certain you'll find mention of my previous employment at the ESA, formerly IDSA. If you don't believe me, that's fine. Why on earth would I make something this retarded up?! It's not like I said I went to the moon or something"
re: (Well trusted source that contributes to IGN and others, and literally seems to post news 24/7) "He's right - he lives in the DC area and his girlfriend lives in my apartment complex. His currently works for the US Patent Office and his past employment history is accurate as I had it "checked out" using certain methods at my disposal."
http://boards.ign.com/pc_general_board/b5027/123445745/p1/?14
"You guys give $1, and I'll tell you the REAL story. I have friends at the ESA, as I used to work there for a few years. Don't believe the PR spin! "
"SFLU knows I live in the DC area, and if you go through my post history, I'm certain you'll find mention of my previous employment at the ESA, formerly IDSA. If you don't believe me, that's fine. Why on earth would I make something this retarded up?! It's not like I said I went to the moon or something"
re: (Well trusted source that contributes to IGN and others, and literally seems to post news 24/7) "He's right - he lives in the DC area and his girlfriend lives in my apartment complex. His currently works for the US Patent Office and his past employment history is accurate as I had it "checked out" using certain methods at my disposal."
http://boards.ign.com/pc_general_board/b5027/123445745/p1/?14
Tom the Enchanter
Member
.mcdonnell said:
Chris Remo
Member
I'm not sure what you mean by this. His point is that the output of E3 is not nearly what it should be given what a huge deal the whole thing is. E3 is a horrible system, and it's unnecessary. It everything was split up into smaller, more manageable chunks, not only could individual journalists cover more games, but their impressions would be more in depth and useful to readers. What's the point of thousands of people all going and getting the exact same experience out of a game and then writing up the exact same impressions? It's just a big weird pointless week-long pageview grab. It's not actually a good environment for doing work, and it's not actually a good system for delivering content to readers, and it's not actually a good way for publishers to display their products.CarlosX360 said:
The Frankman
Banned
How do you think I feel? I bailed out last second two years ago and couldn't go last year. The Frankman am cry...pakbeka.. said:
CarlosX360
Banned
But how are you going to finish all of them just by appointments? Hmm? Intimate encounters with developers only gives you "routine" feel, wheras, events like E3 every year, gives you the option of meeting them, and playing some of the "next door neighbors' games" during breaks or at the same time (if you have a group with you).Chris Remo said:
CarlosX360 said:
There are many behind closed door meetings so that the bigger media people can have a more thorough playthrough of a game. They don't have to be all formal and stuffy. I believe the Killzone Liberation presentation was firstly a powerpoint presentation and then a playtest at a hotelsuite with about 6 psp test kits. Obviously the smaller media outlets would have to do with queuing up and having 5 minute play sessions....which sucks right? Whether the new format is any better remains to be seen, but surely the current system also sucks for the small guy.
As far as checking out other developers' stuff out - it's too busy at the stand or there's an appointment with press. And what breaks?
CarlosX360
Banned
Tell me you don't know what breaks.Tempy said:
Tell me you didn't have some void to fill between appointments.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
CarlosX360 said:
This man has never been to E3 in a working capacity. FACT.
Kobun Heat
Member
lol breaks
Chris Remo
Member
I will tell you both of those things.CarlosX360 said:
Dragona Akehi
Retired
Kobun Heat said:
I was just going to go all HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW on him like the other guy who has no idea what kind of hellhole is for people who actually WORK during E3.
Yes, I work 60 hour weeks otherwise (ie: not at E3 so shut your pieholes), but E3 is both the best and worst experience ever.