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ESA Officially Announces "Evolution" of E3 Expo (aka: cancelled! *wink*)

C

Chi-Town

Member
We may still get our press conference fixes...

http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200607/N06.0731.1850.42421.htm

GI: How do you envision the “new E3” setup?

Lowenstein: I think it’ll take place in several different ways. First of all I think you’ll still have the console press conferences. I don’t know if you were at Microsoft this year where they did the press conference and then did the breakout at the Roosevelt Hotel. They had the demo kiosks and suits and so forth. I think you’ll see a lot more of that.
Click to expand...
 
M

MrDaravon

Member
How did this not get posted yet!? (Or if it did I totally missed it somehow)

20060731.jpg
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
I guess we can kiss G4 coverage goodbye. No boobs = No camera.

But you'll probably see better coverage from the websites as the new format gives them much more focused access to what they need to cover, and I doubt anyone will ever miss an appointment again.

Most of the time people miss appointments because one appointment was running late due to someone who wasn't supposed to be at the show harassing the PR person for demos/schwag/contacts.
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
SailorDaravon said:
How did this not get posted yet!? (Or if it did I totally missed it somehow)

20060731.jpg
Click to expand...

It isn't funny because most game journalists likely screamed out in joy that HELL WEEK is likey no longer going to be HELL WEEK.
 
M

MrDaravon

Member
ManaByte said:
It isn't funny because most game journalists likely screamed out in joy that HELL WEEK is likey no longer going to be HELL WEEK.
Click to expand...

The gist of their news post was that they were glad about the change, so I'm assuming in the strip he's referring to fansite people.
 
T

Tempy

don't ask me for codes
element said:
umm, they get to play it at somepoint.
Click to expand...

Is 5-10 minutes really playing though? At least with a downloadable demo you can try the game out at your own pace and as long as you want.

Although I suppose part of E3 2006 was also trying to sell people on the new consoles. Can't download demos for consoles you don't have :p
 
E

eudaemonic

Member
fallout said:
A lot of people seem to be confusing "hard work" with "hard to get work done".
Click to expand...

Amen to that comment.

I actually hated how the whole "work" thing spawned from the previous thread. As someone who works the show - and not as a journalist - it was becoming too crazy. Anytime you have a job where you can not take breaks or even have lunch until the last person leaves... that job is broken. It's not even a matter of it being a "hard job or not". It become a monster that shouldn't be.

Also, it shouldn't be about who has the flashier dildo to attract your attention from the other dildos. It's about the games. Quite honestly, the millions that people spend on their booths for a game that would have garnered the attention anyways could be put to better use. Like... how about more games? Or paying staff for extra time to work on new maps/levels for a game you would love to see more of?

The smaller game companies will figure out a way to make things happen. If you remember, the games industry used to be mostly comprised of small companies. The ones who are good will make it. I think this will still hold true.

I think most importantly... you just have to wait and see. It might take another two or three years for the ESA and devs/publishers to figure out exactly what they want to achieve. A lot of people will probably look back on this thread and laugh about their initial reaction.
 
D

daegan

Member
chespace said:
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?
Click to expand...

Every piece of information that we have to go on right now is that the smaller show is going to be far more publisher-controlled (alongside whatever pub-specific events occur).

"Controlled" events give us MASSIVE WORLD EXCLUSIVE COVER STORIES like EGM's Too Human orgasm...quickly followed up by the what they really thought of it when it wasn't a private meeting. (And yes, they did qualify their shit with things like "it looked better when we saw it before!" but really now.) They went and did it again just this month with Army of Two - which I don't doubt will be a cool, interesting game; but it's more than likely going to lack the polish that goes into a FANTASTIC game. (Yes, I say this because it's EA. Yes, that makes me slightly biased. Yes, I know as a journalist you can't let that into your stories. But that doesn't mean every game has to sound like the second coming of Christ.)

It's as if, for 11 months out of the year, gaming journalists turn on a "positive adjectives only" filter in Word when they sit down to hack out a preview feature. E3 is the only time of year when I get previews that aren't all daisies and I do think part of the reason for that is seeing EVERYTHING at once and I also think part of the reason for that is, deep down, that the journalists are a bit cranky during E3 and therefore less forgiving.

Finally - why is it that E3 needs to go away but GC and TGS are still needed? If Europe and Japan - Japan ESPECIALLY whose industry is faltering save DS - get shows that are E3 lite, why go from E3 to no E3 with no stop inbetween? I can see not needing as extravagant as a show, but that doesn't mean you don't need the show.

Had they downsized it, everyone would've been happy. As it is now, they've emasculated it.
 
M

Matt_C

Member
Kobun Heat said:
COLLUSIONTON: Next-Gen says that the presidents of Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and EA all got together and decided to drop out in unison.
Click to expand...


Guess, what? My interest in Next Generation and New Generation has decreased. I guess, I decide to not buy a Wii, Xbox 360, or a Playstation 3 any more. If they want to take away the only place in the world that an EB employee, Journalist, blogger, PR person, developer, and sellers converge from all over the world at one time; I would give up giving my money to Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft
USED hardware and second hand games FTW
. I guess we have to settle for the multi tiered gaming industry news from the dark days of CES.

If you scream comic con as a way to redeem the loss of E3, the last thing I want to go through is a bunch of comic nerds
I read comic books still
if I want to find a gaming scoop. If I want to go to a comic convention, I would go there for comic books. If I go to a video game expo, I go there for VIDEO GAMES, not miniatures, CCG, or board games.

Heck, I even lost interest in being a part of a industry that is slowly closing it's gap on the community. I guess I have to retain the E3 2004 I attended as memories that is from a time long ago and try to get a passport to Japan if I ever want to get an autograph from Megawa, SNK, or anybody from Capcom Japan for the Tokyo Game Show.
 
B

BuddyC

Member
Matt_C said:
Guess, what? My interest in Next Generation and New Generation has decreased. I guess, I decide to not buy a Wii, Xbox 360, or a Playstation 3 any more. If they want to take away the only place in the world that an EB employee, Journalist, blogger, PR person, developer, and sellers converge from all over the world at one time; I would give up giving my money to Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft
USED hardware and second hand games FTW
. I guess we have to settle for the multi tiered gaming industry news from the dark days of CES.

If you scream comic con as a way to redeem the loss of E3, the last thing I want to go through is a bunch of comic nerds
I read comic books still
if I want to find a gaming scoop. If I want to go to a comic convention, I would go there for comic books. If I go to a video game expo, I go there for VIDEO GAMES, not miniatures, CCG, or board games.

Heck, I even lost interest in being a part of a industry that is slowly closing it's gap on the community. I guess I have to retain the E3 2004 I attended as memories that is from a time long ago and try to get a passport to Japan if I ever want to get an autograph from Megawa, SNK, or anybody from Capcom Japan for the Tokyo Game Show.
Click to expand...
I think Kobun was referring to Next-Gen, the site that originally "broke" the "cancellation" news, rather than the actual "next generation."
 
K

Kobun Heat

Member
BuddyC said:
I think Kobun was referring to Next-Gen, the site that originally "broke" the "cancellation" news, rather than the actual "next generation."
Click to expand...
Are you using scare quotes to make fun of that guy, or do you really dispute that they broke news of the cancellation? Because that shit be cancelled.
 
Crab Shaker

Crab Shaker

Doesn't pay his sources
SailorDaravon said:
How did this not get posted yet!? (Or if it did I totally missed it somehow)

20060731.jpg
Click to expand...
:lol :lol :lol

holy shit i don't normally visit them anymore but that's awesome.
 
M

Matt_C

Member
BuddyC said:
I think Kobun was referring to Next-Gen, the site that originally "broke" the "cancellation" news, rather than the actual "next generation."
Click to expand...


Well wasn't Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony decide to not want to deal with this E3 thing anymore? I know that it is no longer cost effective but they are treading the path of a multi tiered information path where the truth is harder to go through. It is easy to see a video and play the demo in a lesser controlled environment where an EB employee, seller, or enthusiast journalist can venture accross the county and attend an event one time a year instead of going accross the country multiple times of the year for 'company controlled events'. I guess E3 is only a memory to us gamers and I blame the four companies for it's downfall. Even though a lot of people in the industry is located in the West Coast but how in the heck can somebody from small town America can get a glimpse in the same prism as somebody from New York, or a Wal Mart representative in Arkansas?

I know that I feel immature about this but dang, I do not want a seperate general public event during November ran by a bunch of amatures. E3 was a professionally ran, organized, and promoted event that brought gaming outside of the CES ghetto and into the mainstream. I do not want our industry to go back to the background and away from the public limelite eye.
 
B

BuddyC

Member
Kobun Heat said:
Are you using scare quotes to make fun of that guy, or do you really dispute that they broke news of the cancellation? Because that shit be cancelled.
Click to expand...
After spending a ridiculous amount of time between two of the most tedious tasks known to man, I'm not really sure anymore.
 
B

BuddyC

Member
Matt_C said:
Well wasn't Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony decide to not want to deal with this E3 thing anymore? I know that it is no longer cost effective but they are treading the path of a multi tiered information path where the truth is harder to go through. It is easy to see a video and play the demo in a lesser controlled environment where an EB employee, seller, or enthusiast journalist can venture accross the county and attend an event one time a year instead of going accross the country multiple times of the year for 'company controlled events'. I guess E3 is only a memory to us gamers and I blame the four companies for it's downfall. Even though a lot of people in the industry is located in the West Coast but how in the heck can somebody from small town America can get a glimpse in the same prism as somebody from New York, or a Wal Mart representative in Arkansas?

I know that I feel immature about this but dang, I do not want a seperate general public event during November ran by a bunch of amatures. E3 was a professionally ran, organized, and promoted event that brought gaming outside of the CES ghetto and into the mainstream. I do not want our industry to go back to the background and away from the public limelite eye.
Click to expand...
Ah, gotcha, thought you glanced the "Next-Gen" and decided to go off on a "Next-Gen" rant. My bad, as I said, I'm pretty out of it, so yea.
 
Z

ZeoVGM

Banned
bah.

i want july now, to find out how it really ends up being.

how MUCH harder will it be for small sites to get in?

this could be, overall, better for journalists, as long as its not really ****ing hard for the smaller journalists to get in.

i mean we should STILL have all the excitement that people love right? we'll still get press conferences in the same style i'm sure.

it's not cancelled. E3 is still happening. and i completely understand WHY publishers and big journalists want this: it was a ****ing madhouse. but still..

yeah i just wanna see how it ends up being..

Matt_C said:
Well wasn't Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony decide to not want to deal with this E3 thing anymore? I know that it is no longer cost effective but they are treading the path of a multi tiered information path where the truth is harder to go through. It is easy to see a video and play the demo in a lesser controlled environment where an EB employee, seller, or enthusiast journalist can venture accross the county and attend an event one time a year instead of going accross the country multiple times of the year for 'company controlled events'. I guess E3 is only a memory to us gamers and I blame the four companies for it's downfall. Even though a lot of people in the industry is located in the West Coast but how in the heck can somebody from small town America can get a glimpse in the same prism as somebody from New York, or a Wal Mart representative in Arkansas?

I know that I feel immature about this but dang, I do not want a seperate general public event during November ran by a bunch of amatures. E3 was a professionally ran, organized, and promoted event that brought gaming outside of the CES ghetto and into the mainstream. I do not want our industry to go back to the background and away from the public limelite eye.
Click to expand...

you're completely right. there's without question two sides to this.

and i agree with the bolded part the most. didn't really think of it that way, but it's true
 
S

Spencerr

Banned
I love my girlfriend. When I told her e3 was cancelled she said:

"Oh no baby! I'm sorry, I'll make an e3 for you!"

I win.
 
S

Scotch

Member
Lowenstein reveals name, date and venue change for E3

Ellie Gibson 09:46 01/08/2006

Number of visitors set to drop dramatically

Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein has revealed the first details of what visitors can expect from next year's E3 - including a new name, a new venue and a new date.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Lowenstein said that the event will be known as the E3 Media Festival from now on. He did not discuss whether this means other types of media will also be on show.

Around 5000 people are expected to attend, a dramatic drop from the 60,000 visitors who were at this year's E3. According to Lowenstein, this is in a bid to meet the needs of exhibitors who felt the event had become too big: "Some companies were frustrated because E3 was such a huge, sweeping event it became increasingly difficult to get their messages out."

Next year's show will be held in July, rather than May as is traditional. It appears that the date change is designed to give publishers more time to work on products slated for a Christmas release.

And finally, E3 will no longer take place in the Los Angeles Convention Center - instead, the ESA plans to use two hotels, holding press events and meetings in suites and conference rooms.
Click to expand...
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=18659
 
X

Xrenity

Member
Sounds like more impressions and the regular basis of movies/screens and so forth.

And it being in July is AWESOME. I hate the summer drought :9
 
R

Rhindle

Member
Hmmm ... wait a sec ... "E3 Media Festival"?

I hope that's not implying that it will be a press/media-only event :(
 
R

Rlan

Member
My worry is that the smaller gaming websites will have little chance to bloom via seperate gatherings. Essentially, the only way some of these guys will be able to make it, is if they become such a fanboy for a company that they're invited due to that, and then already the water is tainted.

Hell, if most things are invite only.. would someone like Lukems, who has been stirring up the pot of game developers and they're PR lately, end up just plain not being invited to these things unless he bends over and takes it? He mentioned a few weeks after the outburst on his blog that a company [forget who] pretty much said "Oh, we don't want that guy here". Now these companies have more power on who's talking about what.
 
X

Xellotah

Member
Rlan said:
My worry is that the smaller gaming websites will have little chance to bloom via seperate gatherings. Essentially, the only way some of these guys will be able to make it, is if they become such a fanboy for a company that they're invited due to that, and then already the water is tainted.

Hell, if most things are invite only.. would someone like Lukems, who has been stirring up the pot of game developers and they're PR lately, end up just plain not being invited to these things unless he bends over and takes it? He mentioned a few weeks after the outburst on his blog that a company [forget who] pretty much said "Oh, we don't want that guy here". Now these companies have more power on who's talking about what.
Click to expand...


I have faith in the integrity of game journalists, they would never sellout.
 
R

Rlan

Member
But what of the not-so-game-journalist? Take something like those gameLife Kids. They got to go around E3 doing their little budget online video show thing. They're going to have to suck up, otherwise they won't be invited. They wouldn't be able to tag along with 1up again, because they'll have to follow them everywhere. On their own, the best they can probably hope for is to get into redOctanes show for some Guitar Hero.
 
X

Xellotah

Member
Rlan said:
But what of the not-so-game-journalist? Take something like those gameLife Kids. They got to go around E3 doing their little budget online video show thing. They're going to have to suck up, otherwise they won't be invited. They wouldn't be able to tag along with 1up again, because they'll have to follow them everywhere. On their own, the best they can probably hope for is to get into redOctanes show for some Guitar Hero.
Click to expand...

I think this is probably unfounded. Its still E3 but without the ordinary folk. I assume there will still be the stands, videos and demos on the floor as well private invitation "showings" to a select few journalists, just as there is now.
 
Z

Zenith

Banned
"Where the old E3 was a thing of multi-million dollar booths crowded in the mammoth Los Angeles Convention Center during May, the new E3 will be a smaller, more intimate by invitation only event likely held in a hotel lobby." -Doug Lowenstein
Click to expand...

best start kissing ass now. Luke, you've got a lot of ground to cover.
 
B

Buffy4ever

Banned
It is an end of an era. I don't Understand why alot are bitching about people no going. I thought the E3 was for Video game journalist, software companies, and the stores. It sounds like alot of people who shoulndn't been going got in. As a matter of fact I know that is ture. I have a friend that helps work on the Washingington post website. Well he acquired a pass to E3 becuase his name is attached to the washington post. Was he going there for the washingtone post? No but for himself. He took his vacation that week, and even invitied a friend or two with him as camera men. He took a few pitctures of him and some games and posted it on his website. I will say, I don't call that Journalism.
As for people working at places like eb going to the E3. Was it only managers going to E3? It should have been. My mom managed a Bookland, and she went to some conference, but she was the manager. Non of her Employees were allowed to go. Everyone saying this is bad for gamers, well E3 was never truly menat for gamers. It was meant for Business. All the gamers going to E3 is wahat closed E3.
 
T

thatbox

Banned
E3 was useful as more than just E3 - it had all the big companies' press conferences in the same week, it had everything consolidated and distilled into one nugget, one trip across the country. If the ESA's spread-eagled picnic vision of the E3 Media Festival works as they hope, only larger media outlets will be able to cover the thing. With no cohesive cream filling, it's just publishers and developers lazing about, maybe picking a date this week, maybe next week, and smaller sites (some of which really are entirely deserving of attending!) just can't afford to do multiple trips, or longer trips, or cope with indecisiveness on the part of exhibitors, or afford a situation in which only X companies are in on it.

Besides, I'll miss having all my internet friends in one place at least once a year :(
 
O

OmniAvenger

Member
Didn't see this posted, but I thought the words of Bill Linn from an interview I did way back in 2002 when he closed his PR firm are applicable this very moment:

E3 is the probably the biggest waste of money our industry has. But if you compare it to what industries have to go through… all tradeshows are like that. Do I think there are more efficient and better ways to do E3? Absolutely. But nobody listens to Bill Linn.

At the end of the day, E3 doesn’t solve anything, it doesn’t correct anything. What it does is cause a lot of problems for a lot of people and wastes a lot of money that could be used to further the industry. E3 doesn’t ultimately grow the industry. It puts money in the IDSA’s [Interactive Digital Software Association] pocket.

Do you see a point where it could be efficient and effective and not be so wasteful?

There’s a better way to do it. There’s a more efficient way to do it. There’s a less expensive way to do it. There’s a way to do it that this industry hasn’t even tried yet.
Click to expand...

SOURCE

Why the f*ck didn't anyone listen to Bill Linn?
 
L

Logan Cano

Banned
Oh well, it seems we still have the conferences and such. It really sucks E3 is gone as we know it, but as long as we still get the avalanche of info, then it´s ok.
 
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