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"Not having a central main event like E3 will leave a massive hole in the social realm of the gaming industry. I cannot tell you how many friends I have that I see once a year at E3," another E3 attendee commented. "Now I have no idea when and where I will see them again. E3 was more then just games, but the social event of the season for the games industry. It will be greatly missed."
If you followed N-Philes' coverage of E3 over the past couple of years, you probably noted that we met up with people from other media sites and had a good time. For smaller outlets like N-Philes, the Wiire, and Planet GameCube, that don't have centralized offices, E3 represents the one time where everybody can get together and interact without a keyboard. Without a centralized event of great importance, some of that will be lost.
"E3 is almost like the gaming version of prom, " one insider joked. "Every company shows off their best, hoping to impress that one special outlet in hopes of getting the cover. It's a sweet dance, that I'm really going to miss."
Is scaling E3 back by up to 90% of what it once was the solution? One insider sent in this comment:
"While I am personally saddened by the decline of E3, from a business perspective it makes perfect sense."
In many ways, the "old" E3 is like an omelette. It mixes the white, the pure reason for E3, being business for media, developers, publishers, and retailers with the yolk, the "show" put on for gamers, who are the cholesterol that clogs the whole event. What the industry really needs is something a little more over easy, a way for everybody in the industry to do business while allowing the bloggers and Gamestop employees to demo upcoming games.
"Shows like PAX must step up and offer the fun and mayhem that E3 once was known for," commented one publisher. "By separating the fun and the business side of the E3 show, the game industry could perhaps benefit from this decision."
Thankfully, technology is getting us there. This year, Microsoft used Xbox Live as a means to bring gamers closer to the action by allowing them to download E3 demos and trailers directly to their Xbox 360's. There is no reason why similar living room experiences can't be had with the Wii, DSL, PS3, PSP, and PC in the future. Third parties, for example, could use such a set-up to get their games and information across to the games in a way that not even the most seasoned reporter could. With less people running around huge convention centers, the media could get that one-on-one time they need to learn more about all the games on and off the floor. Gamers could then find out more about the games that they truly care about and not just the big titles that already get all the buzz. The primary reasons for tens if not hundreds of thousands of people to actually go to E3 suddenly no longer apply.
It is pretty much unanimous that E3 was in need of a change. Nobody knows whether this change will be for the better, but one thing is certain. The Electronic Entertainment Expo began as a small event that grew every year. The E3 Media Festival too will start small. Whether or not it is successful the first time around, the ESA will fine-tune the event, and it will ultimately, hopefully, become a productive event where the industry can worry less about "winning" and focus more on what really matters: hot deals, good games, and great times.
