E3 Canceled

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3538&Itemid=2

It's all over the news that E3 is being downsized and possibly canceled. The big boys are pulling out prefering their own shows featuring their products exclusively.

And E3 isn't listed for next years may slot. Kind of a shame as with some of the big players gone it could have been a nice opportunity for many of the other smaller studions and new talent to get some coverage and a better look in.

Maybe there will be something just like it, only now a little bit closer.

That's gotta be sad... well, you know the big companies do get the media coverage. Is the small ones that end up loosing.

Yep, this is unfortunate for the smaller developers.
E3 is a good way for an emerging developer to showcase a game.

Of course, noone really notices them since they're all obsessing over the huge booths for Microsoft and EA, so maybe downsizing would be a good thing.

Wow.

I was pretty dissapointed by what was shown at this year's E3, but this seems a bit drastic.

IMO, the games industry is headed for another crash, and having a few big boys take a fall may be what the industry needs. Right now, small, innovative studios have been bought up (And usually closed) by these few massive developers. Then they turn around and release the same crap year after year with little-to-no innovation. The latest round of next-gen seems to be the final blow, since now these developers are forced to spend millions on the higher detail content, with very little return.

I think that if a few of these large developers get bogged down like this, there will be someone small that will be finally able to come in with fresh new ideas that could really help things take off again. (hoping)

Don't know if this made any sense, I probably should get some sleep before typing more,... it's been a long day.

I think this is great. Lets start something like E3 for everyone but the really big fish... If you make more than say.... 500 million $ a year... you can't attend.

Well, I think calling it "Next-gen" years after the technology became available was a pretty obvious sign.
What are they going to call the next one? Next-Next-Gen, or Next-Gen 2?
They've screwed it up already.

DampeS8N:
Such a thing would be cool, but I wonder how popular it would be.
E3 obviously doesn't work for it since people pay so little attention to the smaller developers, but to attract maximum attention some of the huge ones have to be there... just nice and limited so everyone gets equal share :)
(Although I guess we could still trust the media outlets to attend a small game developer expo...)

Well, game developers can make like back during the old days, and go to Vegas in January and display some games at CES like they used to... I guess that's their only option, at this point.

There will GDC at least... which is better anyway.

Wow, crazy! Oh well!

I guess taking out the booth babes REALLY did scare off people turning up.

Yeah, see where that popularity got them now? It got TOO popular, and that's what made E3 screw the public out of preordering games. Maybe the preordering business from EB/GameStop may go down the drain along with E3... Let's hope THAT won't happen. I have still to preorder the Wii console, so better hope that Nintendo won't screw people out of doing that now.

Do you just make up random stuff to post RAM?

Not a supprise really. As US becomes less of the dominant market. Prob there will be a "E4", or "F3", in asia or eroupe soon

Hmm, wasn't there already a game event that takes place in Japan, too? At least there we could learn more from our friends from the other side of the globe.

> Do you just make up random stuff to post RAM?

Don't worry, it's in his nature. (And his name)
"Random Access Memory"

This was bound to happen. When you have to now spend $10 - $25 (ps3) million per game, you need to tighten your belts.

But I would really like to know why E3 floorspace is SOOO expensive? Why not lower the cost? Everyone is too darn greety and now we are all going to pay the price for it.

I am sad though. I have attended them 5 times and read about them since I got my GamePro and EGM magazines. But I must say, every year was just a little bit more disappointing then the last.

At the GDC there were developers, press, business persons...and then the "rockstars" with blue hair who thought they were a comic book character. Everyone I talked to despised E3, except the last group of people, who thought it was the greatest thing ever.

I think E3 became a comic book conference, instead of a legitimate business and technology conference. It was embarrassing and bad for the industry.

it was the booth babes issue that caused its demise... they should never have gotten rid of em...

:)


--Mike

I agree with Josh in that it is a bit like a Star Trek convention, but I think it's unfortunate to be seeing the computer games industry becoming so serious.

It's like clowns running around in business suits. It just shouldn't happen.
Entertainment is not serious, and if it is treated too seriously it stops being entertainment and it becomes a coal mine.
As it gets more prominently so, the consumer takes notice. When that happens, he will no longer consider that medium as a suitable escape and he will find something better to do.

Taking it seriously is definietly important since there is a lot of time and money involved, but it shouldn't be taken too seriously.

When there's that much money invloved in any industry, it becomes very serious, whether we like it or not.

> As it gets more prominent, the consumer takes notice.
> When that happens, he will no longer consider that
> medium as a suitable escape

We have not given up on Movies and TV yet (100+ and 50+ going strong)

Sounds more like companies wanting to control the message more rather then a cost issue to me.

good point Mr. P...

--Mike

I never thought I'd say thyis in a moilnion years, as drinkas i am

I AGREE WITHRED OCTJOBER!!!!

E3 was one of the few places good for getting your game seen by big publishers. Allthough you had to arrange meetings often weeks in advance. And sometimes with the big publishers you get to stand in a queue and show off your game on a video for 3 minutes.

But it is the place where many of the smaller commercial devs find all their business.

The show itself is awfull. I got bored within 2 hours of wanderiung the show floors.

My take on this is that Sony and Microsoft were both upstaged by Nintendo this E3 and that caused a chain reaction. Heh, this E3 kicked Sony to the curb really. Coming into E3 more people were excited about PS3 than coming out of it. Sony basically spent millions of dollars just to have people walk by their booth over to the Nintendo booth. In fact I bet it was Sony more than anyone who caused a chain reaction. What a bunch of sore losers ;P

... just the underdog lover in me speaking.

LOL @ Gfk...

here, have another round, on me...

and keep em coming bartender... i don't want this man to see the bottom of his glass for the next hour...

--Mike

> I AGREE WITHRED OCTJOBER!!!!

I said that first though, but I have to admit Mike does love and want to be me! :)

FYI, RAM happens to be my initials, and no, I am trying to stay on topic here, don't worry about that. I'm mentioning alternative events to E3 that tend to be as popular, if not just a little more. Please, gimme a chance here! Grrr...

Just throwing out some suggestions of other events that game developers such as us could consider joining in the absence of E3. Of course, for CES, you would have to do far more than just software to make that event worth the while. Man, E3 going, going gone will just have everyone attending those other events.