E3: RIP? Like, for reals?

Say it ain't so! One of the most important technology and entertainment trade shows in the world, E3, has apparently been killed -- at least according to Next Generation. Apparently trustworthy sources have been in touch and gave them the word that publishers are getting tired of spending millions of dollars to one up each other in front of the press and retailers, and might prefer to use that money to better their own campaigns and smaller, more focused shows instead of grandstanding on the E3 show floor. The firestorm that supposedly led to the impending collapse of E3 may have been brought on by a number of large exhibitors jumping ship, which caused smaller companies to do the same (we'll save the finger pointing for now). Frankly, in our opinion the whole matter is a double edged sword. Yes, massive industry events are often better at sorting companies with and without stellar marketing budgets than the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, but it's also a necessary evil. It's simply not always feasible for hundreds of companies to round up retail professionals and game journalists the world over to show off new product in bits and pieces throughout the year every year -- which is why we have massive shows like CTIA, E3, CES, CeBIT, etc. Then again, we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves here; the death of E3 has yet to be confirmed (and might be greatly exaggerated), so we'll have to wait until Monday before we can expect to hear either way from the Entertainment Software Association, the organization we hope won't be burying our second favorite show of like, all time.

[Via Joystiq]

[James Freeland @ Jul 30th 2006 5:19PM]

good, im glad its dead, we consumers never get to go anyway.

maybe they will put that advertising money towards developing new franchises instead of giving us the 18th installment of a stupid series.

[bakersdozen @ Jul 30th 2006 5:21PM]

nooooooooooo :'(

[Rob @ Jul 30th 2006 5:22PM]

Let me be the first to say...
http://dvnooooo.ytmnd.com/

[Carlos Rivero @ Jul 30th 2006 5:24PM]

aprils fools is like a year away WTF

[Erik Cohen @ Jul 30th 2006 5:32PM]

Nobody saw this after Comdex? The purpose of these shows is no longer needed with our 0-day media coverage off all things electronic.

[Scott @ Jul 30th 2006 5:32PM]

Who Cares? The Internet is a much better medium for releasing promotional videos and such.

[Mr. Umeadi @ Jul 30th 2006 5:33PM]

Oh no....now what will G4 do for ratings....?

[dextro @ Jul 30th 2006 5:46PM]

My jaw is now officially on the floor about this :o

[Justin @ Jul 30th 2006 5:48PM]

"Oh no....now what will G4 do for ratings....?"

more episodes of the man show with commentary from a topless morgan webb.

[lolersticks @ Jul 30th 2006 5:48PM]

Umeadi:

You actually watched the G4 coverage? lawlz

/just kidding
//seriously
///I'm joking
////but seriously
/////I'm just kidding, man
//////seriously

[Sam @ Jul 30th 2006 5:50PM]

Spend your millions to improve your products instead...

[phez @ Jul 30th 2006 5:50PM]

lol

ill invite them all to the toronto convention center. oyes. monies. no flying to LA anymore.

[rickm @ Jul 30th 2006 6:01PM]

Good, it's no longer needed. Use your fanboys to get a buzz going about a product. Seed a few freebies and let 'er rip.

[TMoney @ Jul 30th 2006 6:03PM]

I am thrilled with this. It means these so called journalist are one step closer to being the average consumer. I am sick of paying $60 for a crappy game to support your good time and free stuff. I hope every industry show gets canned. Give the free stuff to the actual consumers, not these elitest video-game-geek-journalist. Score one for the little guys.

[Jacob @ Jul 30th 2006 6:07PM]

"more episodes of the man show with commentary from a topless morgan webb."

yessss! :D

[happy mf gilmore, damnit!! @ Jul 30th 2006 6:16PM]

thank god! e3 is a fuckin' waste of time.

[Ryan Block @ Jul 30th 2006 6:18PM]

Whoa TMoney, what's up? Not sure what kind of "free stuff" you think we get, but it's not much, and what we do get we give away on the site (granted, we can't speak for everybody). Companies don't spend millions in giving away free stuff at these shows, though, they spend millions on booths, promos, ads, etc., and they'll continue to spend this money in other outlets, since marketers aren't about to tell their bosses they're tired of working and they no longer want their jobs.

[Justin @ Jul 30th 2006 6:18PM]

if e3 dies..
im going with it.

[TMoney @ Jul 30th 2006 6:26PM]

My problem with E3 is that it is a giant party for the gaming press. No one goes "Oh no I have to go to E3". You're all as excited as fat kids in a cake factory. How does that benefit consumers? I see it as just a waste of money. And I do view engadet staff as a little better than average gaming press that just regurgitates press releases to us. I'm looking at you IGN.

[Ricky @ Jul 30th 2006 6:51PM]

This is great news, indeed. In order for any industry to grow, major changes or major shift of paradigm must take place. I am predicting this is just a prelude to even further changes to the technology landscape. 20 years ago, It would seems impossible for a major electronic/technology manufactory to rely on just one product as a major contributor of their incomes. i.e. sony,apple...

[boo7z @ Jul 30th 2006 6:53PM]

Regarding post #1:

Anyone can get into E3, you just have to pay for it. Public passes were $500 for a 3 day pass this past E3.

[Jeff @ Jul 30th 2006 7:16PM]

Not sure I believe this entirely, but as someone who's been to E3 twice, it wouldn't surprise me if it's true. It just seems like a massive waste of money if you actually see it up close. At least in its current form, it seems unsustainable.

Open it up to the public and change the format slightly and it would make more sense - that's basically what TGS is, and TGS is actually a profitable show (it wasn't for a couple years, but since they cut it down to once a year, it's really rebounded). But it doesn't make sense to have these massive, gigantic shows just for the industry. It's a huge waste of time, money and effort that could all be better spent.

[Joe @ Jul 30th 2006 7:57PM]

Muaaaha ha ha I went to the Last E3 EVER!

[Revrant @ Jul 30th 2006 8:31PM]

I agree, it's not open to the public, we just get to watch Videos, etc, from the show, so why does it benefit us? It doesn't. The money could be better spent, the time could be better spent, and we could definitely benefit from not having all of our news Jumbled into one giant Mess of coverage for days on end.

[Matt @ Jul 30th 2006 10:04PM]

Well first as some one who has been (2000) i can attest they don't give out great stuff.I think i got a pen from Sony that lit up and every day nvidia was giving out neon green and orange shirts as you entered.Best thing i got was a space channel 5 blow up doll thingy, i don't really know how to describe it.

Am i sad at the news, yes and no.I have no idea what impact the shows loss will create.No idea if Nintendo would throw a space world stateside or just use the Field of dreams method of building it and hoping we come.Or if Sony or Microsoft would throw there won party.My guess is they won't get the same turn over in terms of people who matter in one place at one time like e3 which is once a year.

Then again e3 isn't about the game systems as much as the games on those systems.Sure it's nice to see the ps3 or wii but sony and Nintendo have the means to get everything they say at e3 into our homes with or with out e3.What will be missed if e3 go's south is the games, how will we know what looks good or plain sucks if there is nothing to show case it at.And nobody gets to test it or play it and tell us if the controls are awful or the graphics are not up to snuff.

And lets not fool ourselves every large industry has a trade show, sema is a industry only event much like e3 is supposed to be.E3's problem is they allow almost anyone who works in the industry in, work at a gamestop you get in, bowling alley with an arcade you're in, wholesale electronics (how i got in) your in.It's just too much, pretty much every mall has an eb or something similar and almost every Hollywood video has a gamestop and two to three of those people all go and you get five hour lines to see the wii.They need to either limit how many people they let in every year or do a much more better job of weeding out the people who need to be there those who do not.

oh and no music,lights,or booth babes yes it's nice to see some attractive flesh but it isn't an import car show it's video games those should be front and center.

[David Lazarus @ Jul 30th 2006 10:16PM]

Whilst it may be an inconvenience to the exhibiting companies involved, lets see how they react when they get practically no one turn up for their press launch, because it clashes with another event, or because the journalists have already been to twenty launches this year, and eaten up all their expenses budget. End result, no press coverage.

The one thing for these big shows is that they do get the journos there. The journalists can't ignore the big shows - far too important to miss. Plus if there are going to be lots of companies appearing then they can justify the costs to their magazines. Without E3 will Microsoft and all the other ship all the journos in free of charge? That will eat into to their budget, and will they get who they want if it clashes with a family wedding?

[_man1c_ @ Jul 30th 2006 10:31PM]

(incert Darth Vaders voice here) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

[Big Sam @ Jul 30th 2006 11:05PM]

Downsized, not cancelled.

courtesy of digg:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060730-7382.html

[DF @ Jul 30th 2006 11:12PM]

In fact, I feel most sorry for NWN2, now that there are 2000 pics with an X or Cancelled above it... They sure didn't see this coming ...

[idiot @ Jul 30th 2006 11:51PM]

nice Twain reference

[ron g @ Jul 31st 2006 12:57AM]

It's Apple's fault. They were the ones exhibiting behind closed doors with an invitation only event requiring you to sign a stack of papers before hand. Now everybody wants to do the same thing... no press, no retailers.

[qbert @ Jul 31st 2006 5:13AM]

ive enjoyed every year ive gone to E3, I really hope its not over. I've been going for 6 years now.

[prodigal_son @ Jul 31st 2006 5:27AM]

The people who matter are the people who buy the game, not the people who write about them. E3 is pretty much good for nothing. Basically for a few days people get to see dodgy photos and some dodgy recorded videos. Then they have to wait for the offical videos to be released.

Micrsoft has probbaly realised that their own coverage of e3 got more hits than probably everyone elses coverage of the event. So thought "the hell with this, we will tone it down, cover it ourself, job done"

no one even trusts game reviews anymore, they prefer the video, maybe playable demo, and honestly the comments a review has gotten, not the actuall review itself.

[rickm @ Jul 31st 2006 7:14AM]

I used to go yearly as a vendor and while there was swag the majority of the people didn't walk away with free consoles and arms full of games. I scored better at Networld/Interop, that always was the motherlode.

Boothes are horribly expensive, a company can easy drop 50k at such a show. Fly the staff in, put everyone up in hotels, pay for meals, the booth rental, shipping to get everything there and back, etc.

[extermin8tor @ Jul 31st 2006 7:42AM]

why all the goddamn e3 insults.
as if you dont wait each year until your favourite magazine prints screenshots and details about new games.

because if you like one of us gamers, then you do.

people like 'James Freeland' would rather read some crap review in their freebie council paper of some ancient game like motogp 2 or something (thats an okay game actually).

E3 rocks, it gets better every year!!

[Magus @ Jul 31st 2006 9:20AM]

No one out there can think of one reason that E3 benefits the consumer?!?!

Man, I feel sorry for you guys. I've never been to the e3 ive watch and or read about select coverege of every e3 since i have been aware of its existance.
I do see it kind of as a bad omen when the majority of the people dont see any benefit from it.

E3 becomes like a common ground for companies to show off or launch a product. Without a centralized date like E3 all youd have is the holiday rush. Without a centrelized date there is little reason for companies to really but heads and try and out do another on a product. It becomes meh microfot releasing a blockboster this month we'll hold off our games so they get better sales a month or 2 after. Instead of trying to realy push the product to compete!

[Calamier @ Jul 31st 2006 11:20AM]

Nooooooooo!!! :(

[L0s @ Jul 31st 2006 1:59PM]

I've been to E3 for the past 7 years...

The one thought that crosses my mind about E3 is the promises that get made, and subsequently broken by companies touting new projects, promising innovation, and building excitement. While some would make the arguement that the funds put towards E3 would be better suited in the Development coffers, I can't help but argue that the lack of E3 will cause a bit of a void of accountability. E3 does help gauge in a huge way, interest in specific projects and so forth. Without E3 then companies will really be able to just throw whatever crap they want on the table, and none of us would be better for it, our money would be spent only to find out we ended up with another drink coaster of a game.

Without the excitement of Halo at E3, would it have been the seller it is?

Without the echoing silence of the N-Gage booth, would the QD ever been developed? (granted not much better but eh.)

Would Metal Gear Solid have the following it does?

In my opinion the industry needs to stop looking at E3 as spectacle, and more as a barometer of interest.

Did Weben really need 10 girls shaking their ass on the hour every hour? If you want to save money, save money. But don't take the show away.

[Scandalous @ Jul 31st 2006 7:13PM]

I attended E3 for the first time this year as a member of the press. I saw TONS of people there that were not.

I have friends that work for BB and Hollywood video, and I will tell you, that those people got screwed out of going this year. It was only a handful of corporate exec's that were able to attend. Same thing for the people over at Gamestop.

The point over at E3, was hype. It does benefit the consumer though, because when actual fansites and things cover these games and products (aka gaming reporters that actually play the games), you can get an honest viewpoint of what to expect.
I went to an interview, and they were pleasantly taken back that I had actually played their game, unlike many other reporters it seems.
There are real people in gaming journalism... and they care about presenting the news for the consumers.
Sure there are some people that don't care... and are just in it for their own benefit.
One thing that I thought was awesome too, was that one company at E3 even flew out members of their own forum community (yes, normal joe schmoes), which I also thought was great.
Good companies and good reporters do make E3 worth it. But yes, it's sad a few bad apples have to ruin it for the bunch.

[Joseph Leary @ Jul 31st 2006 10:33PM]

There was far more than just a marketing competition going on behind the scenes of E3, which is why I went in the first place, To me it was more about networking, (having big names from all the big players completely accessible to me away from the hordes of people and the 4 hour lines) I guess what I am saying is, the showfloor is cool and everything, but the Workshops and conference sessions are much better, and will definitely be missed if this goes down!

[manapower12 @ Aug 4th 2006 9:51AM]

Why all the E3 bashing?
I believe someone said that before,
but anyways,
from what i saw of E3 [haven't actually gone]
it looked like you can test some games, watch clips,
and have a bit of fun with the systems that are yet to come out, or have come out and haven't been around long.
didn't look that bad.