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Slim Xbox 360 and Natal bundle to debut at E3? (Rumor update: false)
It's always good to see rumors coalescing into neat little bundles, which in Microsoft's case means that its expected 360 hardware refresh and Natal re-introduction will coincide at E3 this year. Surfer Girl, one of the gaming industry's more notorious rumor hounds, is telling us that Microsoft is about to unveil a slimmer Xbox 360 at the upcoming E3 in June, together with Natal hardware bundles. She describes the new system design as "pretty neat" and suggests there'll be a shift to black as the console's primary color, to go along with Natal's darker hue, which in turn was dictated by the fact it'd have to sit alongside dark and moody HDTV sets. Very feng shui of Microsoft indeed. For the final, and most unbelievable of her predictions, she tells us -- while highlighting the initials M.G.S. -- that we'll be "very surprised and very pleased" by one of the Natal games revealed at the show. Seriously, Metal Gear Natal? [Thanks, Lander] Update: Looks like this was all a hilarious hoax perpetrated by someone pretending to be Surfer Girl. Yeah, we've heard plenty of "real" rumors about a slimmer Xbox and Natal bundles, but it looks like there's no weight to this one.
Blizzard to attend E3
Activision-Blizzard (or is it Blizzard-Activision?) will be attending E3 this year from June 2nd to June 4th. E3 is also called the Electronic Entertainment Expo and features a wide variety of companies and their products. The expo is being held at the LA convention center, so it's right outside Blizzard's Irvine offices.Activision-Blizzard didn't attend the 2008 E3. No one really knows why. But this year their attendance will be welcomed for all those going. And if you're thinking about going, you probably won't be able to – unless you work in the industry. But fear not, the Joystiq network always sends a crew out there to cover it. Our own Dan O'Halloran should be in attendance as well.Check out our sister site Joystiq for more information.Oh, you thought you could get away from the pet image? Haven't seen it on the site for a few months? Oh no... snap.
E3 tries to make a comeback in 2009
E3 2009 will take place June 2-4 next year, at the LA Convention Center. It won't be open to the public or anything, but the list of people who can attend will be less restrictive than the previous two years, says the ESA. They'll be opening the doors to all "international and US-based media, analysts, retailers, developers and business partners." So, attendance will increase and this move should hopefully help E3 get back to what it used to be: loud, smelly, and oh-so-fun!And while we're on the subject, be sure to check out Joystiq's interview with ESA president and CEO Mike Gallagher right here.%Gallery-27788%
Min-E3 takes off, lands in Santa Monica hangar
After a fair bit of searching and speculation, some of the details surrounding E3's fate have finally begun to emerge from the putrid smoke and piles of debris that remained after the world's biggest games expo spectacularly imploded several months ago. James Brightman at GameDaily BIZ writes that the ESA now has a firm date and location in mind for next year's Min-E3, more seriously titled E3 Media and Business Summit -- a change from the previous and vaguely fruity E3 Media Festival.Right, when is it taking place?The event will take place from July 11th until July 13th, 2007. It's not still in Los Angeles, is it?No, it's been moved to the considerably less vile Santa Monica. Attendee mortality rates should be significantly improved. That means they'll go down ... we think. How does Min-E3 work, exactly?In concept, it's a smaller, more personal E3 comprised of fewer people, less extravagant spaces and more one-on-one time between the press and the latest third-person scuba-karate game. The full list of exhibitors / hotel guests has yet to be revealed, but Nintendo has already committed to showing their permanently grinning faces.What's this about a hangar?Well, in addition to having hotel rooms set up to demonstrate new products to the media, the ESA has obtained permission to use the nearby Barker Hangar (visit their disturbingly sterile website and take a virtual tour) as an expo show floor of sorts. With the event now being invite-only, the smaller space provided by a hangar (which may be smaller than some E3 booths we've encountered) should no longer be a cataclysmic problem. Am ... I invited?Probably not. ESA president, Doug Lowenstein, describes the new E3 as a series of "suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment," meant to "successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds." That doesn't sound like it includes fansites or weekend Gamestop employees.Well, with that attitude, you won't be invited either.Please be aware of the fact that we can end your existence with nothing but a few keystrokes. You're just an invented voice meant to organize this post's information. So shut up, okay?
ESA confirms E3's dead, long live E3Expo
Well, word's in from ESA and and E3 is set to be all but castrated -- though not killed entirely. Apparently it will become a kinder, gentler, "more intimate" trade show after E3 sought counseling and found itself to suffer from severe cases of ADD, Tourette's, and harbor deep-rooted antisocial tendencies. But instead of putting the loud and raucous show on meds and calling it a day, they're rebranding it as E3Expo (which would, effectively, stand for Electronic Entertainment Expo Expo, making it E4) for 2007, and calling it a smaller, more focused event because, "It is no longer necessary or efficient to have a single industry 'mega-show.'" Whereas we may or may not agree with that statement, one thing is definitely sure: the days of E3 as we know it are officially over. So to our pals in the media and our readers who loved keeping tabs on the madness come early May each year, well, we'll always have Pari, erm, Vegas.[Via Next Generation]
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]
E3 cancelled for next year and beyond [update 4]
[Update 4: The ESA has issued a press release addressing the situation. Read more here.]Next-Gen has the scoop: Doug Lowenstein, the president of the Entertainment Software Association is expected to announce within the next 48 hours that E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the definitive video games show, has been cancelled. Industry sources have told Next-Gen that the reasoning behind this move is primarily one of cost versus return. Publishers aren't getting the media attention that they expect from the large amounts of cash that they're putting down to exhibit at the show. Apparently publishers believe that the multi-million dollar budgets allocated to E3 would be better used on smaller, specific shows where publishers get all the limelight. There's the possibility of a smaller show taking place in May next year, but as Next-Gen puts it, "it's clear that the days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone."Check out our commentary on the cancellation at the continued link below.
EA's epiphany: movie-to-game translations stink [update 1]
EA's lust for licensed intellectual property has cooled considerably, if the company's statements during last week's fourth-quarter financial results conference call are any indication. At several points during the call, EA executives stated the company's desire to develop more "wholly-owned IP." They've been beating on this particular drum for a while, in fact: in a conference call in February, EA Chairman and CEO Larry Probst stated, "One of the things that we're really focused on as a company is developing our own wholly-owned intellectual property." In other words, EA's interest in movie-to-game translations is waning. The cynic in us believes that this may have something to do with recent delays -- first with the Godfather game, now with the Superman game. Foxy EA seems to be saying, "I don't want those grapes anyway. They're sour."
Overheard at E3: "Here, hold this for me."
Overheard amongst the cluster of gamers who were gathering around these fetching lasses to take photographs: gamerdude: Here, hold my bag for me. dude's buddy: Why? Ok. gamerdude: I need to take a shot of my future wife.
E3: All your news under one roof
Looking forward to E3? This year's E3 is going to be one to remember, but the sheer amount of news coming out of the show extends beyond the world of WoW. Courtesy of the Joystiq E3 team, we bring you one source for all your information: http://e3-2006.joystiq.comKeep your eyes glued to that page -- as well as your favourite World of Warcraft blog, WoW Insider, of course! -- to stay on top of the manic mayhem that is the Electronic Enterainment Expo 2006.
Let the E3 bloopers begin! Press list exposed.
As part of the E3 registration process for press, would-be attendees are given the choice of receiving announcements about the show from vendors and other exhibitors. All press registrants who answer "yes" to this question are added to a massive list that was -- until today -- a secret. What happened? It seems that one Morten Iverson "ZEO & Creative Manager" for Copenhagen-based ZeitGuyz Game Developers, emailed all of us "journalists" with an offer to see a new game concept developed by his company. He forgot to use the "BCC" field, though, and in the process exposed the entire list to its recipients. Oops. Concept shmoncept! We were more interested in the list of folks who had registered as press. As you may be as well. Here's that list, stripped down to just the domain name of the outlets who will be covering E3. As the diversity here indicates, E3 is going to be a regular media circus! Remember, this is only a partial list, as some portion of registrants have opted out of being on it. Click "continue" for the list.
SOLD OUT: E3 exhibit space
Slacker game developers and publishers looking to showcase their products at E3 this May are out of luck. Event organizers have announced that the 540,000 square feet of floor space is officially sold out. However, attendee hopefuls still have plenty of time to sign up—which reminds us...
More Revolution Info On May 9th
Nintendo must be really excited about their entry into the next generation, as they've already announced the date of their Pre-E3 2006 Revolution press conference. Jot this down in your dear diaries, your dark electronic fruit devices and your secretary's loyal brain:"9 May 2005 - The day Nintendo will blow the lid off the Revolution, revealing all of its features, upcoming games and hitherto unseen magical properties. Cancel any meetings I might have on this day, including my marriage to Sophie. I'm sure she will understand."Of course, if Sophie turns out to be less than obliging, you can rest assured that we'll be there in person to learn all the details and forward them to you as best we can.
