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All your E3 lineups are belong to us
Eurogamer has unearthed a mighty, mighty list of game lineups from various publishers for E3 next week. It is quite a list too. It's so long in fact, that the act of reproducing it has proven quite taxing to our blogging circuits. It's been said that 2007 will be an amazing year for games, and it's looking to be exactly that. Check out a conveniently Xbox-oriented version of the list after the break.
Sony E3 invite hints at Killzone 2 unveiling
We love receiving mysterious packages at Joystiq HQ and are particularly enamored by the ones that don't violently explode upon their opening. The card pictured above matches the latter description, though it seems to indicate that demolition and destruction is nevertheless in our near future. The card glibly invites its recipient to attend a unique two and a half hour Sony event on the evening of July 10th, just as Min-E3 gets underway. Unless Sony has taken a very interesting approach to promoting the next SingStar, the disagreeable fellow on the card implies that Killzone 2 will be the event's focus. Considering the event's length and the game's brief showing at GDC, a playable version of the anticipated shooter seems increasingly likely to appear. Once we finally see whether or not it lives up to the infamous 2005 prerendered trailer graphically, we can move on to more pertinent questions like, "Is it any fun?" We suspect we'll have an answer next month.
Min-E3 press conference confirmed, dated
We hath mourned the death of the one and true E3, but like a mentally handicapped phoenix, the new Min-E3 has risen from the ashes. And while the glitz, glamour, and majority of games will have vanished into thinnest air, the wondrous tradition of the press conference remains. All three players will attempt to outdo the other, yet again.This year, Nintendo is second on the list: 9:30 AM PST on Wednesday, July 11th. Prior to their engagement is Microsoft the day before, and Sony is naught but two hours later at 11:30. We expect solid release dates for at least one of Super Mario Galaxy or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as well as more than a few surprises. C'mon, Iwata ... drop the bomb.
Ubisoft CEO Guillemot dismisses E3 as 'only for the US'
Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot is on fire! Last week he just flat out says the PS3 costs too much and now he dismisses E3 (Min-E3, get the name right Guillemot) as "only for the US." Guillemot made the statement at the Ubidays event in Paris during a kick-off Q&A session.This doesn't mean Ubisoft is pulling out of Min-E3, 'cause you know they still have to deal with those pesky Americans and their money. Guillemot was just saying, "E3 is now only for the US, so we wanted to do something to help everybody see our products ... So we decided to do E3 but in France and call it Ubidays." You know, E3 ... in France ... with one company.We don't mock though because who knows how Min-E3 will play out? The international press used to be at E3 in full force. Who knows if they'll find it worthwhile if the companies are starting to do stuff like this and come to them? What we do know is that despite there being no E3, it's still genetically built into the companies to do something during this time. Ubisoft is doing this Ubidays, Sony just had their event, Microsoft announced Halo 3's date and Nintendo is doing their thing right now. There may not be "E3," but that doesn't stop the information from flowing in May.
Tip a 40 to the homies, this used to be E3 week
We are gathered here today, not to remember E3's death on July 31, 2006, but rather its life. A life which we would have celebrated this week if it weren't for its untimely passing. In the words of 20th Century wordsmith P Drs, we take a moment to remember: I tip my 40 to your memoryTake a drink, and IStop to think, and II know one day soonWe'll be, we'll be hangin out It is hard to imagine that the event so many loved to hate to love is actually gone now. Right about now journalists, industry folk and the legions of fanboys who scored a pass would be preparing to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow and get settled into our ghetto hotels before the madness of Wednesday. The sweat, the ecstasy and the pounding beat of thousands of speakers vying for consumer industry attention. But, like a tweaked-out twink on a three-day bender, the party couldn't last. The scene became too much for the big publishers and they decided to scale it down, keep their party tight and in private hotel rooms. Abandoned and with no place to go, with no more support, E3 passed. And so, we lost a good friend.But let us not forget that left behind are PAX, E for All and Min-E3. Two events geared for the masses and one ultra-exclusive meant to take E3 back to its roots. Get the journalists who didn't make their business cards with mom's HP inkjet in to the cover the event. It is sad to think many will not know the joy and exhaustion caused by E3, but in time the pain will fade, like all pain does, and the happy memories will remain. We miss you E3.
Min-E3: Phenomenally large companies ... itty bitty space
The Electronic Software Association (ESA) has been tight on information about the new Min-E3, but details of the new E3 reinvention are starting to seep out, the latest bit being an apparent map of attendee booths at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. On initial viewing of the map, seeing Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft each being crammed into a 20' x 20' (6 meters squared) booth, all we can think is Genie from Aladdin saying, "Phenomenal cosmic power -- in a itty bitty living space." Yes, laugh it up, it's worth a chuckle.For those who have no idea about the amount of space these company's booths occupied in the past, let's just say you used to be able to find a quiet corner to take a booth babe for a snog. These were sprawling complexes, not booths that could fit in your dining room. It's going to be different for sure. As you can see from the map, many companies took two mini 100-square-foot booth spaces for just a little extra space.All this hanger layout reveals is that everything that's going down is happening at the hotels. The booths don't have enough room for demos and will probably end up just being a spot for invitees to schedule meetings at the respective company's hotel suite. Oh well, guess no booth babes at the hangar. Maybe it'll be like Australia and the publishers will have hookers at the hotel?
Min-E3: Even the PR guys don't have a clue what's happening
Min-E3 is a conundrum, wrapped in an enigma, with little to no information getting out at the moment. The approx. 4,000 journalists invited to the event -- a secret selection process made entirely by publishers and not the ESA -- know the general location of where to go in Santa Monica those days in July, but that's it, no further information. That story will come out soon enough, but this is about the PR agencies.Tom Ohle of Evolve PR has written in his personal blog about the legitimate issues faced by smaller companies in this post -"real" -E3 landscape. Without delving into "inside baseball" territory, the old E3 was a general free for all, for better and for worse, but it did get a lot of attention. Reports about Min-E3's shrinkage have a certain level of spin to them, it's not that exhibitors don't want to go -- the new Min-E3 is designed more or less to keep them out. The same scenario that happened to the invite-only journalists is being played out with the exhibitors.Ohle writes, "The event will still allow the industry's biggest publishers to showcase their wares, while effectively cutting the legs out from the rest of the industry ... think of every small company that spent a massive portion of their marketing and PR budget on a booth in Kentia, just so they could get to the one event that allowed them to show their products to a ton of media and retail buyers."
Min-E3 exhibitor list shows signs of shrinkage
Arriving like an obituary for the thoroughly deceased E3 of yore, the exhibitor list for the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007 (or Min-E3, if you prefer) provides an interesting glimpse of the event's new format. The list, as unfurled by Chris Remo of Shacknews, represents the exact opposite of E3 in many ways. It's short, manageable and entirely devoid of scantily-clad ladies. And we just lost half the readers with that last link, didn't we? For those that use tabbed browsing: Remo observes that the list has gone from bursting with over 400 exhibitors last year, to containing a mere 33 this year. Of those, two are independent developers (id Software and Foundation 9 Entertainment) and two are peripheral manufacturers (Nyko Technologies and Logitech). Despite the list being primarily filled with major publishers, the event will also host the IndieCade festival, an independent games showcase. While July's Min-E3 represents a welcome departure from the lax entry requirements and inhibitive masses of E3, its reduction to a series of meetings with a focused group of publishers still seems tragically dull when compared to the glitz and clamor of previous spectacles. It's clear that smaller industry groups aren't well represented either, but then, there's only so much room in an aircraft hangar. The full list of exhibitors can be found in the second part of the post.
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?
Nintendo commits to next year's Min-E3
After punching out a rampaging E3 hopped up on sex, drugs and caffeine and sending it to conference rehab, the ESA is already preparing plans to welcome a more discreet and otherwise polite press gathering in 2007. The change has garnered much discussion, with one of the central points revolving around the kind of support the major industry players will provide to a significantly smaller event.According to Gamesindustry.biz, Nintendo is the first of the major three platform holders to confirm involvement with next year's Min-E3, though the level of said involvement is still up in the air. A couple of Super Mario Galaxy posters on the wall of a barren hotel room would likely fail to generate the massive lines Nintendo enjoyed at the last E3, though it certainly would help alleviate the problem of getting trampled by an army of wand-waving nerds (always a plus).Microsoft and Sony have been less decisive in their response, though it should only be a matter of time before they reveal intentions to join the officially dubbed "E3 Media Festival" or simply bulldoze the proceedings with conferences of their own. [Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
