I'm actually kind of surprised this took so long. The Consumer Electronics Association, sponsor of the now-gigantic CES (International Consumer Electronics Show), is tossing its hat in the ring to fill the void left by the "downsized" E3. (Did I just mix my metaphors? Sorry, it's been a long day!)
The CEA notes that over 11 percent of its attendees this past January were interested in gaming. Gary Shapiro, the CEA's president and CEO, said the organization has been "deluged with inquiries on whether we could fill the tradeshow needs of smaller video entertainment companies." So the CEA is forming an advisory committee "to solicit gaming industry feedback and explore the viability of a West Coast event in late spring 2007 focused on the gaming and entertainment marketplace."
I'm glad to hear there might be a high-profile venue for smaller game companies. That's where freshness and innovation come from. But how would the CEA do things differently than E3? So far the organization's ideas sound a lot like the old E3, to me. We'll see what the advisory committee comes up with; they're actively soliciting interested game companies to contact them. So far Auravision, Majesco Entertainment and NCsoft are supporting... the formation of the committee. Way to commit, guys!
Here's what I'd like to see: a show that doesn't require square-mile booths, mega-thousand-watt sound systems, stupid costumes, and legions of scantily-clad babes; the razzle-dazzle gets old fast. I want to know what's new and cool without having to walk 25 miles through a convention center each day. I want to meet game creators and developers, not just PR flacks who are too baffled to go off script. And I want to go somewhere other than L.A.! No offense, left coasters, but downtown Los Angeles is dismal. Open bars can stay, though.
I'll let you know when I hear more. Stay tuned.
Stumble
Digg
del.icio.us
Slashdot
August 11, 2006 11:50 AM
For the press! Seriously, my biggest gripe about E3 is that it's not open to the public. With all that fanfare and promotion, the least they could have done was open it all up to the public so people could see and enjoy the content they put together in such grand form. I'm kind of unhappy that E3 is scaling down, namely because I'm an enthusiast and would have loved to have the opportunity to go and see the elaborate displays, the huge huge booths, blog from the conference, stare at the technology that would someday hopefully be on store shelves, and just experience the whole thing. I understand that it must be annoying after a while, especially if you're coming with a purpose or coming to cover games and wind up getting strung up in bad products, crowded boothes and long long lines, but I feel kind of slighted that the people who were allowed to go to conferences like this didn't like it or didn't appreciate it, and the people who would have really liked it and enjoyed it were forced to stay outside. :( That being said, you've been in there and I haven't, so you would definitely know, but still. I think I'm just bitter (and a lot of gamers I know who only get to live the E3 coverage through leaked videos, press releases, and photos from the floor are as well) that I never had the opportunity.
August 11, 2006 11:57 AM
I sound so jaded, don't I! The first couple years of E3 were really fun, I have to admit. I have some great memories: Getting my first Sims demo from Will Wright himself; getting Tony Hawk's autograph for my skateboarding nephew; Nintendo press conferences (no one can top that company's fans). Year after year wore me out, but last year, the first time I hadn't attended in 6 years, I did feel like I was missing something! Anyway, I hope you can come to Digital Life here in New York in October; that is a consumer show, and there should be lots of gaming presence this year.
August 11, 2006 12:45 PM
Digitial Life... I attended Digital Life this past year... it STUNK!!. The Javits Center is not even a large convention center and the show only had 1 room (and not the large ones). There were 2 other conventions going on that took up most of the convention. Unless it was to grow much larger, I don't think I would attend again.
August 11, 2006 4:41 PM
Stinky or no, when I get the mailings about the Digital Life conference, I keep wanting to go! I'm in DC, not at all far from NYC, so it might be worth the trip. It has been a while since I've been to a tech conference, back when MacWorld was in Boston, and the only thing we have down here is FOSE, which is geared more to the government, government contractors, military, and homeland security folks. ::sigh:: The nation's capital can be so technologically boring sometimes...
August 17, 2006 1:53 AM
Open to the public? Are you kidding? It was a trade show, not an exhibition. It was all about showing off new products to the media and potential vendors. Furthermore, the public were pretty much already allowed if an "Attendee" badge was purchased. It was the thousands of shit head attendee's that make the show so frusterating to begin with. The place was already packed to the gil's, hotel prices through the roof, and the lines were long enough as they were. And you can bet that the companies showcasing their ware's didn't like all of them being there. They went to E3 every year for one reason, exposure. Not from average geek's who paid money to get in, but from people who have the priviledge and capability of motivating hundreds, thousands or even millions of others as journalists. Open to the Public?? CRAZY. That would have gotten E3 canceled a looooong time ago.
August 26, 2006 1:34 AM
I stumbled across this comments page looking for something completely unrelated but feel compelled to chip in and say Fragmental is 100% correct. I attended E3 over the last few years in a professional capacity and the ever increasing number of attendees has made my job a whole lot harder. It's almost impossible to get any serious work done. If the doors had been fully opened to the general public, instead of seeing tens of thousands of attendees it would have been more like hundreds of thousands, plain and simple... utter chaos and insanity! Although I will be sad to see some elements of the event as we know it disappear, it will be nice to have meetings where we don't have to shout at the top of our lungs to be heard. nuff said!