This year’s E3 convention was "better" than last year’s, but according to some in the industry, it was a relatively subdued, if not, tedius event.
The glitz and glamour of past E3s is still burned into the minds of too many game industry pros to let these images of the over-the-top extravaganza to fade quietly into the sunset.
Will the million dollar displays, live bands, booth babes, and booth hunks ever return to E3? We don’t know but speculation has it that the E3 format must change dramatically to draw the attention it once enjoyed.
Reports are indicating that plans for next year’s E3 (if there is one) will be revealed on G4’s X-Play television show. What will be announced? No details have been released yet but Game Politics speculates that several possibilities are available regarding the content of the announcement:
– E3 may be open to the public
– E3 may be open to the public and combined with the E for All convention
– E3 may go retro and reintroduce the extravagance of former E3s
– E3 may cease to exist and reform as a completely different entity
Why did E3 pull back on all the bells and whistles in the first place? One concern exhibitors and vendors were voicing was the rapid escalating costs of presenting their wares at E3. Labor costs in hiring union electricians, caterers, and a host of other services were not cost effective or in other words, the game companies felt that they were being gouged.
Some game companies now hold their own "mini-conventions" to display their products for the press. The logistics in running these affairs is not only cheaper, but easier to manage.
Will we ever see E3 return to its former glory? Probably not, as long as it costs the game companies hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars, to set up their booths and displays.
But still, the E3 of old will still stick in the memories of those who were lucky enough to witness the spectacle. It may have cost an arm and a leg for exhibitors to put up their displays, but it sure was fun for the game industry, the press, and gamers.
