E3 Morphs into E3 Media Festival

E3 2006E3 2006

Yeah, by now, every person that has seriously embraced video gaming as part of his/her life is aware of the sudden changes that’ll prompt him/her to bid farewell to the E3 as he/she knew it. The Halls of QJ has been ringing with dead silence every single time the matter is brought up (it’s happening right now). But we all have to move on as E3, arguably gamers’ own version of World Cup and Winter Olympics, undergoes some major tweaks that’ll indirectly affect all of us.

Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein, in an interview with Wall Street Journal, has revealed what exactly those “major tweaks” will be – a new name, a new venue and a new date. According to him, the event will be dubbed as the E3 Media Festival starting next year, cementing thoughts that the affair will now only be joined by members of the press from various media.

From last E3’s groundbreaking attendance of 60,000 visitors, next year’s event will have a toned-down population of around 5000 people. In fact, Lowenstein has cited that the huge number of participants is primarily the reason why all the changes are being made, saying that “some companies were frustrated because E3 was such a huge, sweeping event it became increasingly difficult to get their messages out.

Instead of the traditional May affair, the next E3 (if we could still call it that) will be held on July to give publishers more time to develop their projects and to strategically bring it nearer to Christmas where most games are usually released. The event will also say goodbye to the Los Angeles Convention Center as the ESA divulged plans to use two hotels, holding press events and meetings in suites and conference rooms – there goes our booths and the booth babes along with it.

As much as we want to present this news as an objective one, it’s really hard not to choke out some disappointments while tackling the matter. The gamer in us conquers the inner writer/reporter as it cry for the game demos open for civilians, promos for the attendees, E3 booth babes, lost opportunities for smaller developers, and the shed “people image” of the event we used to know as E3…

Via Games Industry

E3 2006E3 2006

Yeah, by now, every person that has seriously embraced video gaming as part of his/her life is aware of the sudden changes that’ll prompt him/her to bid farewell to the E3 as he/she knew it. The Halls of QJ has been ringing with dead silence every single time the matter is brought up (it’s happening right now). But we all have to move on as E3, arguably gamers’ own version of World Cup and Winter Olympics, undergoes some major tweaks that’ll indirectly affect all of us.

Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein, in an interview with Wall Street Journal, has revealed what exactly those “major tweaks” will be – a new name, a new venue and a new date. According to him, the event will be dubbed as the E3 Media Festival starting next year, cementing thoughts that the affair will now only be joined by members of the press from various media.

From last E3’s groundbreaking attendance of 60,000 visitors, next year’s event will have a toned-down population of around 5000 people. In fact, Lowenstein has cited that the huge number of participants is primarily the reason why all the changes are being made, saying that “some companies were frustrated because E3 was such a huge, sweeping event it became increasingly difficult to get their messages out.

Instead of the traditional May affair, the next E3 (if we could still call it that) will be held on July to give publishers more time to develop their projects and to strategically bring it nearer to Christmas where most games are usually released. The event will also say goodbye to the Los Angeles Convention Center as the ESA divulged plans to use two hotels, holding press events and meetings in suites and conference rooms – there goes our booths and the booth babes along with it.

As much as we want to present this news as an objective one, it’s really hard not to choke out some disappointments while tackling the matter. The gamer in us conquers the inner writer/reporter as it cry for the game demos open for civilians, promos for the attendees, E3 booth babes, lost opportunities for smaller developers, and the shed “people image” of the event we used to know as E3…

Via Games Industry

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