You already know the deal with E3 2008, it sucked. You can read stories of its suckiness almost anywhere you look. It's a dinosaur, its format is out of date and no one - not publishers, not developers not journalists - enjoys attending anymore. So the end of E3 as we know it is here, right? It can't be saved, so lets just write it off. Wrong! Its not too late for it to still be relevant. All E3 needs are some simple changes and it would be exciting again. Here are 4 suggestions, free of charge.
Last week, on the last day of E3, I headed over to the G4TV studios and hung out for awhile with Adam Sessler. This is the fourth time I've interviewed the X-Play co-host and as always he was funny, honest and crammed about 2 hours of conversation into 30 minutes.
On the day we met he was very excited about G4TV's numbers but not very happy with Nintendo. Here's what he had to say about E3, the most impressive games of the show and how he thinks EA is making a statement.
Before I get into the highlights of the last day of E3 2008, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the trade show's overall vibe. Something is missing. I plan on writing more about this next week after I've had some time to process things and I'm not so tired my that I can barely walk (read: top 5 list), but something is wrong. There are a number of different factors but could it be that the biggest factor is the absence of regular gamers? Is it because so much of the news on games is already known by E3? I'm not quite sure. After interviewing Adam Sessler this afternoon I shared a cab back to the LACC with former EGM Editor Dan Hsu who was spending the week working for G4TV. We talked about the state of E3 and he said it was almost sad. I agree.
On a brighter note, today was the best day of E3 for me. I finally got to do what I love to do at this event, instead of sitting through press conferences I got my hands on some games.
One of the greatest rock and roll bands ever, The Who, played a two hour show at the Rock Band party Wednesday night. The event was invitation only and MTV was pretty stingy with their tickets, but for those who went it was an awesome experience.
On tap for this post are two E3 keynote speeches and some quality time with Sega, Warner Bros. and Konami. Here's day 2 in pictures.
Go to the Activision presser?!? Pfffttt! Not when Grandma's Boy is on TV. Sure I could have gone and sat through another press conference, but why would I do that when one of the best video game themed movies was on TV? Or maybe I'm just too wiped out from a long day. Not that sitting on a couch watching a gaming movie is guaranteed entertainment. Lets look at video game movie history.
This afternoon, after enjoying a free lunch (free lunch?!? free booze?!? what kind of magical place is this?!?) I headed over to the Bethesda booth and got a half hour of hands-on time with Fallout 3. Last year I was blown away by the hour long Todd Howard led walkthrough, now it was time to get a closer look.
I started out leaving Vault 101 and pretty much could do what I wanted. The landscapes looked solid, the controls were smooth and the game just oozed a post apocalyptic vibe, very cool. I fought off some vicious dogs, giant bugs and encountered an optional side mission. Most impressive was the dialogue tree, which makes Mass Effect's tree look like a picture book. Overall the game looks great.
Welcome to the Kodak Theater, home of the Academy Awards and Nintendo's E3 presser. How Donald Trump managed to get a star right outside the theater is beyond me. Never underestimate the hypnotic effects of a crazy haircut. Nintendo was pimping itself pretty hard, giving a lot of stats on its sales numbers and pointing proudly to their widening demographic. Here are the highlights of the Nintendo Presser, in picture form.
After the EA presser it was time to head over to the LACC for the E3 reception, featuring the Into the Pixel art exhibit. There was some truly impressive looking video game art, head here to see it.
The reception was pretty informal, just journalists and exhibitors hanging out, socializing and drinking free (yes free) booze. This was more of an afternoon cocktail party, pretty tame stuff compared to other E3 parties. After catching up with a couple of friends it was time to get the layout of the LACC in my head. I walked around and much to my surprise rooms were still being set up for the next day. I guess we'll see if everything's ready to go in the morning.
...yes, someone did! - Greetings from sunny Los Angeles, which I believe is spanish for whale's va...never mind, that's San Diego. I have no clue what its spanish for, I think it means The Angles or something. Maybe LA was named by a mathematician.
Andrew Ramsey (31)
Ian Guss (32)
Tae Kim (1)
Will Herring (41)
- 4 Ways to Make E3 Less Sucky
- You already know the deal with E3 2008, it sucked. You can read stories of how bad it was almost anywhere you look. Its a dinosaur, its format is out of date and no one from publishers, developers and journalists enjoys attending anymore. So the end of E3 as we know it is here, right? It cant be saved, so lets just write it off. Wrong! Its not too late for it to still be relevant. All E3 needs are some simple changes and it would be exciting again. Its time to put this baby to bed. Here are 4 suggestions, free of charge.
- http://www.gameproarcade.com/article/98253/4-ways-to-make-e3-less-sucky/
Read >>