E3? What the hell is that?

So the Electronic Entertainment Expo is this week, all week, and just like last year it seems to have only half interested me. Anyone who's been gaming at all for the past five years remembers the pictures, the news stories, the G4TV coverage, the booth babes, the glitz and the spectacle of our favorite designers and games unleashing themselves with unabashed bravado and pomp upon the throngs of waiting fanatics. Now it's more of a "summit", with industry only going in to seminars and press conferences. Less panels, less glitz, more about the business itself. I don't think if there was a sweepstakes for tickets now I'd even sign up.

E3 was for me, as a fan, the biggest event of the year in video game industry land. I wanted to be there, to play games and see the latest titles and meet booth babes and get my hands on swag bags full of amazing and wonderful things. It took me two days to realize E3 had started this year. My Google Reader account is chock full of stories pouring in from press events. I read through them and some have me generally excited (The Wii's new motion control accessory, Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox360 and the new Portal title coming out on Xbox Live Arcade) but I miss the glamour. These days, I watch all I can from the Tokyo Games Show to get that feeling again. It hasn't lost it's shine and it's sparkle yet, it's still a massive party about video games. So let's break it down:

I feel that E3 has lost it's effectiveness in generating fan interest. Instead of instant interest and a desire to watch and be there, it's more about breaking news that the fans can appreciate later as the products roll out through the course of the year. As a result, coupled with companies pulling their appearences at the show, E3 is quickly becoming less public and ergo, less effective on a consumer level.

Geeks don't get out much. That's why we play games in the first place. We enjoy being inside, we enjoy watching our TV, our games, our DVDs. Don't get me wrong! A lot of hardcore gamers get their sun, get in some biking and outdoors activities, me included. But I prefer a good chair and a good game for my afternoon exercise. E3 however made me want to get up, call my friends, go over and watch the coverage while we played some Power Stone 2 (I always called playing as Wang Tang) and drank Code Red. I wanted to know that exact moment when a new game was announced, or a new accessory, or something major. It made me excited. Maybe I'm older now, but now I settle for ending my late nights with perusing Reader and catching up, smiling at some of the fun stuff, sharing some of it, and not reading the rest. It doesn't "get my noodle going", to steal a phrase from a Kraft marketing campaign for macaroni and cheese.

I talked to Tommy Tallarico a little while back and asked him about his thoughts when it was announced that E3 was no longer going to be a big show. He said that it was good the industry was consolidating the show, saving money and focusing the show on getting the news to the people who could spread it more efficiently: the press. At first I agreed, and after working in the industry I can see the benefit of this. Save money instead of buying a major, massive display and party favors. But sometimes people need that show, that spectacle. This is the second year in a row that I haven't noticed E3 had begun, and as a member of the industry, that's no good.

I think that E3 should maybe pull a hybrid maneuver. Have a big floor show, maybe not quite as big as last time, during the week, with press events behind the scenes again. Fan appreciation in the industry should always stay high. People are sacrificing their lunches, their movie tickets and their alternative activities to buy your product, the least you can do is dance a little for them. Putting out the game with a triumphant "Here it is" is one thing, but before it's out give'em something to drool about. Something they can hold. A plastic sword, a demo disc, a coffee-mug, a t-shirt! Some fresh screens and an interview with the marketing managers isn't really going to cut the mustard. An important move in any relationship (be it man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, or company and consumer) is anchoring: having something physical that says "Here is a sign that I appreciate you." A hug, a touch on the shoulder, a free Sonic The Hedgehog stuffed animal.

And so E3 presses on into the week. I'm not going to be reporting on every little thing that happens, but I may make some comments on them if they really interest me. My main lament is the lack of the shine, but I'll live. We all do. And TGS this year should be fun to watch.

Be well, my friends,

-Joe