http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3538&Itemid=2 Senior industry sources have revealed to Next-Gen.Biz that the E3 industry event, in its present form, has been cancelled for next year and the foreseeable future. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) shindig has been a staple of game industry life since the mid-1990s. However, we understand the larger exhibitors have jointly decided that the costs of the event do not justify the returns, generally measured in media exposure. Publishers believe the multi-million dollar budgets would be better spent on more company-focused events that bring attention to their own product lines rather than the industry as a whole. Well placed sources say the news that larger exhibitors were pulling out had prompted urgent meetings among publishing executives. They decided that, without the support of the larger software publishers and hardware manufacturers, there would be no point in continuing. ESA president Doug Lowenstein will likely announce the news some time within the next 48 hours, possibly on Monday. It's likely that the ESA will seek to limit the damage by organizing some form of lesser event in May, but it's clear that the days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone. Calls to ESA staff are not being returned at present. If this turns out to be true it would be a great shame, the E3 has always been the highlight of the year when it came to new games and exciting revealings and stuff. :noooo:
Read this just an hour ago. I hope it's not true, especialy seeing as i've always wanted to go to one, but have never been able to
Three majors events: e3 in may, tgs in september and then christmas! The year will be longer without e3...
My guess is the publishers believe E3 to be a gamble of sorts, and that because some games will get higher attention then others (Established series, etc), that the money they spend on showcasing and displaying the lower profile games would be too much of a waste of money, thus it would be better to leak info out in chunks instead of all at once. Yeah, its another media whoring thing. Understandable, since many games do tend to get lost in the hype of various other games.
I'm sorry, but I think that this is a necessary step for the gaming industry to be taken more seriously. The whole point of these type of trade shows are to cater to purchasing managers and the media. The entire "booth babes and beer" atmosphere of E3 is just embarassing and gives people the impression that everyone who works in the gaming industry is a drunk frat boy. I know that everyone enjoys seeing and trying out new games. It will be much harder (if not impossible) for individuals to go to all of the different corporate events, but the media will still be covering all of the games like usual. I think that getting rid of E3 could help alleviate the "summer drought" and shorten release time, since game companies will no longer be forced to structure their milestones around the annual E3 demo.
This is good. Means that costs for having a booth will go down slightly to open the door to more independent publishers and developers rather than have it be the big MS/Sony/Ninty expo. Like it has been for forever.
According to this site the E3 cancelled rumors are untrue. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060730-7382.html
That is exactly what is going on. They talked about it last E3, too. Nothing but misunderstanding by the media.
It's not been cancelled, it's been walked out on by some of the bigger players, apparently. If true it's still big news, E3 will be completely different if the big three have disappeared.
The big 3 need to stop making crappy games and give us stuff that we can have release dates on and salivate for.
I really wished i had saved money to go with this past years e3, i was more then old enough to go TOO!!!. It is kinda bummer, e3 was sorta gamings comic con, though game publishers have seem to demo their stuff there too oddly.
Shame, I was going to attend this years until I found that Resident Evil was basically a no-show. I was gearing up for 2007's event though :\ Damn.
Needless to say, Ars is quite wrong. No one is going to mistake the "new" E3 for the "old" E3. E3 is dead. Wait til you hear the name of the new one. Just because it has "E3" in the name, doesn't make it the same. -hl718
Ohhhh. Hiding secrets are we? Decision on a new name? What do you think they'll call it? There will still be another E3 next year. Just a restructured show. I am also sure that some companies might be as glamorous as they were in the past. Have you ever been to GDC? If not, then next year will be much like that but the conference will be about games, not the development of them. And will be showcased in a professional/business way very much that of GDC just not as boring.
