E3 Moves Back To Los Angeles Convention Center

[Andy Chalk]

E3 Moves Back To Los Angeles Convention Center

Following last year's scaled-down event at Santa Monica, the Los Angeles Convention Center [http://www.theesa.com].

Reported by GamesIndustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31647], the move follows complaints about the 2007 event, which saw a significant format change over E3 events of previous years but was met with complaints regarding organization, scheduling and unreasonable distances between venues. But despite the return to the LACC, the show will be sticking with the scaled-down, booth-babe-free environment introduced last year.

"While there will be opportunities for game demonstrations, the 2008 E3 Media and Business Summit will not feature the large trade show environment of previous years," according to the ESA press release [http://www.theesa.com/archives/2007/12/entertainment_s.php]announcing the event. PC, console, online and mobile game developers and publishers are eligible to participate, but as in the previous year, attendance will be by invitation only.

"The 2008 Summit will provide a professional and efficient environment for suite-based meetings with media and other industry leaders," said ESA Chief Executive Mike Gallagher. "We look forward to welcoming the media and top industry executives to a centralized, business focused and personalized experience. Our program of high-level meetings, networking and personal dialog, and industry-shaping panel discussions will capture the explosive growth we have seen in 2007 and lay the foundation for the 2008 videogame marketplace."

More information about the 2008 E3 Media and Business Summit will be released over the next few months at the Entertainment Software Association website [http://www.theesa.com].


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[Joe]

Yeah, because working a mile from the Pacific was just too much fun for E3.

 

[SatansBestBuddy]

If they aren't gonna have one big building to put everything in, then there really is no point, and I can only imagine the nightmares involved in criss-crossing LA all the live long day just to see a bunch of games and news that you're gonna hear about one way or another, anyway.

Honestly, it was big, it was fun, and yeah, the hangover was a *****, but that didn't stop people from coming year after year to E3 as it used to be, and the reasoning behind splitting it into two forms, an invitation only one that's all business, no fun, and an open to the public form which isn't fun if nobody's there, is flawed and a sure mark of a bunch of suits who don't attend the events themselves calling all the shots.

Am I the only one that thinks that, if all they had done was extend the event by a weekend and open that time up to the public, that would have made so much more sense, since everything's already setup, all the big news and business/journalistic stuff is over with, and all that's left is a crapload of games to play?

Am I?

 

[Kasio]

Sadly I was never able to attend E3, to young and to broke I only got to hear the tales of what it was. Now I'm disgusted with it. Its not longer has the same feeling to it. When you hear about a new game from a buddy that got to go it has a completely different feeling from hearing it that is getting paid to tell you about it.

If I wanted to hear the same review over and over again I would just start buying gaming magazines again.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Tough call. I will forever be disappointed that I didn't have the opportunity to partake in the spectacle of the old-style E3, but there's no question it was a terribly expensive endeavour for the participants, and the rewards were debatable. I think the worst of E3's excesses could have been addressed without the complete overhaul it was subjected to last year, but what's done is done. At this point, given the option I'd far rather trip off to PAX than E3, and I wouldn't be surprised if the increasing attention PAX gets in the wake of E3's decline may lead to further "rethinking" in years to come.

 

[Archon]

The elimination of E3 was akin to the Reagan-era strategic arms limitations. No game publisher benefited from an arms race involving millions of dollars each year to see who could have the loudest, flashiest, E3 presence... The reason for the dismay among press, developers, and consumers is that we sure benefited from E3! It was a spectacle, it brought the whole industry together. But we weren't footing the bill.

What they should have done is opened it up to the public with a high fee to get in, and then shared the consumer reviews with the member companies to allay their costs...

 

[Andy Chalk]

Maybe you should've brought this up at E3 2006.