Zzz...3

I've been critical of the Electronic Entertainment Expo for many years now.  It lacks the focus of GDC or the compartmentalization of Gamescom.  It also feels very dated compared to newer internet-based forms of promotion like Nintendo Direct.  When it comes to the whole loot box controversy, the ESA (the show organizers) have done a bang-up job of alienated both their contributors and the people they are supposed to be representing.  All this and more has steadily eroded the value of having E3.  Sony isn't there anymore.  Activision decided not to go as well.  An ever growing number of leaks stole a lot of the show's thunder, and various games coverage outlets are finding it increasingly difficult to justify going when pretty much everything of relevance is available on the internet.

It's certainly a lot cheaper not to attend.  When you consider things like hotel fees, taxi rides, plane tickets and the cost of being at the event, the bills add up to a lot of money very quickly.  Considering all the funds, time and effort companies like Bethesda, Microsoft, Square-Enix and Ubisoft dump into their presentations, it doesn't seem worth the hour or so each of them lasts.  Preparing for E3 is hard on development studios too in that they are often asked by publishers to put together a flashy demo that can take months of work, devouring resources perhaps better spent on finishing the actual game.

For awhile I felt like (even though the show itself had become boring) the stuff surrounding E3 continued to be interesting mostly because of the snark, cring, memes and so on.  Even that source of amusement though has faded in recent years.  Perhaps video game companies are becoming more self-conscious?  Of course, it's not all bad...Last Oasis had some neat visuals...as a Heroes of Might and Magic fan, Songs of Conquest looks enticing...I guess one could also argue that it's still an opportunity for industry veterans to hang out and swap "war stories"...although, I got to say when the biggest thing to come out of a video game expo is a surprise appearance by Keanu Reeves, then it might be time pull the plug.

Yeeesh...

For me the three E's in E3 2016 were, "Eh...?"  (Where are all the non-VR games?), followed by, "Eek!" (the Last Guardian), and finally, "Er..." (that's it?).  There sure was a lot of stuff for VR enthusiasts.  Sadly, I'm not one of them since my current living situation isn't compatible with VR.  Not just in terms of money and space, but time as well.  Whenever I sit down to play something chances are I'm going to be interrupted on a fairly regular basis.  Take House of the Dying Sun for example, it's a cool game that I'm sure looks even cooler in VR, but I really don't want to be pulling off all that headgear constantly because some machine is beeping at me, or someone wants my undivided attention.  Granted, House of the Dying Sun can be played in little snippets (seriously, the average mission is about three minutes long), but I think most VR games are going to demand more.  Needless to say I've been playing a lot of Stellaris and Hearts of Iron 4 as of late in large part because they allow ease of use with regards to multitasking.  Just hit the space bar on the keyboard and you're free to attend to other matters.  Anyway...getting back to E3...

I didn't see a whole lot to get excited about this year.  Last Guardian finally has a release date, but that's been a long time coming.  Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks nice, but the Amiibo stuff and NX cross-gen situation is kind of off-putting.  Trailers for Oxygen not Included, Tacoma, and Death Stranding looked mildly intriguing, but there wasn't all that much footage shown so all three remain largely unknown quantities.  Also, what is with all this "pre-order now!" garbage (not to mention "Fee-to-Pay" nonsense).  At the very least wait until the game is closer to launch guys!  Ordering now feels like a total sucker bet.  Obviously, the best thing to do would be to wait until after the game has come out simply because there are way to many buggy and poorly-optimized games inundating the market these days to justify the risks.

Maybe I fell off the E3 hype train at some point, or maybe real life events have been intruding on my fantasies.  That certainly is the case with Jim Sterling and his opinions about E3.  Either way I'm definitely no longer the target audience for this sort of event.  That's not to say I don't like trade shows...it's just that I would put GDC or even PAX well above the "merchants of cool" and their Electronic Entertainment Expo.    

E3...2...1...Go!

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3 for short) is the single largest event in the video game industry and as such is also the battleground for big dogs like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. As one prominent video game journalist put it “[E3] is a giant machine run by crazy people.” Journalists get their scoops and coverage while the PR guys get to promote and generate buzz, but generally speaking it’s a huge pain for everyone involved. Not to mention that a hot, crowded, noisy and sometimes smelly convention hall isn’t exactly an ideal environment to experience a new game. Because of this and a variety of other factors small titles often get lost in the shuffle or simply buried under they hype of far bigger (but not necessarily better) announcements.

I also find myself wondering what E3 is really supposed to be all about. Unlike say GDC which serves as a chance for developers and enthusiasts from all over the world to meet face-to-face, hang out and tell stories E3 is a lot of flash-and-trash advertising mixed with shady backroom business deals. There’s also a fair amount of politicking and favoritism which can lead to a lot of bad blood and prissiness all around. I’m not even sure if it’s so beneficial for your average gamer either considering the costs involved to attend the event mixed with the fact that anything of even remote interest is going to have massive crowd or long line to contend with unless you’re an insider.

Sufficed to say I think you can see a lot more of E3 from the convenience of your home than the people who go through all the effort to be there in person, which finally brings me to the main point of this particular blog post. We live in an age where digit conferencing is common place and the transmission of large amounts of detailed information can be done with the simple push of a button. So, do we really need this antiquated E3 anymore? And if so then why?