The Entertainment Software Association, which operates E3, has told GameSpot that despite rampant criticism of this year's expo the game publishers trade association is already gearing up for the 2009 show.
No additional details were provided. GameSpot attributes this quote to to an unnamed ESA rep:
As we do every year, we're beginning the process of surveying exhibitors and attendees to determine potential changes to the Summit. Once this is completed and shared with the ESA's Board of Directors, we will make an announcement about the specifics of the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit, which will occur.
GP: While it is the nature of organizations to put on a brave face, there are a couple of facts that need to be weighed against the ESA rep's comments.
The first is that since E3 '08 wrapped up less than a week ago it seems a bit early to commit to a 2009 show. One might expect that exhibitor debriefs as well as a thorough E3 post-mortem need to take place in order to sort out what went wrong and determine whether it is fixable. That's especially true given the fairly widespread negative reaction to this year's expo, including this rather definitive comment attributed by the San Francisco Chronicle to EA CEO John Riccitiello:
I hate E3 like this. Either we need to go back to the old E3, or we'll have to have our own private events.
Moreover, the ESA rep's comment seems to imply that the ESA will tell the board of directors (which is comprised of top execs from ESA member game publishers) what's happening with E3, but we'd expect it will be the other way 'round. And since EA happens to be chairing the ESA board this year, one has to wonder.
Comments
Re: Report: ESA Committed to Holding E3 in 2009
If even EA thinks soemthing is bad for the industry, you got a problem.
Re: Report: ESA Committed to Holding E3 in 2009
I keep hearing a lot of people saying that this year's E3 was a big let down. On the other hand, I did watch a little of the show on G4 and some of their post-show wrap-up as well. The show may have been a disappointment, but there were some incredible looking games. Games such as Infamous, Dark Void, Fallout 3, and Fable 2 (to name a few). So if there were some awesome games, how can we really say it was a let down? Sure, there weren't any surprises, Nintendo was stingy, the keynote was delivered by a politician, and a few other things, but the games were there. And isn't that what we really care about?
Re: Report: ESA Committed to Holding E3 in 2009
Part of the problem is that the games WERE NOT there. Traditionally, most games on the floor are the holiday releases for that year, or at most, summer releases of the next year. How many games at this year's E3 will get released by summer 09? Not many. And pushing that date back to holliday 08, we start to get an even smaller number. Then tack on how many playable demo's were available and we start to reach that magic number 0. Sure there were a few games that caught the public's eye. But I'm willing to bet a large majority of games that people are excited about from this years E3 will be showing up again at E3 09 (if they even have one).
Finally, tack on the fact it cost the ESA $5 million when they decided to change to a smaller venue, and you realize that the ESA dropped the ball... big time.
Re: Report: ESA Committed to Holding E3 in 2009
E3 was Epic Fail. Finish it ESA!
Re: Report: ESA Committed to Holding E3 in 2009
Private events sounds good to me -- we could get a year-long series of conferences across the continent instead of just waiting on the slow trickle of an increasingly irrelevant annual summit. (We don't get a whole lot of gaming shows in Ottawa.)
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The Mammon Industry
Fangamer
Re: Report: ESA Committed to Holding E3 in 2009
Good for them I suppose. Glad they're committed to a concept no one else cares about. Yeesh. No wonder companies are leaving.