E For All Expo Being Passed Over E3-Style

[The 1 2 P]

It seems that E3 isn't the only convention that publishers deem less relevant these days. E For All Expo has seen a big exodus of publishers for it's upcoming show: http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/majority-of-publishers-ignoring-e-for-all-expo/

If this continues we will only have the internation shows like TGS and Leipzig to look forward to. But I think eventually someone will create another pre-2007 E3 esque show. Otherwise we'll have to look overseas for our big game conventions.

[swlovinist]

Dont forget about PAX which is happening this week in Seattle, WA It is gaining popularity as THE show of the US. The attendance this year is to be in the tens of thousands. I went last year and it had major game debuts and was completely awsome. All the major companies are there, third parties and the big three. Check out the website of the schedule of the show:

http://www.pennyarcadeexpo.com/schedule.php

[Tupin]

Amazing how two webcomic artists can make a better convention than an organization that basically controls a multi-billion dollar industry.

Leipzig was pretty good, I hope PAX is too.

[swlovinist]

It is kind of sad how the "big" E3 shows and others have fallen. The good news is that PAX is a couple of hours away from me, and I get to not only go but be part of the "retro room" this year.

[Clownzilla]

Amazing how two webcomic artists can make a better convention than an organization that basically controls a multi-billion dollar industry.

Leipzig was pretty good, I hope PAX is too.

Well, that's what happens when the gamers are factored into the equation. E3 kicking out the general public was the worst possible move that they could of made. Every single game related purchase is made from 100% bottom tier discretionary income. The game industry developers, publishers, producers, etc. need the kiss the customer's a$$ if they want to survive. Kicking them out of E3 was the exact opposite.

[Bojay1997]

Well, that's what happens when the gamers are factored into the equation. E3 kicking out the general public was the worst possible move that they could of made. Every single game related purchase is made from 100% bottom tier discretionary income. The game industry developers, publishers, producers, etc. need the kiss the customer's a$$ if they want to survive. Kicking them out of E3 was the exact opposite.

E3 was never open to the public (well, they did have a short public session one of the days in Atlanta way back, but it was an experiment that they didn't repeat). Having said that, the general public found lots of ways to scam their way into E3 which was not only very costly for the publishers, but made it hard for the press to do their job. Ultimately, what killed E3 was the economy and publishers not wanting to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars each into an event with no clear pay-off. The mainstream game buying public will never attend an E3 like show, at least not in great enough numbers to impact sales. Who among the general public has thousands of dollars to fly to a city, pay for a hotel, rent a car, etc?

[Clownzilla]

E3 was never open to the public (well, they did have a short public session one of the days in Atlanta way back, but it was an experiment that they didn't repeat). Having said that, the general public found lots of ways to scam their way into E3 which was not only very costly for the publishers, but made it hard for the press to do their job. Ultimately, what killed E3 was the economy and publishers not wanting to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars each into an event with no clear pay-off. The mainstream game buying public will never attend an E3 like show, at least not in great enough numbers to impact sales. Who among the general public has thousands of dollars to fly to a city, pay for a hotel, rent a car, etc?

Yeah, but anybody that had ANYTHING to do with the gaming industry could get in. There were people around here that worked at a hole in the wall used game store that had "qualifying credentials". In any case, the public should never be considered as "getting in the way", especially in this industry. Enough of these "game industry workers" were making their way into E3 to make it THE premier gaming expo and when that stopped, so did the popularity. That was why E3 tanked.

[TheRedEye]

Well, that's what happens when the gamers are factored into the equation. E3 kicking out the general public was the worst possible move that they could of made. Every single game related purchase is made from 100% bottom tier discretionary income. The game industry developers, publishers, producers, etc. need the kiss the customer's a$$ if they want to survive. Kicking them out of E3 was the exact opposite.

So let me get this straight, you think overall video game sales have gone down (they haven't) because it is harder for the public to get into the non-public show now than it used to be?

[Clownzilla]

So let me get this straight, you think overall video game sales have gone down (they haven't) because it is harder for the public to get into the non-public show now than it used to be?

Sure, they have gone up so far. That success is riding on the wave of how the game industry treated their customers in the past. In industry like this, reality always lags behind perception. Wait a few more years of this ivory tower mentality of the game industry and watch the sales go down fast(at least the sales of the current offenders).

[TheRedEye]

Sure, they have gone up so far. That success is riding on the wave of how the game industry treated their customers in the past. In industry like this, reality always lags behind perception. Wait a few more years of this ivory tower mentality of the game industry and watch the sales go down fast(at least the sales of the current offenders).

Believe it or not I agree with you that there is a disconnect between game publishers and game players, but I hardly think the ESA changing their trade show's focus is at fault for that. I also think the situation is improving all the time and, in fact, has been on a steady upswing since the internet became mainstream. There is a time and a place for direct marketing to consumers, but E3 was not that place, nor was it EVER meant to be, which is why it could not support the crowds it was attracting. PAX is pretty much the E3 you've been wanting.

[skaar]

You can only get so much for free. E3 was a trade show, not a freebie-fest for Joe Public.

That being said, I got in for several years in a row and didn't even "officially" work in industry. I went to the parties, loaded up on freebies and had a blast. I can't fault them for moving away from that model if it wasn't working for them - damned leeches ;)

I'd love if they brought the old show back.

ps. I'm still trying to figure out what video game mogul did something horrible to Clownzilla to make him hate them so.

[rbudrick]

I'm not sure I agree with any given arguments above or disagree, for that matter, but I think since absolutely evrybody has a blog and thinks they are a reporter nowadays, they may as well open it to the public. I mean, shit, does it really cost anybody more other than handing out a few extra chotchkes and having the convention center sell a few thousand more $7 hotdogs? If you are going to spend that much bread on what is basically a form of advertising, I'm not exactly sure why you WOULDN'T want as many eyes as possible on you.

I don't think not allowing the public in caused any decline in sales, but it certainly could have raised them.

-Rob

[TheRedEye]

I mean, shit, does it really cost anybody more other than handing out a few extra chotchkes and having the convention center sell a few thousand more $7 hotdogs?

It was really awesome that joe anybody could get into the show, but for people like me who had actual work to do, it made E3 the most frustrating weekend of the entire year.