News
Is E3 Worth It Still?
Cordova, TN May 21, in the
year of our Lord 2013 -- This article is part one of a
planned two part feature on the Electronic Entertainment Expo
(E3). The goal is to explore the viability of E3. Is this show
still needed? Does it need to retire? What can be done to
improve it? What is the general mood of attendees? E3 2013 will
be my sixth straight year covering the event on site. Normally
after the event is over with I come home exhausted. I tell my
family I never want to do that again. And then months later I am
interested in attending again.
This year is different though. Before the show has even started
I am questioning why I am even attending. I am seriously looking
at covering it from Memphis, TN next year. Maybe skip the show
two straight years (2014, and 2015). This makes me wonder if I
am going to be interested in attending E3 ever again. It is a
monster pain going to Los Angeles, CA and attending in person.
There is also a high cost associated with that event. There is
airfare, hotel, food, and transportation. Sony is being a pain
this year.
Every single year I have been to E3 I have gotten lost. Whether
I rented a car, took the bus, shuttle, Metro, or walked. The
design of the city is not intelligent. The signs, and
explanations make little to no sense. - that is if you can read
them. I have had to sleep in airports thanks to airline
mistakes. Our team is always on a time crunch, fighting to get
band width, and dealing with all kinds of rude people. Companies
like 2K Play are bowing out of the show. Companies like Nintendo
are scaling way back. Companies like THQ, and Atari are bankrupt
and gone. I can't help but wonder if they did not spend all that
money on previous years, if they could have survived as a
company. Are other companies cutting back to stay financially
viable?
I would rather accept advertising dollars from Nintendo,
Microsoft, Sony, and a plethora of other companies; than to have
all of us waste so much money to see a few games a little bit in
advance. Technology has gotten to the point where we can watch
videos, download demos, chat across the Internet and more. The
need to be face to face for many of these things has been
diminishing. I am beginning to question if E3 is still needed?
Is it still viable?
There are other shows that happen over weekends like PAX, and
Comic Con. I am interested in checking them out in future years.
Covering E3 from Memphis in the future will allow me the
financial resources to attend these other events. Plus it will
allow Family Friendly Gaming to network into different areas.
- Paul Bury
- Family Friendly Gaming