As with many a show before it, this year's E3 has come and gone. However, unlike with the shows from previous years, this year I am left with some new and somewhat unhappy feelings. Gone are the days where for weeks after the show I still had new things to talk and think about. Likewise, gone is the victorious feeling of conquering (okay, attending) a spectacle of an event that for one week brought everyone who was even remotely involved in the game industry together. Although this year's show was productive, it just lacked the sparkle, the flair and the pizzazz that made E3, E3.

For the record: I have never been in favor of downsizing the old show, and when I first heard the news, I honestly thought that it was some sort of joke that the ESA was playing on the industry. Additionally, as a game developer but also as a fan of gaming in general, I willingly admit that I have always loved the E3. It's not just for the games or the event itself; it's just something about the whole idea behind it. This may sound weird, but it's true.

That being said, it really broke my heart to walk through the LACC this year and to not see it overflowing with banners, loud noises, people, and the sort of atmosphere that a multi-billion dollar industry such as ours brings with it. There were no lines to get into the lobby or to get my badge holder, there weren't any people shuffling about quickly as they tried to make their next meeting, and there wasn't a sense of awe that used to come with the opening of each show. No more armies of companies lining up outside of the convention center to give away swag before you could even get through the door, no more armies of somewhat unscrupulous women giving out free passes to the Spearmint Rhino gentlemen's club, and even no more Army in general. That's right, no more U.S. Army, putting on their token display of awesomeness by parking their Hummers and soldiers outside of the LACC in order to promote themselves and their games.

Sure, much of this has nothing to do with what really matters, the games themselves, but it does leave a void somewhere deep down, as all of these things were just part of a larger picture of what E3 used to be. It was a spectacle, complete with all of the color, noise, and showmanship that you could expect from our industry. It was all window dressing to keep those who were on the outside looking in excited, and to keep them talking about what did matter, the games. By creating a whirlwind of excitement, content and coverage, E3 generated a sort of critical mass that just could not be duplicated by any other means. That was the true spectacle of E3, and it's going to be hard to get it back if we continue on this course.

By scaling down the core of the show, the ESA effectively also dismantled all of the peripheral excitement that gravitated around it. This very same excitement is the secret ingredient that the E3 is now missing, and we need to get it back. How do we do this? Scale it back up! Bring back the outrageous booth designs and multiple show floors, bring back the old pass system (invitation-only is counterproductive), bring back the May show dates, bring back world premieres and exclusive announcements, bring back the Show Daily, and just in general bring back the world. Did I mention that we should also bring back the Booth Babes? Yes, bring them back too! It's sort of like the movie Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come. In our case though, we would actually be rebuilding. Regardless, all we have to do is to recapture that vibrant mass that we once had, and the people and the press will flock back to a show that will once again be relevant to our industry.

But what about evolving the show?

Absolutely, let's do it! Let's make E3 a show that not only caters to us, but to the consumer as well. Let's extend the exhibition from a 3-day show floor to a 5-day show floor, and let's let the consumers in! Why not? It works for the Tokyo Game Show. Why not combine the E3 with the E-For-All, and re-brand the last two days of the show as the latter? We could kill two birds with one stone. We would generate more press and consumer coverage than ever before, and we would reduce the crowding on the industry-only days. We could finally have one decisive and pivotal industry show that would weave together everything that we're about, and even give the consumers a taste of it. I ask again, why not?

This question and many more must be answered and acted upon by the ESA before it’s too late. If not, we're liable to lose more than just an iconic tradeshow. To those who disagree, I pose the following question (again):

How can an industry that is as large and as global as ours not have one singular, over-the-top event to showcase itself to the world?

It’s my hope that the extremely talented and capable leaders/decision makers of the ESA will take these questions and ideas into consideration, as we need to do something. The E3 wasn’t broken before, but somewhere along the way someone decided that it needed to be. Now, it’s our job to put it back together, only this time we have the opportunity to improve it.

We’d better… Or we risk losing our stage to the world.

  (Then...)

(Now...)