The trouble with E3, is that it’s trying to be too many things, and isn’t much good at any of them. It’s a product showcase, a media circus, a business and trading forum, a social event, a debate. But it’s also none of those things.
So what function does E3 actually serve? We list the dubious benefits of E3, and how they might be generated in different, better ways.
Show Floor
If you’re going to attempt to represent a multi-billion dollar industry with a few dozen gameplay pods, you can hardly expect to be showered in plaudits.
The show floor was neither fish nor fowl. Not showy enough to impress with bigness and razzmatazz, nor even representative of the quality this business has on offer. I spent an hour or so wandering around and left uninspired, even though some good games were on show.
This sort of thing is best left to the private sector. Let IDG make the case that E For All represents good marketing value. Or publishers should spend their demo effort at retail or in the malls or on a roadshow.
Press Conferences
Press conferences are not supposed to imitate academic lectures; plodding through the various features and release dates of well-known products. They are supposed to be entertainment events, with lots of news and quotes, that inspire the media to feel good about a company or a game. There were some good press conference moments at E3, but also, some sessions dragged and went on way too long.
At press events, short and to-the-point is good. New announcements about new games are also good.
Nobody worries that they aren’t spending enough time sitting in press conferences. If you’ve got something big to announce, do like Blizzard. Make a big deal out of it and spend some money. If you haven’t, find an appropriate way to generate copy without the live event.
Live Media Coverage
Much of the information transmitted from E3 arrived to consumers via live blogs, often inane, that failed to offer anything in the way of consideration or context.
Your precious announcements are merely raw materials that are being fed into the blog-combine to generate instant traffic.
There was a time when embargoes forced editors to come up with actual angles and arguments, rather than stuff like, “Reggie is wearing a blue suit and is showing us a boring sales chart.” Use embargoes, invite only trusted journos, and ban outlets that break them, for life.