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Moore: E3 Must “Go Big or Go Home”
By Tom Ivan
July 25, 2008
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“Let’s invite the community. With the right planning, involving our biggest fans in E3 would bring back some of the raw passion the event has lost”
“That is the predicament that E3 now finds itself in as the dust settles from last week’s summit,” says EA Sports chief Peter Moore in a new post on his blog. “There was a palpable sense of frustration at the structure and logistics from all participants, from publishers like ourselves to the working press and financial analysts.
“Soulless and lacking an epicenter, the fragmented layout gave no indication whatsoever that we are the fastest growing entertainment medium in the world. While I am not sure I want to revert back to the old days of excess and one-upmanship, I do know that this format isn’t working.”
Moore joins a number of major execs, analysts and industry commentators in criticizing the structure of this year’s downsized E3 event, but says he’s confident that the industry can work with the event’s organizer, the Entertainment Software Association, to make things right.
“There are important meetings ahead that we think will be substantive and be productive in finding the right path forward.
“Let’s invite the community. With the right planning, involving our biggest fans in E3 would bring back some of the raw passion the event has lost.”
Earlier this week the ESA confirmed plans to host the E3 Media and Business Summit again next year, but made no mention of how the event might differ from 2008’s.
"We just need to decide where the dial needs to go," ESA boss Michael Gallagher told the San Francisco Chronicle recently.
I agree with Peter here, but I don't see what the fuss is over reverting back to the old format. There was nothing wrong with the old format, and any issues brought up about its purported costs are trivial. The E3 was our industry's premier event, and money should be no object. Issues of cost are irrelevant, as any substantial investments are offset by the global press and retail exposure that each exhibitor receives with its presence.
If one were to argue solely on decreasing expenditures, we could also apply the same argument to other industries. How much do the Oscars or the Detroit Auto Show cost to put on each year? It doesn't matter, because these events all pay similar dividends with regard to media and retail.
That being said, I am in favor of the ESA merging the E-For-All into the last days of E3 in order to also open the show up to the public. Word-of-mouth advertising is crucial, and there is no better way to generate it than to let the game players in on the spectacle.
As Bernie Stolar once said, "Go big, or go home!" Let's go big.
E3 needs to listen to its base! I have no idea who they are listening to, but it dosen't work at all!