Insert word stronger than "hate" at your discretion...
Quote:"Dear Valued E3Expo Exhibitor,
As you may have read in the enclosed Press Release, the 2007 E3Expo has been officially cancelled. As the industry has evolved and matured over the past 12 years, the needs of the exhibitors and key attendees have also changed. To address this change, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced a new event tentatively scheduled for July 2007.
Details of the event have not been finalized at this time, however our vision and goal is to create a more intimate climate for personalized meetings and product demonstrations. The ESA will announce additional details and information in the ensuing weeks and months.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere and profound gratitude for your past support of this event. It has been exciting and rewarding to see the growth and significance of this industry mirrored on the exhibit floor of the E3Expo through the years. We look forward to many more years of industry growth, vitality and opportunity.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Dolaher
Vice President"
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/esa-bac...192814.php
Because everyone knows that good games only come from major publishers, and game impressions worth paying attention to only come from major industry publications, right?
The industry sure knows so, because that's exactly what the new "E3" is. If you're not a big publisher or a major publication, you're irrelevant and unwelcome.
:( :(
Well that was a non-answer. What sort of motivational speaker do they hire to come up with this stuff? Who falls for this?
Notice how they don't say anything about welcoming the smaller vendors who would get messages like this into the new E3, it's "We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere and profound gratitude for your past support of this event" is noticably lacking in "and we would like to see you again in the future", and "our vision and goal is to create a more intimate climate for personalized meetings and product demonstrations." is not exactly a concept compatible with a model that would work for the numerous smaller companies that relied wholly on people coming past their booths for attention, not previously set up meetings with specific members of the press...
Intimate personalized meetings?
...
What does that exactly mean in a frickin' business setting? Paying off professional review sites?
I'm actually not all that upset about the decision really, I mean I'll get the news I want though it does suck to be the little guy. However, this is not exactly forward and up front about it. Just tell the truth.
Well, Gencon is expanding and going to the LA Convention Center, but somehow I doubt that it'll be anywhere near the 540,000 square feet of floor space that E3 used... :)
http://www.planetgamecube.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=11894
Quote:GEN CON PICKS UP WHERE E3 LEAVES OFF; LARGEST HOBBY GAME CONVENTIONS TO EXPAND VIDEO GAMES FOCUS
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2006--Gen Con, LLC today announced its plans to expand the offerings of the company's gaming shows. Gen Con will increase venue space and change a location to better incorporate the video game business as a focus of the Gen Con shows. This will give video game manufacturers, developers, publishers and others, who traditionally attended E3, a place to feature their products to the trade, media and consumers alike.
"When the news came out about the drastic changes at E3, we began to hear from some industry players about Gen Con increasing its capabilities to better accommodate the industry," said Peter Adkison, CEO of Gen Con, LLC. "With our vast experience in producing quality gaming shows, it is a natural extension for us to make Gen Con a place where the electronic industry can show off its products. The video game business has always been a part of our shows, now they will have a greater presence making Gen Con the nation's premier gaming show, period!"
In order to better accommodate the video game business into its existing shows, Gen Con will expand its venue space at the Indianapolis show in 2007. An additional 43,000 square feet will be added to the exhibit hall with additional space expanding into area hotels as well to accommodate the thousands of games taking place over the four-day event.
Gen Con So Cal, the companies' show held in Anaheim will be moved to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2007. This move will better serve the entertainment industry, so prevalent in the gaming industry and more importantly make Gen Con more accessible to consumers who wish to see the latest and greatest in all things gaming.
"We are absolutely delighted to expand our relationship with Gen Con. This is a fantastic opportunity for our city to host this exciting new show," said Michael Krouse, Vice President of Convention Sales of The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.
About Gen Con LLC Shows
Now in its 39th year, Gen Con "The Best Four Days in Gaming!" has become the largest annual hobby game convention in North America. It draws an avid following of attendees with an annual turnstyle attendance of over 100,000. The shows are known for product launch events and as a place where attendees participate in card games, board games, live-action roleplaying games, miniatures, computer games and more. Gen Con is open to the public and held twice. In 2006, the shows are in Indianapolis August 10-13 and Anaheim November 16-19.
In addition to the Gen Con shows, the company recently produced the Star Wars Celebration III for Lucasfilm and will do so for next year's Star Wars Celebration IV show at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 24-28, 2007. Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game convention in North America. Its operations include Gen Con Indy, Gen Con So Cal and Star Wars Celebration IV, and licensee for European Gen Con shows. It was founded in May of 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, who solely owns the company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company's mission is to create The Best Four Days in Gaming! every year for its customers. For more information visit the website at http://www.gencon.com.
LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau is a private, not-for-profit business association whose primary mission is to market the city of Los Angeles as the premier destination for conventions, meetings and leisure travel. Though not part of city government, LA INC. is recognized as the city's official tourism marketing organization. For more information, please visit http://www.seemyla.com.
Yea I hear that on tech TV as well.
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option...1&Itemid=2
Now this definitely has promise for helping the small gaming-related companies the ESA just kicked out the door (not to mention the majority of the attendees of E3 who will now doubtlessly not be able to attend)... we'll see if it goes anywhere.
Quote:CEA Could Pick Up E3 Slack
By Kris Graft Print | Send to a friend | Email the editor
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), organizers of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), is weighing industry interest in a late spring 2007 videogame tradeshow.
ImageThe CEA has formed an advisory board that will gauge feedback on the viability of a show that would cater to smaller companies that are looking for exposure after the collapse of E3.
"Since ESA decided to eliminate the E3 event in its known format, we have been deluged with inquiries on whether we could fill the tradeshow needs of smaller video entertainment companies," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. "Our executive board met yesterday and unanimously asked staff to explore ways that we can help the gaming community."
He added that "nearly 80 percent of our members are companies with annual sales of under $10 million."
Companies such as NCsoft, Auravision and Majesco Entertainment are on board with the advisory committee, which is being led by CEA executives Karen Chupka and Dan Cole.
Since the tentatively titled "E3 Media Festival" will be "more intimate," it appears that smaller companies will miss out on the massive exposure that E3 provided in the past. A new event may be the answer for the industry's little (or at least non-giant) guys.
Chupka stated, "A major goal of this advisory committee is to generate gaming community feedback on how best to meet the needs of the industry. As long as there is desire and commitment, we are ready to service this community and will begin looking at venues in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and for appropriate partners. Should the committee recommend we move forward, we would design an event which is consistent with CES quality."
Prior to the advent of E3 in 1994, CES was the largest gaming show. Both the original Xbox and PlayStation made early appearances at CES, which typically takes place in early January.
While game-related products play a significant role at CES, a multitude of gadgets appear at the show, such as MP3 players, camcorders, cell phones, PDAs and so on.
Back to the way things were in the early '90s? Now if we could only get Nintendo to start holding its own shows again... (Shoshinkai...) :)