The ESA's official "We hate you" to small game developers

[A Black Falcon]

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.

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...) :)