Tomorrow begins E3 in Los Angeles. E3 stands for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, which is the games industry's huge trade show that takes over the LA convention center for 3 days each May.
Having been to six E3's in the last 8 years, I decided that I could afford to skip this year's, even if so far, it does look like it will be one of the best, with the revealing of the 3 new next-generation consoles. Part of my reasoning for skipping the show this time around has to do with being jaded at what the games industry has become, and how E3 reflects that . While you do get to see a lot of great games in development and ready for the market, what you see a lot of the time are the same kinds of games.
Sequelitis and Copycat Games
I didn't join the games industry to make cookie cutter games, but more and more that is all that publishers are developing for the masses. As games get more expensive and as technology pushes the boundary between games and movies, publishers have become increasing risk-averse, and as a result, they are unwilling to invest money into a game that isn't a guaranteed best-seller. This, of course, explains why so many games are simply sequels instead of original game titles. At E3, one will find that the vast majority of games are sequels or games that could be sequels.
Media Badges
It used to be that the majority of companies had a "open booth" policy, meaning everyone was free to come take a look at their game. In more recent years, more and more showings of games have become "closed booth". Of course, when they said closed booth, what they really meant was "we want people with Media Badges to see our game, and the rest of you can go to hell". With the rise of the internet, most of these showings have now become "By Appointment Only", since
any kid with a game website can get a Media Badge now. On the plus side, since Media gets to view these games usually before attendees, I've actually found that the major websites cover the show pretty well, and much more indepth than I ever could.
Line-Waiting
One of the more recent trends at E3 is the small-venue theater-style presentation. Square was one of the first companies to do presentations in this style. Imagine a professional-grade home theater that seats 40 people. Now, imagine a presentation that takes 10 minutes to complete. Now, take into account that there are thousands of people at E3, and these booths become an exercise in line-waiting. Two years ago, the demonstration for Half-Life 2 was a 3 hour line.
Looping Movies
Every major company at the show has a booth with a huge TV, LCD, plasma, or LED movie screen showing a reel of their games (or rather their game cinematics) which loop repeatedly at deafening decibel levels. God help you if you happen to be next to Konami's booth (they have the hugest crowds typically for their cinematics) or EA (who have the loudest most sound obnoxious booth)
Tired Feet
After walking all day long at E3, lugging around a bag filled with literature from various companies, your feet and shoulders are sore and raw. With the exception of the small venue theaters, there are few occassions to sit down and rest.
There are, of course things that I will miss -- seeing the latest and greatest games, having the opportunity to dine in LA (not in the convention center), comparing notes on games after the show, getting free magazines and goodies, and playing Carcassonne in the hotel bar at night.
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