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How long does E3 have before its irrelevant?

That's like asking when CES is going to be no longer relevant. It will always be relevant as long as video games are selling. Its form might change with more companies doing video instead of on the stage demonstrations. It might be irrelevant for gamers but it's not irrelevant for the industry.
 
Kobun Heat said:
At this point, it's purely for production value. Everyone should realize this. There's near-zero benefit as a writer to actually being in the room. If anything, the shitty wi-fi and cramped theater seating stops you from actually getting your work done - the news stories are posted by the home teams watching on live stream now, who can screencap images and rewind if necessary. (I'm so old that I remember when this was not the case.) The theatrical performances are for show.
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You're not the first E3 attendee I see making these points, I'm seeing a trend here.
 
I think a single major event will always be there. Look at Mobile World Conference (next month) or CES. All those companies have their own events, but there is something about a global main event that attracts a lot of attention. I think it will always be around (or be succeeded by a bigger event).
 
I hope it just gets bigger and bigger. E3 is what christmas was to me as a child. Its just this massive event i look forward to directly after the current one just ended.
 
i managed to get press passes for this year...so if its going to fall out of favor in the industry let it happen next year. lol
 
Yeah you guys, that expo that has been going 20 years+ strong in an industry that is currently flourishing totally has only 2 to 4 years left in it until publishers abandon it and (somehow more cheaply??) set up their own events and press days sporadically throughout the year. That'll certainly make it more convenient to get the attention of gaming press and the audience alike instead of one centralized event.
 
It's reaching audiences in a new way thanks to Twitch, streamer commentaries, reaction videos, etc:

It shows that Twitch is still on an upward trajectory, with over 21 million unique viewers this E3 compared to 12 million in 2014 and around 9.5 million back in 2013. Those 21 million viewers together watched nearly 12 million hours of E3 content.
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E3 is a critical mass around which streamers and the media can congregate. I wouldn't be surprised to see its relevance grow to be honest.
 
Justified said:
We are seeing companies having their own gaming convention; Nintendo and now EA having a reduce or no presents at all (along with a few others); and CES still there to fall back on to have the media cover new hardware, and other ventures.
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Last year had 3 new press conferences. Nintendo is just cheaping out in general. And there's a reason the EA event still correlates with the E3 date...

In a decade or two it might be irrelevant? Not anytime soon though.
 
Spieler Eins said:
Last year had 3 new press conferences. Nintendo is just cheaping out in general. And there's a reason the EA event still correlates with the E3 date...

In a decade or two it might be irrelevant? Not anytime soon though.
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The reason EA is doing their own thing but still close to E3 is probably because it cost them less to do it that way. I'd call that cheaping out.
 
-5 years. There's some value to consolidating all the hype to one week a la CES, but for the most part these companies could all have their own press conferences any time of year and achieve the same effect.
 
The main reason E3 has less impact is because there's a LOT of similar trade show type events every 3 or 4 months now. Between PAX showings, Germany, TGS, and single developer run events they all sort of show 1/3rd of what they used to save up for Just E3 and TGS. So we get "Active Time Events" and other breadcrumb versions of updates and then random huge reveals at the big events. I miss E3 when it was in Atlanta and I could drive to it ;_;
 
Justified said:
I'm not saying E3 will not exist. Im saying irrelevant as in Publisher do not have to pay for floor space and setup huge booths,go through the ESA to fit in a schedule, and hold the big announced during those said keynotes

In the old days you had to go through E3 and CES to be seen
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If will be relevant as long as companies like Activision have booths, I don't see that changing anytime soon.
 
"Relevant" is in the mind of whoever is watching it. E3 still manages to almost crash NeoGAF every year, and there's already speculation threads brewing, so around here I would say its still very relevant.

It's sort of like the Oscars. If you don't care than it won't affect your life, but "buying in" to the hype and the grandeur is kind of fun as its own thing.
 
SweetJohnnyCage said:
Uhhhhhh....

AORkYBF.gif



UnsungFavorableAustraliancurlew.gif


These two moments still make my hair stand on end. Not just because I'm a huge GameTrailers fan and love the folks in the videos/gifs, but because it showed that we have reason to be excited for video games.



They do, it's called PSX. It's held in December.
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These moments still make me smile. Amazing stuff that brought out the kid in me again.

E3 Forever!

It's really my favorite time of year. Right before summer too
 
Very soon, at least in its current incarnation.

A lot of the people I've talked to in the industry tell me that the expenses just aren't justified anymore. Who are these booths for? The major press all schedules meetings before the show floor even opens, and all the business meetings happen in rooms on the second floor. It's no surprise EA said "fuck it, if we're gonna spend money on a booth let's do it somewhere cheaper and where actual consumers are going to be".

People also don't realize the amount of empty space that's slowly encroaching.

Now... the press conferences, those will probably remain in some form or another, but I think most will go the way of Nintendo.
 
T.Slothrop said:
-5 years. There's some value to consolidating all the hype to one week a la CES, but for the most part these companies could all have their own press conferences any time of year and achieve the same effect.
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No. The reason we look forward to E3 in a world of Nintendo Directs and PSXs is because of the fact that everyone is there. Because everyone is there, you absolutely have to bring your A game (usually) in order to stand above the crowd. That's why E3 means so much.
 
I've not cared about it in years, but the industry as a whole seems to find a lot of value in it.

If an event like this makes so many happy it's not a waste.
 
Increasingly irrelevant in a digital age. Why go to all the expense of a live stage when someone like PewDiePie probably has far more reach?
 
Well most think since its a trade show and not a consumer show, the streaming and digital age doesn't matter, or at least not make an impact.
 
It's just like how people were buying biographies of Steve Jobs when he passed away. No offense to him at all. People love to hear about the latest and greatest and then it sorta becomes their D-list again. It isn't relevant unless the conversation becomes relevant. For some of us, we don't mind. This stuff amazes us.

You have a million or so gamers who could care less and then they want those opinions to be heard. Two gamers don't think a like.

As far as relevance goes. Companies are really trying to segregate themselves. It looks great, but at times it feels a bit like you're being almost too biased.

I love in depth GDC interviews. I get really irritated when my own enjoyments are thrown back in my face or I have some odd question to answer.

I think people will care, but you'll probably see the popularity of it bring in a new mindset. The kinda person who would rather whack at the keys or whatever they're playing and pretend some small aspect of a game represents this large majority of people.

My enjoyment of Final Fantasy or JRPG OST's doesn't hurt your feelings, but I've been asked why I cared about Japanese developers. It was almost like I was being whitewashed in some ways.

I guess it'll depend on who you are. Is the North American culture going too fast for its own good? Will you see graphics beyond eye candy?

I don't think this is Sega World or whatever was left of it. I think we have too many criticisms that hover over seeing a trailer with a million or so other people. Do you agree to any extent?

I seem to feel like I live around people who bring it up, but it's like talking about new cars in some ways. I know for a fact that I want the games coming out, that I'll be interested in the news, and I know I'll play them.

I feel like I'm around people who literally want to grab all their news and information from the startup screen of Steam. They think the newest MineCraft-esque Ace of Spades should be on all our bucket list because they feel like they've somehow joined us together like John Lennon. I don't want to be consistently focused on Early Access. I want to be the gamer who buys the game without the nonsense about who I'm playing with or not.

I am looking forward to E3 this year. I kinda feel like some people around me have downplayed my own enjoyment. Sure, I get excited about it and then it feels like someone is minding me. This thread is sorta minding the enjoyment to ask "when does this end?",

It is weird because we had some amazing years (G4, SpikeTV, etc) then all of sudden we are suppose to have this revolutionary period of change or adulthood took over all of a sudden. Why would you get rid of something that actually makes gamers enjoy games? To me, you're just killing it off except for a few of the minority.
 
Not big publishers/studios, but add 2 more to the list not have a show floor presence: Disney Interactive, and Wargaming.

Now that the big boys, and girls are scaling back, the medium to small companies will have more confidence to do the same.

“From a company perspective, we’re focusing a large majority of activities on events focused on our players and community,” said Wargaming in a statement. “From a strictly business perspective, E3 just doesn’t fit our current direction.
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I think a growing number of publisher share those sentiments
 
It's not just the gaming press that cover E3- national press from various countries do too, and they are a gateway to a casual audience that anyone mentioning 'living room', 'mobile' and 'hub' in a conversation wants to target.

Stuff targeted at more specific audiences (like most games that get lauded on gaf) might well be better off spending the cash elsewhere though.
 
There will always be big, prestigious occasions for companies to show off their upcoming wares, but the core, show-floor E3 event? Days are limited, I feel. With such big players not bothering to turn up, how can it be justified as an industry event?
 
Never, because it is the only major gaming event that gets mainstream press. Newspapers and tv are not going to have people watch livestreams or sent them on a dozen separate events throughout the country. That's important for your CODs and Halo's.
 
I don't see a reason why E3 still exists. PSX should be the place to announce PS4 things, Nintendo has their Directs and Microsoft can easily make a W10/Xbox show.

Even for new hardware announcements it's becoming irrelevant imo, the PS4 reveal show was covered by almost all media (from written media to youtubers) and that was probably the only substantial gaming news for weeks, so everyone was talking about it.
The NX should have their own event before E3.

Ubisoft and EA should also do their show at some other time. Games like the new South Park game got almost no coverage in all the E3 craziness, so why should Ubisoft continue it's show on E3?

I personally like E3, but would probably prefer less shows and more quality. Sony doesn't need all their shows, just do one big one and follow the Nintendo Direct style for smaller announcements. People would be less disappointed (most recent PSX and Gamescom).
 
I love nintendo's video presentations.

Still.. I like the onstage more. There is an interaction between nintendo and feedback from the fans.

Maybe it's better to use both ways in 1 show.
 
Someone had the bright idea that E3 was irrelevant in 2007. They were wrong too, remember?

E3 will never stop being relevant because there's no better way to showcase your game besides having it on the floor for people to actually play. No "better" way of marketing than word of mouth.
 
I only care about the new and exciting announcements, not so much about the venue itself. I consume the information online and via pundits anyway, so it makes no difference to me, I guess.

I would assume games related conventions will survive, if for no other reason than seeing how other conventions still exist.

When my company sends us out to conventions it's partly to listen to the keynotes and find out about what's new, but mostly to network, meet people and exchange ideas.
 
I wonder how many people talking shit about E3 in here have actually been to E3 though? The keynote events are really just one half of the show. The actual convention is where the magic happens.
 
jaxapollo said:
Someone had the bright idea that E3 was irrelevant in 2007. They were wrong too, remember?

E3 will never stop being relevant because there's no better way to showcase your game besides having it on the floor for people to actually play. No "better" way of marketing than word of mouth.
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??? That event was endorsed by the ESA, then merged back into the main E3. So Im not sure what you are getting at, because it not like that was a show to compete against E3. (Also when they scaled back in '07, that was the ESA call, not a reaction to the industry)


Also with publisher pulling away from the show floor, "there's no better way to showcase your game besides having it on the floor" is starting to look less, and less factual.
 
I've heard it said that E3 moves in cycles of growth and contraction, with the worst being that career fair of an E3 that took place in 2007 and 2008. I can see it decreasing in size slightly this year, but it's not dying by any stretch. It's a hugely important event and will remain so at the current scale. I see no evidence of its looming irrelevancy.
 
I've been saying it is for a long time.

But what you may or may not know, is this is the first year the Figueroa Hotel will be closed during the event.

We have no where to hang out.

So, officially E3 RIP 2016
 
It's a fucking hype aggregation machine. Since most things don't leak out before they're shown on E3, it's the evtn that in many people's eyes creates videogames out of thin air. Before last year's event, Shenmue 3 did not exist. In one fell swoop, it just was.

Due to the hype element and the fact that the event can actually occasionally live up to, or exceed it (see you this june) I don't think it's time has come to pass. It's still going to be the place where big shit happens as long as Playstation and Xbox are big in the business.
 
Lemonheap said:
It's a fucking hype aggregation machine. Since most things don't leak out before they're shown on E3, it's the evtn that in many people's eyes creates videogames out of thin air. Before last year's event, Shenmue 3 did not exist. In one fell swoop, it just was announced.
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ftfy

And nintendo is still there, they may do a conference this year too for NX
 
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