Rumour: E3 Cancelled?

1huge1

read this on revo-europe (formoly cube-europe)

In a shocking move, the event is reported to have been cancelled for next year.

Next-Gen.Biz is reporting that the Electronic Entertainment Expo, also widely known worldwide as "E3", has been cancelled for next year, as well as the forseeable future. It is understood that the event is simply not cost effective, despite being the primary media event for the gaming industry.

Publishers believe the multi-million dollar budgets would be better spent on more company-focused events that bring attention to their own product lines rather than the industry as a whole.

Well placed sources say the news that larger exhibitors were pulling out had prompted urgent meetings among publishing executives. They decided that, without the support of the larger software publishers and hardware manufacturers, there would be no point in continuing.

More on this shocking news as it breaks.

heres a link http://www.revo-europe.com/news.php?nid=9408

this would be a blow to the games industry dont ya all agree

honru

I knew banning the booth babes would have a detrimental effect.

Illkillya

Its also on slashdot and esreality... cancelled due to a lack of coverage by the press it says.

vidpic

I posted it Here aswell mods?

Sad to see it go. was something i always looked forward to.

1huge1

my appologies i really should of looked better

flogen

That blurb about publisher's finding more cost effective ways to highlight their products is newspeak for their lust to show off their goods in enviroments that they control 100% and that cannot be instantly compared to rival software.

Sad if it happens, E3 has always been a good focal point for gaming and a good publicity point too; why publishers would want to pull out of a show that is an international platform for gaming is hard to understand in any terms other than greed.

chalkitdown1

It seems the folk who first announced this story blew it all out of porportion.

It's not being cancelled, just a bit of downsizing, that's all.
Read here.

monument

Newsflash: Industry event slashed as hacks say bad things (or little) about large players

As one of the links above said, it was often portrayed as a “Sony-Microsoft-Nintendo” event, with media coverage reflecting this. One or more of the large publishers probably through their rattle out of the pram when the cost-benefit analyse came in.

To be honest, the EAs, Activisions, and Ubisofts of this world would probably be better off with more of their own localised events. A flogen said, “that they control 100% and that cannot be instantly compared to rival software”.

However, such events can be easer on journalist, and not just ones from obscure publications. With newspaper and general magazines, it is often only one person covering games, so with an event like E3 it can be hard to see half of the stuff, never mind play half of it, or never mind finding the column inches to report it.

It’s pure speculation that it was a third party publisher who started it, it could well have been Sony or Microsoft.

vidpic wrote:

I posted it Here aswell mods?

E3 is an industry wide event, so this would have been a better place to post.

chalkitdown1 wrote:

It seems the folk who first announced this story blew it all out of porportion.

It's not being cancelled, just a bit of downsizing, that's all.
Read here.

We'll see. But that was what people were saying about ECTS.

Anyway it looks like these broke it first...
http://www.mcvuk.com/newsitem.php?id=24196

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

I knew banning the booth babes would have a detrimental effect.

Banned?...

http://www.gamestoaster.com/photos/e32006/dsc00254.html
http://www.gamestoaster.com/photos/e32006/dsc00227.html
http://www.gamestoaster.com/photos/e32006/dsc00255.html
http://www.gamestoaster.com/photos/e32006/dsc00268.html

Lord Oz

Makes no difference, they already banned the booth babes.

monument

Photos above were from this year, after the so-called ban!

zAbbo

I'd rather smaller events, keeping upto date with everthing happening over the few days was tough, especially with some sites doing over 100 blog/updates a day.

Much more manageable this way

gizmo

Lord Oz wrote:

Makes no difference, they already banned the booth babes.

They weren't banned outright, they just put stricter rules in place regarding clothing...or lack thereof.

Zapp Brannigan

Maybe this will mean we won't have to wait for one week to see all the news for the coming year. Perhaps now Developers will just release news and such throughout the year?

projectmayhem

Slurms wrote:

Maybe this will mean we won't have to wait for one week to see all the news for the coming year. Perhaps now Developers will just release news and such throughout the year?

no what'll happen is sony, microsoft and nintendo will continue their big press conferences around the same 2-3 days before e3, then e3 will start up and be far more publisher/developer centric, but on a much smaller scale.

you'll find the likes of ea and ubisoft doing their own press events (like the recent ea event where valve announced stuff etc.).

you wont get all the news in the same week, but it wont be scattered throughout the year

monument

EA leading the move away from E3, claims senior source
http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=18648

Senior industry sources confirm E3 downsizing rumours
http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=18650

And ESA press release I just got...

ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES EVOLUTION OF E3EXPO FOR 2007

Washington, DC (July 31, 2006) – To better address the needs of today’s global computer and video game industry, the 2007 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3Expo) is evolving into a more intimate event focused on targeted, personalized meetings and activities, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today.

“The world of interactive entertainment has changed since E3Expo was created 12 years ago. At that time we were focused on establishing the industry and securing orders for the holiday season,” said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers and the owner of E3Expo. “Over the years, it has become clear that we need a more intimate program, including higher quality, more personal dialogue with the worldwide media, developers, retailers and other key industry audiences.”

The new E3Expo will take shape over the next several months. As currently envisioned, it will still take place in Los Angeles, described by ESA as a “great and supportive partner helping to build E3.” It will focus on press events and small meetings with media, retail, development, and other key sectors. While there will be opportunities for game demonstrations, E3Expo 2007 will not feature the large trade show environment of previous years.

“E3Expo remains an important event for the industry and we want to keep that sense of excitement and interest, ensuring that the human and financial resources crucial to its success can be deployed productively to create an exciting new format to meet the needs of the industry. The new event ensures that there will be an effective and more efficient way for companies to get information to media, consumers, and others,” said Lowenstein.

Additionally, the evolution of the video game industry into a vibrant and expanding global market has led to the creation of major events in different regions, such as the Games Convention in Leipzig, the Tokyo Game Show, and company-specific events held by Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and others around the world. As a result, Lowenstein said, “It is no longer necessary or efficient to have a single industry ‘mega-show’. By refocusing on a highly-targeted event, we think we can do a better job serving our members and the industry as a whole, and our members are energized about creating this new E3.”

Additional details about the new E3Expo event will be forthcoming in the next few months.

The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2005, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.