I don't REALLY start thinking about it much until I start seeing how publishers are positioning products marketing-wise in December at the Game Awards. That often tells me a lot about what we're gonna see in the spring, versus what will still need to show at E3 the following year.
I start really zeroing in on it a bit more when spring training hits, as that's the last HUGE thing for me, in terms of time off from work, before E3.
Star Wars Celebration is now inserted in there, as well, though they're skipping it next year. Sigh ...
... so yeah, I'm now fully locked in on E3, which is now only two months away. A little less, actually.
As has been happening the last couple years, the major press conferences are spreading out more and more, as publishers jockey to dominate the news cycle for at least a day each before the show starts on the Tuesday of E3 week. We now have EA going on Saturday, MS and Bethesda on Sunday, and I'm assuming, Ubi and Sony on Monday. I'd love to see PC Gamer Show return, as well. With Monday wide open now, maybe they could slot in early? I dunno. That's usually Microsoft's spot, but they've jumped to the day before, so who knows what the hell is gonna happen now?
And E3 is changing. They're now open to the public, publishers are setting up their own nearby events, some publishers have returned, and the online viewership is higher than ever. I love it.
Where once it was an event that a lot of read about a month or more later in a printed magazine, everything from the nature of the vertical slice demos (more and more, they're just recorded videos) to the cost and bombast of the pressers (they're bigger and louder than ever) is totally different, and that's not even bringing up the 'live at E3' streams that have cropped up in the last decade.
I remember first 'watching' E3 on G4TV. I actually went a couple years, before ever watching it at home, and I gotta tell ya, watching it at home is better, though I am ever-thankful for the context that actually having gone has provided me. If you've never gone, and you love games, just go at least once. It's fucking rad, and if you're working, be prepared to lose about 10 pounds. For real.
I'm really curious to see how the show and its attached pressers/events 'feel' when there's more breathing room.
And for the uninitiated, E3 is really two distinct parts. First, there's the 'PRE3 Pressers,' as I call them, where each of the major publishers (Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda, and Sony) takes the stage and announces the announcements that leaked the week before.
The second part, the actual 'E3' floor show, runs Tuesday through Thursday that week. That's where you see all the live demos and shit.
So, I'm really curious to see how this year feels. It'll be fun.
I'm also curious to see how the show evolves in other ways. I think one thing that they can do is chase after more of the PC indies. The console 'indies' get plenty of love by being propped up by the console holder, so it'd be nice to see games like Wasteland 3 and Pillars of Eternity 2 get some love. This is as much on the press outlets as it is the show organizers.
I think it may also be time to check against the original purpose of the show, which was to hype games and gaming-related products to press outlets and retailers. While I'm not opposed to allowing the general public into the show, I think maybe they should restrict the hours or days in which the general public can attend. I promise you, the general public being in attendance is going to be a problem this year.
But we'll see.
I think, over the next several weeks, I'm going to do a column or two on what I wanna see at the show this year, as well as some previews of products that I know are going to be there, about which I'm excited. Good times.
What about you? What's got you stoked for E3 this year?
-Blaine
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