Gamernode: Features - The E3 Convention: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The E3 Convention: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

We at GamerNode have all returned from E3 to our respective workstations, cluttered computer desks, day-old potato chips and various opened containers of caffeinated drinks. Ah, it,s good to be home.

During our stay in L.A., after each day of hard work in covering the massive E3 convention floors, we traded notes and experiences of what occurred during the day. Among the evaluations, laughter and camaraderie, it was apparent from our discussions that there were winners, losers and disappointments at the convention.

We,ve capsulated our staff,s observations in this report.

The GamerNode staff had a late night session where we stayed up until 4AM trying to get GamerNode 3.0 launched from our hotel room. During this mind-numbing endurance test, a few of the staff started to whistle the theme from Clint Eastwood,s classic spaghetti western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Soon the room was full of individuals who tried to whistle or sing the tune. It was not a pretty sight. But from this incident of mass hysteria and tired bodies, we have named this piece: GamerNode Reports: E3--The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good: Out of the whole convention, nothing captured the interest of gamers and press more than the unveiling of Nintendo,s Wii. This, by far, was the biggest surprise of the convention as people lined up for up to 4 ½ hours for a chance to see, touch, and play with Nintendo,s Wii. Our bravest of the brave, Mitch West, volunteered for the assignment and proclaimed, "I,ll be there tomorrow, standing in line at 7:30AM! I will be there!" We all applauded and thanked our lucky stars that none of us had to get up at such an unholy hour. (Our 12 hour work days during E3 probably had something to do with our aversion to getting up so early.) The next day, sure as shooting, Mitch was off and running to obtain his spot in the Wii queue. Upon returning, he showed us some awesome photos and videos of the Wii. Needless to say, he was entirely impressed and was giggling like a school girl... not that there is anything wrong with giggling school girls. We were convinced. The Wii is wonderful.

There was so much to cover and so little time to do it in as we rushed from one appointment to another to meet various representatives and officials from game companies and developers. It was an incredible experience to see and hear, firsthand, what the developers and game companies were doing. The exhibits were generally astounding as each vendor was trying madly to draw the press and game public into their respective sections. There were live bands, flashing lights, gigantic posters, life-sized statues, loud music and booth babes that couldn,t be real with their perfectly dressed attire, flashing smiles and drop-dead good looks.

The sheer volume of sensory overload had most of us reeling with excitement and gratefulness that we were, at last, at E3. But on the last day of E3, when we were all packed and ready to go home, one aspect of the convention seemed to override all of the great experiences that we encountered during our stay-we all became closer as a group. Working with your co-workers is one thing, but getting to know them better and to call them your friends is an entirely different matter. As we all said our goodbyes, a deep sense of fellowship permeated all of us. Yes, being at E3 was great, but discovering a new respect and friendship for all the staff at GamerNode was perhaps the best experience of all. How can you not love a bunch of guys that work as hard as they play?

The Bad: While practically every game publisher in the universe was there, GamerNode took time out to visit the less visible game companies as well. These publishers either had an extremely tight budget that could not possibly compare or match the mega-bucks that the big companies such as Microsoft, EA, Sony or Nintendo had at their disposal. We walked by the smaller exhibits and saw how they were basically swallowed up by the sheer number of competitors. The little guys put on a brave face, but in this day of high profile games, the small companies don,t stand much of a chance of gaining media attention. We walked into one such place, and the game reps were either in total shock or disbelief as we entered their cubicle. Their faces seemed to say to us, "Just what are you doing here when the big exhibits are over there?" We had a few words with them, and the game reps were more than happy to accommodate us, as they probably hadn,t seen any traffic in their area for quite a long while. After our session with them, we shock hands and left. No doubt, they were wondering why we entered their cube. But that,s an easy one to answer. It was because they loved games and that alone, qualified them for a visit from GamerNode.

One other thing that was a primary topic during our debriefing sessions, after working the E3 floors, was the extraordinary lack of swag available. Swag is a term used by the mob to connote stolen goods. Somehow, "swag" has made it into the gamer,s vocabulary, but with a less sinister meaning-freebies.

Of course, your GamerNode staff has our readership first in our minds, but the possibility of gaining oodles of swag for our efforts at E3 was making some of us giddy. Visions of free demos, cool toys, posters, and trinkets danced mightily in our heads, but it was not to be. After each day of pounding miles and miles of carpeted floors, we opened our swag bags and came up with a few baseball caps, a yo-yo, and tons of written literature. Written literature?! We thought this was a gaming convention; not a librarians convention! Ah, but alas, we finally realized that the bulk of simoleans that the game companies spent were on their displays, with little or no thought to making available swag for greedy little hands.

The Ugly: We walked by a man who seemed to think he was a barker for a circus. He was yelling at the people passing by, "Hey! HEY! HEY!!! This is HOT! Come on. You know you want to see it! HOT! HOT! HOT!" We looked pass him and saw what he was pointing to. We saw. We looked. We walked away without much interest, as many others did so after us. Just what was this man trying to get the public excited about?

Way above his head in three foot tall block letters was the answer: Playstation 3. The sight was surreal. Here was Sony,s flagship next-gen console and hardly a passerby stopped to look into the glass case with Playstation 3 consoles. Upon moving past the exhibit, a room opened up to various kiosks with working PS3s-unseen and behind the displays. All that was available to view were the controllers.

Several of us picked up the PS2 look-alike units and were amazed to find how flimsy and light they felt. The next "dual shock" for us, as it were, were the games themselves. We looked at five or six next-gen titles for the PS3. "Is this it?" we wondered. These games, if not for the graphics, could easily be mistaken for PS2 titles. Where was the innovation, the new concepts, the big promise of the best next-gen console out there?

Those of us who covered the PS3 camp were mystified, if not downright distraught, over the unveiling of the machine. It was upsetting to see Sony flounder and fritter away a golden opportunity to showcase their next-gen console. But upon further thought and discussion, perhaps this is as good as it gets. Perhaps this is all that Sony could come up with. And perhaps, this is the beginning of the end for the PS3.

The Conclusion: As pure gamers at heart, we felt extremely privileged to be able to attend the convention. We worked hard, we laughed hard, and we had aching feet, but nothing will ever replace the friendships that were developed and enhanced while we were there at a little something called E3.

(Editor's Note: This feature originally appeared on GamerNode on May 15, 2006.)

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
•