An E3 thought mid-flight

Posted By: R.James

E3: The flight
It’s about 10am New York time. I’m rocketing towards the biggest event the gaming industry has each year, ready to bask in what, we (yes, the royal ‘we’) hope will be akin to E3’s of old. And what’s the thought going through my head?

“I feel like a little kid who’s just won the max amount of tickets possible from the ski-ball machine.”

I can remember back the last couple of years, when I was still in college. Every summer, I would follow the upcoming E3 coverage via Gamspot.com (they were the best and only source at the time…before G4 got top billing.) Those were the days when Rich Gallup and Jeff Gerstmann (love for GiantBomb.com) were at the helm of the stage show, leading it valiantly through the three days of utter bedlam. It was a smorgasbord of information that took a tremendous effort to sift through. But they did it with a great amount of professionalism: talking to all the developers, the publishers, highlighting the trailers, the stage demos, and on and on.

I swallowed up every bit of information I could get from them because I wanted to be absolutely sure I knew every detail about every game that was coming out in the fall. And now I’m going to be there, amidst the braking news, the stage demos, and perhaps a booth babe or two.

But, as it goes with editorial pieces such as this, I’m required to play devil’s advocate: how much I’m really going see by being on the floor. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Dude, you’re at E3! You’re going to see EVERYTHING. What are you gripping about?” Permit me to explain: It’s been announced that over 40,000 people are slated to attend this event, which includes industry professionals in video games, film, and tv (as well as a slew of other related industries). And with that in mind, I expect nothing less than for things to be crazy, nuts, erratic, busy, and even a little messy at times. But it’s the kind of mess that can only be re E3. It has no other name and needs no other label (or anyone to tell it otherwise).

However, my gripe is related, in no small part, to the very outlets I mentioned earlier in the article: The Press. The press is going to be all over the place, with each media outlet having its own booth and floor coverage team pumping its own feed to computers and TVs all over the world. This event is going to be covered from each and every angle and side. It’s going to be scrutinized, compared, contrasted, and critiqued by every news and enthusiast network, blog, and internet emporium from now until 2010. Is it really possible I could see less from the floor than I would from my home? Is it possible that the show could be less fun from deep within the mire than watching on my computer monitor at home?

Maybe. But something tells me the chances of it are slim. While I may not get controller time with every game that’s going to be on the floor (and the list is long and distinguished), the upshot is I actually get the chance to play the games. Not watch them from home, but pick up a sword and go raid the castle. To play unreleased games at the holy grail of video-gamedom, that sets my geek heart a flutter.
I also believe E3 will deliver on what it absolutely, one hundred percent, missed the mark on the last two years: being a convention that defines the industry for the current year. Shows like PAX are great for the public. But a public event serves a whole different purpose. Public events like PAX are almost a way of thanking the public for being a fan; a constant supporter of the industry. It’s a way to give bring the public into the inner sanctum of the gaming world and see some of their favorite companies (and developers) wares up close.
E3 is not about that (although the media presence might fool you into thinking otherwise). E3 is about sales. It’s about the setup for the fall buying season. It’s about showing retailers what’s coming down the pipeline. It’s about a lot of hype and games in alpha and beta stages of development. It’s about having absolutely no expectations whatsoever. And you know what, I’ll be happy for every second of it I get to enjoy of it.

I look forward to seeing what Heavy Rain has to offer and if Quantic Dreams can succeed in making the player feel totally wrapped up in the world they’ve created both physically and (more importantly) emotionally (can a video game make you cry?). I really look forward to seeing Altaier’s alter ego lay down a few Renaissance inspired Jason-Bourne-esque smack downs. I can’t wait to see what’s become of Cmd. Sheppard and discover if the vacuum of space is any friendlier to human kind this time around (and what alien race we feel inclined to play “I’ll show you mine” with).

I am ready to give Uncharted a second chance, after the first game continuously brought me within a stones-throw of launching my PS3 remote directly into the center of my TV screen. I’m also interested in getting an up-close look at the PSP GO! even though I’m not impressed with the location (or quantity) of the analog nub. Doesn’t that thing look like it’s a little too crammed into the center of that device?

But most of all I’m excited just to be there. After so many years of watching the proceedings unfold on a Gamespot or G4 or IGN, it will awesome to finally be within walking distance of all of their booths and the games I’m so ready to get down to playing.
It’s an event that will define the future of gaming and the future of the ESA, for better or worse. And I am ready to be there, my camera pointed every which way, my fingers flying across the keys with news to share, soaking up every little bit of information I can and waiting to see how history remembers E3 2009.

(Currently somewhere over the middle of the country. I’d be more specific, but my JetBlue TV screen offed itself about 20 minutes ago.)
(Update: The screen just came back on and we are currently half way across Kansas.)