This is by no means an in-depth article on the pros and cons of the now nearly defunct Electronic Entertainment Exposition, it is simply my personal view on the subject.
For those of you caught unawares by this, the big three (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) have decided that they no longer wish to pour all of their efforts into the gaming convention, and instead are heavily considering holding their own independant showcasings.
This is, in my humble opinion, a poor move for the sake of the gamers. E3 was an opportunity for the public to see the companies products held up against one another. It is one thing for Sony to glorify itself when no competition is nearby. It is far different to see multiple next-gen articles side-by-side.
Microsoft and Sony both complain that time restraints prevent proper preparation of good games for the show, so many are overlooked. Boo fuckitty hoo for you. It isn't as though the convention sneaks up, unexpected every year. Poor planning leads to poor preparation.
I don't deny that multi-million dollar boothes are\ inneficient. That money should be used for more wide-spread
advertisement. However, no one forces you to deck the place out in
chrome,
platinum, and
lasers.
Focus more on the product and less on the presentation, and the cost won't be such an issue.
I agree, however, that far too many people showed up under the guise of being reporters. The invitation-only status of future expos is likely a wise move. This will cut atendance from 30,000 to about 5,000, which allows actual reporters and industry analysts to better understand the situation.
My biggest problem with the current moves is the independant conventions that will probably be held by EA, M-soft, etc... This will allow the companies to make every game (including the intensely bad ones) appear to radiate pure awsomosity. There will be mass confusion because all games will seem to be "gotta-buy" titles.
I am no industry expert. I don't attend E3, because trained professionals do so and tell me what they saw. Perhaps if the gaming community had been slightly more reasonable, we wouldn't be here anyway.