Every time May comes around there are many interesting things happening in the entertainment industry. Usually it’s May sweeps in tv land with shows finishing up for the year with special guests or cliffhanger season finales. It can also be a big occasion at the theaters as the big blockbuster movies begin to start showing. So it comes as a surprise when I mention to people that E3 is coming around in mid-May and they have a look of shock or awe on their faces as if they don’t understand what the heck I’m talking about. For those in the video game industry or gamers who enjoy video games, E3 is the biggest event on their calendars.
History:
During the mid 90s the electronic industry was really beginning to flourish. You had the VCR, larger televisions coming out, CDs and walkmen all making huge strides in how we use technology for entertainment purposes. Another huge success was the larger fanbase for video games in North America with such successful companies as Nintendo and Sega leading the way. Video games were generally shown at the Consumer Electronic Show(CES) every year but soon they became too popular for their own good and unfortunately there wasn’t enough room for them at CES anymore.
With the success of video games constantly growing the need for a major standalone American video game convention was becoming ever more apparent.The Interactive Software Developers Association (ISDA) realized this success and in 1995 the video game industry had their first official Electronic Entertainment Expo.Formed in 1994, the IDSA is a trade association that represents companies that publish video games and computer games.
It also represents the game industry’s interest in Washington with policy issues, intellectual property rights, and content regulation. In addition, the organization runs an anti-piracy program on a worldwide basis and protects software copyrights on the Internet. The IDSA is also credited for creating the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) in 1994.
What is E3?(Simplified)
Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is an annual video game trade show event that is viewed my thousands every year and is the showcase for new product releases or unveilings. In other words, it’s the one place to see the newest video game systems or software releases in the upcoming year before they hit the market.It is considered by many to be the single most important international event for the marketing of video and computer games.
Who attends E3?
E3 is a “trade show,” meaning it is open only to members of the video game and entertainment industry. Distributors, developers, publishers, media, job hopefuls, and celebrities all file into huge caverns to see the latest in video game entertainment. What this means is that unless you’re a member of the media or ‘know somebody’ that ‘knows somebody’ you’re unfortunately out of luck.
Where is E3 held?
E3 is held every year sometime in the month of May at the Los Angeles Convention Center where it has a contract with the convention center until 2012. One of the other reasons for it being in LA at this particular convention center is due to it being one of the very few convention centers that can actually hold the amount of people and equipment of the magnitude that is E3.
If you want to see how big it is check out this aerial map and see for yourself.
What is so interesting about this trade show anyways?
Aside from the fact that you will see the latest and greatest in the world of video games for the foreseeable future, there is also the fun in watching major companies try to compete with each other or one-up each other every year. Video game companies and manufacturers are very ruthless and in recent years with such big companies such as Microsoft stepping into the gaming industry the every shrinking profits pie gets smaller and smaller and thus companies try with increasing effort to ‘one-up’ each other at the event by either trying to plant speculation or show off their products first to beat the competition. It’s quite funny to watch. Aside from that there is simple fact that what you see at E3 will be the changing of not only gaming but technology and electronics themselves for the next 4-5 years.
Who shows products at E3?
Generally it’s the big companies in recent years such as Microsoft,Sony,Sega or Nintendo showcasing the latest hardware while software manufacturers and developers such as Electronic Arts or Ubi Soft showcase the latest games to come out soon on the market.
How much do companies put into this event to showcase what they got?
Well, like I said,an ever shrinking piece of the pie so companies have more to lose or gain and thus put in plenty of money into their booths at the show. Companies like Sony or Nintendo will put close to 8 million dollars into their booths to make sure they get the attention that they deserve as the gaming industry made close to 10 billion dollars last year beating out both the movie and music industries.
So,aside from gaming hardware and software,what else goes on at this event?
There are many things that go on during the event. Free prizes such as t-shirts or free gear and software is handed out. Most of the major booths have huge demos of certain games where you can not only view certain games but get to test them out as well and see if they’re any good or not.
There are also certain exhibitions you can go to see that might have stuff to do with the gaming industry such as a history of video games showcase or a conference on the transformation of technology if you’re into that sort of thing. There’s also free food and drink samples from companies in recent years such as mountain dew as well as autograph signings from celebrities that might have their voices or likeness in a game with examples in recent years such as action superstar Bruce Willis a few years ago.
There are also parties at night for certain developers efforts all year that you can attend with free drinks and food handed out if you’re lucky enough to get into one of them. In recent years major bands have played at or near the show and of course ever beautifully paid models walk around the showroom floor and get to hang out with people to promote games which doesn’t hurt and is a nice bonus.
So what is so special about E3 2005?
Well, every year I keep saying that E3 2000,2001,2002,2003,2004 was The best E3 ever and there is a reason why I say this. I say it for the simple fact that every year the Electronic Entertainment Expo manages to out do itself from the previous year. For the first time ever in 2005 we have 3 successful gaming franchises competing against each other for gaming glory. We have Microsoft with the Xbox, Sony with the Playstation and Nintendo with their new system codenamed ‘Revolution’.
For the first time ever we also have two handheld companies competing against each other with Sony’s PSP taking on Nintendo’s DS system. You can also expect some of the biggest gaming franchises to be playable at this year’s E3 with games like The Legend Of Zelda and Quake 4 to be at the show. Of course there are also surprises and who knows what else might happen with E3 less than a month away so stay tuned and soon the evnt will be over for me to give my review of this year’s show.
For a more complete year by year history of E3 and to see what has transpired every year since 1995, please visit http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=209 or http://www.e3insider.com/index.htm for the complete rundown.
[ratings]