GameCo CEOs Who Trashed E3 2008 Now Singing a Different Tune
GameCo CEOs Who Trashed E3 2008 Now Singing a Different Tune
October 23, 2008
We couldn't help noticing that yesterday's E3 2009 press release the ESA included quotes from two of the most prominent video game industry critics of the 2008 expo.
Both John Riccitiello of Electronic Arts and Laurent Detoc of Ubisoft USA run ESA member companies, so their harsh criticisms of this year's show certainly stung the ESA. It is significant that they are on board with the new format.
Then and now, here's what Riccitiello and Detoc had to say about E3:
Riccitiello:
(July, 2008) I hate E3 like this. Either we need to go back to the old E3, or we'll have to have our own private events.
(yesterday) The E3 Expo will be the pre-eminent North American gaming show next year. The new, larger event is better for industry leaders and for serious gamers.
Detoc:
(July, 2008) E3 this year is terrible. The world used to come to E3. Now it's like a pipe-fitters show in the basement.
(yesterday) The video game business will be twice as big in 2009 as it was in 2006 when we had the last real E3 Expo - so get ready for some fireworks! The changes made will ensure that the 2009 E3 Expo conveys the best of what makes us proud as entertainment leaders.
A PUBLICATION OF THE ECA
SUBSCRIBE
LOGIN / REGISTER
Crispy Gamer
GamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:54pm
Valdearg: *sigh* I'm friends with some sad, sad people.. If they weren't such good drinking buddies.. Lmao.
Valdearg: *sigh* I'm friends with some sad, sad people.. If they weren't such good drinking buddies.. Lmao.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:54pm
DarkSaber: Pssssh, the answer is Populous.
DarkSaber: Pssssh, the answer is Populous.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:54pm
JDKJ: I'm still in the beavers. Any chance I get, I'm in the beavers. Nut-deep.
JDKJ: I'm still in the beavers. Any chance I get, I'm in the beavers. Nut-deep.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:54pm
Valdearg: Seriously? I mean.. Couldn't they have picked a different topic to argue about?
Valdearg: Seriously? I mean.. Couldn't they have picked a different topic to argue about?
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:53pm
Valdearg: Wow. Two of my friends are arguing on my facebook about whether Age of Mythology or Black and White was the better God Game...
Valdearg: Wow. Two of my friends are arguing on my facebook about whether Age of Mythology or Black and White was the better God Game...
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:52pm
DarkSaber: I was having a shower. That time of the week again. Boys Brigade? Never heard of them, but I was in the Beavers.
DarkSaber: I was having a shower. That time of the week again. Boys Brigade? Never heard of them, but I was in the Beavers.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:44pm
JDKJ: Your deafening silence says it all, Saber.
JDKJ: Your deafening silence says it all, Saber.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:39pm
JDKJ: Be honest, Saber. You were in the Boys Brigade when you were a lad, weren't you?
JDKJ: Be honest, Saber. You were in the Boys Brigade when you were a lad, weren't you?
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:39pm
DarkSaber: Also, had Schrodinger been hanging about?
DarkSaber: Also, had Schrodinger been hanging about?
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:37pm
JDKJ: And did the mice then get to playing?
JDKJ: And did the mice then get to playing?
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:35pm
DarkSaber: ah, but was it also out of the bag?
DarkSaber: ah, but was it also out of the bag?
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:33pm
JDKJ: And didn't the cat have to be curious nine times before its curiosity got the better of it?
JDKJ: And didn't the cat have to be curious nine times before its curiosity got the better of it?
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:30pm
JDKJ: Keep it real, Saber. You know your Christmas Day wouldn't be complete if you didn't have a listen to the Queen's Speech.
JDKJ: Keep it real, Saber. You know your Christmas Day wouldn't be complete if you didn't have a listen to the Queen's Speech.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:29pm
Andrew Eisen: "Curiosity killed the cat." Makes you wonder just what that cat was doing when that phrase was coined.
Andrew Eisen: "Curiosity killed the cat." Makes you wonder just what that cat was doing when that phrase was coined.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:28pm
chadachada321: And to really bring this full circle...tradition would have "Under God" omitted from the pledge, because it was only added in 54
chadachada321: And to really bring this full circle...tradition would have "Under God" omitted from the pledge, because it was only added in 54
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:27pm
Valdearg: I never understood humanity's insistence on adhering to tradition. But hey, as long as there's no harm done, I don't really care, Lol.. Like you guys are saying, sometimes it's downright entertaining.
Valdearg: I never understood humanity's insistence on adhering to tradition. But hey, as long as there's no harm done, I don't really care, Lol.. Like you guys are saying, sometimes it's downright entertaining.
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:23pm
DarkSaber: I know, makes you wonder how a practical joke becomes a centuries old tradition. I doubt when it first happened people looked at each other said "We should do this EVERY year!"
DarkSaber: I know, makes you wonder how a practical joke becomes a centuries old tradition. I doubt when it first happened people looked at each other said "We should do this EVERY year!"
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:21pm
JDKJ: That thing where the Commons slam the door in Black Rob's face and make him bang on it before they'll open up always makes me laugh. Who comes up with this shit?
JDKJ: That thing where the Commons slam the door in Black Rob's face and make him bang on it before they'll open up always makes me laugh. Who comes up with this shit?
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:21pm
Valdearg: @DS: Nice... That's better than in America, where 40% of Americans still think he was a tool of Satan.. Ugh..
Valdearg: @DS: Nice... That's better than in America, where 40% of Americans still think he was a tool of Satan.. Ugh..
Posted 03/12/10 at 01:21pm
Andrew Eisen: Well nuts. My library is closed for several weeks for recarpeting.
Andrew Eisen: Well nuts. My library is closed for several weeks for recarpeting.
Copyright © 2007 ECA. All rights reserved.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
I'm probably wrong, but didn't EA heavily criticise the old-style E3 towards the end of its time as well? I'm sure EA complained that all the peacocking at the old-style E3 was detracting from trying to present upcoming games to the public or something, and that they welcomed a downsizing of the event.
--------------------------------------------------
I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
DarkSaber, I believe so.
@the article: DUH! Of course it is going to be better if they are sliding back to the old format. They screwed up the whole industry by closing the doors, but myguess is that they are going to be messing something up still... and I don't mean something minor.
Exhibitions like PAX are going to prevail because real gamers go there instead of journalists and game company big wigs.
yeah, PAX is a little different.
At E3, game companies come together to show off what they're working on, with a guarantee of having the entire world hear about it, because of the journalists attending. It's funded by the game companies as a form of advertising.
PAX on the other hand is a paid-for-by-attendees event, with an almost 100% consumer attendance. It's more of a festival. It's cheaper for the game companies to attend, which gives them the ability to spend more money on thier presentation.
I see no reason both shouldn't co-exist. They've both got a reason to.
Awesome, both Riccitiello and Detoc seem to have gotten what they wanted, a bigger, grander E3 where many many people are invited.
They wanted bigger, they got bigger, and now they've changed thier criticism to praise. Nice to see!
Eh... these comments are /way/ too pre-emptive right now, especially since the show isn't going to be public. But I guess when you lead a big company you have a responsibility to trumpet with your mouth cause that alone can build something up from failure to success. But I don't follow that hype anymore. I've been betrayed one too many times.
-------------------------
"They were retarded hairless pink bunnies, all of them. Except Shigeru Myamoto and... well, the good ones were just too /rare/ to be worth bothering about." - Mason Hornblower on the extinction of the human race
while it's true that E3 wont be public, anyone can get in. All you have to be able to do is prove that you've got some connection to the gaming industry. I know a girl who got a free press pass because she wrote a gaming blog.
not public, but not exactly restricted either.
It seems that I've barely heard anything positive about the way E3 has covered attendance since they started the new policy. You figure after just one year they'd learn... eh. Not like i'll be going anyway.
i think most companys are at e3 for 1 consumer advertiseing and then 2 the press. having a press only event cannot get as much data as a open event as in whos doing well in the publics view and what is gathering the most public attention
I think this is a step in the right direction. I went to E3 about 10 years ago (give or take a couple of years). It wasn't open to the public yet, but my manager had gotten a VIP pass, and he wasn't interested in games, so he passed it on to me.
It was like heaven on earth. All of these games all over the place, free play, it was like the worlds biggest arcade for free, along with booth babes. I shot maybe two rolls of Lara Croft on a motocycle. I even got a FFVII T-shirt (and an E3 hat my wife wears to this very day). To top it off, Pizza Hut Express being eaten while sitting on the floor.
However, by opening the show to the public, you lose something, I don't know what. The important thing is that while it is closed to the public, it needs to still be open to ME.
How can it be the largest game expo in the country when they cap attendance at 10k. Pax this year had 56k+ and is second in geek/gaming conventions only to Comic con International in San Diego. Almost makes e3 sound like a bad joke.