I unfortuantely was unable to attend this Feature, but I will contribute to it BY GUM.
I will share an anecdote of myself and Jonny talking on the way to the airport for our return trip from Los Angeles this year.
We chatted a bit and then he asked me a question. "So Jeff, did you enjoy E3 this year?" Maybe he was just tired from the work we did all week, but I detected a hint of jadedness from him. I am sure he enjoyed everything at the show more or less, but maybe he was fatigued with the whole concept of the big trade show and the neon lights and swag and long lines.
So I actually thought for 5 seconds or so. And then I answered "Absolutely, Jonny. I loved going to E3 this year." I did love going this year. I loved going last year. I loved going each of the 5 times I went, no matter what all the rest said about it. No matter if if was considered "bad" because of "no-shows" or whatever the expectations were. I loved it because right when Jonny asked, I pictured a significantly more pudgy 13-year-old Jeff who made it his life's mission to reach E3 at some point in his life. Now that I had done it 5 times in a row, I would be doing that child a great disservice if I were to 180 and say I was jaded and the whole concept was useless.
There was talk about how the show got too glamourous and glitzy and "swaggy" and more people attended in search of free goodies and to ogle the unfortunate existance of booth babes than to preview the games. This may or may not have been true, but plenty still got in to play games before their release, if only to get bragging rights to friends or to simply see the progress of games as a preview build. I was one of them, and that goal, my goal, and my 13-year-old sef's goal was exactly the same. I wanted to play video games before they got released. I wanted to see versions of games that no one else might ever see again, and maybe even play a game that might be cancelled and never seen again in any form. This is the dream of E3, and no amount of other people's milquetoasty opinions will ever dampen that. I knew I had to work and write articles while I was there, but that was nothing compared to realizing one of my childhood dreams five times in a row.
So I answer Jonny again and say "Absolutely Jonny. I loved going to E3 this year." And every single year. And I slightly curse myself that I was unable to go to E3 2001. E3's restructuring may in fact still allow such dreams to be possible, but the way it looks now appears to be replacing one of the biggest shows a hobby can have with a seminar.
And I am saddened by this.
Topic: BLAH BLAH BLAH: The New E3 (Read 2549 times)
