E3, What’s The Deal?
I wasn’t at E3 this year, more a function of having a different day job than any intentional truancy, but as I read all the live coverage and stare at more screenshots than my eyes know what to do with, I remember why I had the reaction I did when I went last year. In all the hooplah and apparently exciting announcements, there’s really not that much going on.
The games that are being showcased as the next great thing are the exact same games that were touted last year, because the development process for these blockbuster games spans years, and conferences, not weeks and months. I’ve been scratching my head a lot this week and saying to myself “wow, that’s not out yet?” and it amazes me that these titles are hyped to the point of hysteria for years prior to release. What’s the point? I’d forgotten about most of them simply because they weren’t on the market yet, and the longer it takes, it seems, the less interested I am in following the development. I don’t want the 1000th screenshot or a new trailer that’s got 15 seconds of additional footage from the last one. I’d like to have the game.
I suppose I’m bored of stalking scene. I’ll get excited about Fallout 3, or Halo, or Call of Duty 4 (or whatever) when it arrives and I can get my hands on it. Playing for five minutes in front of bunch of pushing, grabbing, slobbering fans at E3 doesn’t exactly count as a fruitful hands-on experience. You get the impression that someone behind you is preparing to tear you limb from limb just to grab the controller, and the booth attendants have their hands on the stopwatch like judges at an Olympic time trial (a necessary evil mind you, some people would be selfish and play all day).
It’s a spectacle all right, but not one that I’m sad to have missed out on this year. Maybe I’ve grown past the need for spectacle and flash and am looking for more substance. With EA execs themselves saying that the industry is a little on the dull side, perhaps I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Musings
1 opinion for E3, What’s The Deal?
Jade Reporting » Sunday, July 15
Jul 15, 2007 at 2:03 pm
[…] 2007 - One Woman’s Hopes and Expectations Not at E3 NintenOhNoTheyDidNot E3, What’s The Deal? More E3 Madness E3 the week in […]
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: