E3 2005 Part I: Dry Scones and Horrid Coffee - Features

Random ramblings from E3 2005.

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E3 2005 Part I:

Dry Scones and Horrid Coffee

On the morning of May 18^th, 2005 the power to most of the West Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center was out, which rendered the media check-in process a serious exercise in aggravation. Fortunately for me, I picked up my media badge and holder the day before. But I didn’t escape the incident unscathed and neither did any of the media that attended the opening address by ESA President, Doug Lowenstein.

I have attended three opening address the last three years for two reasons: free breakfast afterward and hearing Lowenstein back-pedal on statements he made the year before.

I’m pretty sure it was last year that he stated the gaming industry is quite ready to stomp all over the movie industry. To paraphrase, “It’s bigger than Hollywood!” This year, Lowenstein back-pedalled on this particular topic.

“How many of you have written at any time that the video game industry is bigger than Hollywood, or have heard someone in the industry make such a claim?

Let’s set the record straight once and for all: it is simply not true – yet. It has never been true.”

He then went on to assure everyone present that the game industry is “poised to surge past the music industry in terms of global revenue.” (It’s a good thing Lowenstein’s bike doesn’t have coaster brakes!) Right after the opening address

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there was a general surge to the exits to get in line for the breakfast. However, because of the power outage, breakfast consisted of a few dry scones and horrid-tasting coffee. On top of that, we had to wait for it! The incident set the tone of the entire show – not just the catering for the media hospitality suite, which was just the high side of “barely adequate” but the entire show.

E3 2004 was all about software.

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This year, overshadowing almost everything were hardware announcements from the Big Three: Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Microsoft had Xbox 360 games up and running on the floor; Sony had a slick corporate flick about their upcoming console, which almost outright stated Star Trek’s transporter technology would be embedded in the PS3; and Nintendo gave a few details of the Revolution, and showed off the GameBoy Micro. Hardware, hardware, hardware. I can only recount a handful of memorable software titles: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GC), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC, XB360), The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (GC, PS2, XB), Stubbs the Zombie (XB), Infected (PSP), The Movies (PC), which so reminds me of Stunt Island I practically start to cry when I think about it, and Hellgate: London (PC). Those are the titles that leapt to mind when anyone at the show asked me what titles had me “excited.” (Now, a few days after the end of the expo, I’ve been able to reflect a little on what I saw but the list doesn’t extend much past a dozen different titles.)

This E3 seemed to be about what might come – the possibilities of the “FUTURE!” And nothing shouts the “FUTURE!” quite like a bunch of compilation discs of companies passed successes.

Tecmo is bringing out a Classic Arcade disc and so is Capcom. Midway is bringing out volume 3 of their Midway Arcade Classics series and when I saw the back wall of EA’s booth I thought for sure they were headed down that path, too. On the back wall they had the covers of every title that Electronic Arts had ever published. I’m not sure if this was a warning sign that EA will be mining “classic” titles to help their bottom line, or a statement to other companies that, “Even though we have all these great titles in our library we haven’t stooped to re-releasing them!” Of course, it could be a little of both. On the hardware side it was the same deal, in particular with Nintendo’s announcement that the next-gen Revolution would not only be backwards compatible with GameCube but also offer classic games for download.

For the most part I have mixed feeling of classic games being compiled and re-released, usually at “new game” prices. Collectively over the years, I’ve probably dropped more than $10,000.00 on those classic arcade and console games so it’s always a bit disconcerting that they don’t sell them at cost or with only a marginal profit. I guess the built-in audience of has-been gamers from ten to fifteen years ago is a virtual guarantee that they can make even more handfuls of money. (Scrooge McDuck was a game publisher.)

E3 2005 definitely had its share of highlights – I was within seven feet of Al Lowe! – and I had a ton of fun meeting PR reps that I usually only communicate with over email and posing really tough questions to developers like “WHAT?” over the continuous cacophony of noise, overall it was a letdown. There was some obvious potential is some titles and even with hardware but it felt a little like a placeholder year – like the big guns won’t come out until next year when we’ll see Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo firing on all cylinders.

- Omni

(May 22, 2005)


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