Gamasutra offers new details directly from the ESA who have confirmed that E3 will in fact be smaller, “more intimate” and possibly even relocated.

It’s also interesting that several big game publishers like Microsoft, Sony, and THQ Electronic Arts are in full support of this envisioned, downsized event. There’s been talks of these companies supposedly pulling their support for the ‘mega show’ held annually in the Los Angeles Entertainment Expo. The essence of their joint reasoning is mostly monetary as the article notes the high costs for constructing elaborate, attractive booths designed to draw attendees in.

“It may feature some people looking at games in a big room. There may even be some free drinks. But it ain’t going to be E3.”
- Colin Campbell, Next-Gen.biz


Rich G brings up a good point. E3 has definitely gotten out of control. I mean, it’s always been a loud atmosphere of unimaginable proportions. As of late, it does seem to have become so obnoxious with little balance that you often wonder if the organizers have forgotten the true function of what the trade show should represent. E3 ‘06 was merely a pinch on the arm to what now will feel like getting walloped by a heavyweight boxer. The impact of a scaled down E3 may not be obvious to all affected right now, but it’s bound to create some uproar and disappointments in weeks to come as the ESA sheds more light on things.

(more…)

Anyone else seen vids for the new Xbox360 import shooter Senko no Ronde Rev.X? Man does this game look awesome. It looks it isn’t all-region sadly, cause I’ve been really considering a 360 with some of the new stuff out there (and coming soon).

For now I’m stuck with my trusty PS2. I just finished the dragovian trials in DQVIII and have officially hung up the controller on that one after 83 or so hours. I was disappointed that after beating all the dragons, you couldn’t beat them for exp. You can play them as many times as you want for skill seeds, but I just got tired of it and feel like I’ve done everything there is to do.

So this weekend, I plugged in Makai Kingdom and played a level 2000+ dungeon to get prepared for Disgaea 2 at the end of the month. I wish there was more to do in that game. I still have to beat some stuff in the original Disgaea, but I am having a hard time going back. The only thing I am disapppointed about with D2 is NIS removing the free-range targeting. I actually prefer that to the grid-based targeting, one reason I don’t enjoy the original Disgaea as much…
For fans, today is the day supposedly that NISamerica is opening up its preorders with bonuses for D2. Hopefully they will have them for purchase by tonight. There’s tons of cool swag included if you get it direct from NIS.

Otherwise, I am playing a bit of Super Dragon Ball Z and am enjoying it. It’s pretty much a dumbed down Street Fighter. Much better than previous DBZ games and, really, a well done cell-shaded fighter. A friend talked me in to buying Lego Star Wars now that it is at greatest hits price, and man is it cool.

Oh yeah, and I finally have an avatar. Lol. This technology thing is a little too much for me sometimes…

-Andrew

I haven’t blogged at all lately. Between summertime weekends and workaholic weekdays, there hasn’t been much time. I’ve been able to crank out the reviews (barely) on time, though, so at least I am keeping up with those. There ain’t much going on, but I’ve got a few ramblings to throw out there.

#1) E3 as we know it is no more - I can’t say I am too surprised by this. I’ve been to a few of them, and let’s just say that it’s become far too out of control, bloated, loud, and obnoxious. In a way, I am almost glad. Hopefully this makes game journalists’ lives better, allowing us to get more time with developers without having blaring music and flashing lights ruining the experience. Also, maybe this will free up more development time since half the year won’t be spent building demos for the conference.

#2) Current Games- I’ve been playing a few games the most lately (reviews not included). These days I continue to find myself playing Field Commander on the PSP, and I am stuck on a level which is really grating me. My 360 is usually on MotoGP ‘06, which is insanely hard but I love it nonetheless. What’s crazy is that I’ve spent at least 6 hours in it and haven’t gotten one achievement yet. I like NCAA Football 07, but the fact that every game takes an hour has limited my willingness to play since my time is so short most days. September can’t come soon enough! I play Brain Age on my DS regularly too. Lastly, my treadmill game at the moment is the old Xbox Splashdown title, but I’ve just about wrapped that up and will likely be heading back to Vice City again after that.

#3) Upcoming Games- There’s hardly anything I am excited about, with the huge exception of Saints Row. I am officially pumped for this one. I love the GTA series, and this one looks to be as close to a next gen GTA as we’ll get for another year. All indications are that this is gonna be great. I just may buy into the hype this time.

#4) Rock and Roll shows- I’ve seen the Black Crowes twice and Ryan Adams & The Cardinals once in July. Great music, great booze, great times. There’s nothing like seeing your favorite musicians live in smallish settings. It’s so much better than arena concerts that there’s no comparison.

#5) Rock and Roll albums- Stadium Arcanium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers continues to impress me. I listen to it all the time and am blown away by the volume of quality tunes on the two CDs. Definitely their best work ever. Another album I am into these days is Trouble by Ray Lamontagne. Amazing voice, great songwriting. Check it out.

That’s it for now – until next time.

Back when it was announced that E3 was putting an end to the proverbial booth babe, many saw this as a huge a critical aspect that defined an incentive to attend the trade show. Of course, we ended up discovering this year that the presence of the booth kittens was still very much in effect, albeit dressed more …appropriately.

Personally, I could live without booth kittens. I mean, other than being great to look at… they tell me nothing about the game. Few are even fortunate to properly know how to pronounce the very booth they represent as Candice discovered first hand.

But what if there E3 was terminated altogether? Well guess what — it’s true. According to Next-gen.biz, industry sources have reported that the Entertainment Software Association has reached a decision in which they feel the annual expo’s “costs… do not justify the returns, generally measured in media exposure.”

And it would appear that even game publishers have been considering new alternatives towards that are geared specifically towards their own product lines instead of the entire industry as a whole.

Next-gen biz states: “ESA president Doug Lowenstein will likely announce the news some time within the next 48 hours, possibly on Monday. It’s likely that the ESA will seek to limit the damage by organizing some form of lesser event in May, possibly even with the E3 brand, but this will be no more than a fig-leaf. The days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone.”

I must say, this news comes as a bit of a shock. It would be cooler if they just looked into a smaller scale of what E3 offers, perhaps even break it down by regions. While it’s going a bit off tangent, I’m sure many editors who reside on the Mid or East coasts would be thrilled if the trade show was held closer in their backyard. I’d be all up for something right in New York. Not only would this make it easier on my travel expenses, not to mention, there would be little need for a hotel. But back on topic, this sort of event worries me, because it’s probably going to lead to something else I’ve been meaning to discuss for awhile: the end of the gaming enthusiast site. Or more to the point… publishers jointly making a decision to terminate their support for sites operated by dedicated gaming enthusiasts. Perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit, and for what it’s worth — I’d still prefer to save that discussion for a later date… but for now, with E3’s existence apparently put on hold, anything is possible.

Edit: With a bit of digging, my assumptions have been confirmed that E3 isn’t being cancelled, merely downsized as reported here. (Thanks, Travis!)

Thoughts?

Well, it was one of our more interesting contests to say the least. For the first time, we actually had to alter the original criteria of the giveaway since the turnout ended up being rather disappointed. As a result, we made it even simpler for everyone to enter, simply by sending in their name to be entered in a random drawing. At that point, the turnout ended up being much more respectable.

But now, the contest is over… you’re all wondering: was it me? Did I win? Well, it was a close call, but only three people were among the lucky ones. Their names are:

1. Luis Vega
2. Chris Craiglow
3. Derek Huie

Congratulations to you all and thanks to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for more exciting promotions from GotNext!

p.s. We expect even MORE of you to enter next time too!