Developers reactions to E3 downscaling

Written by Ryan Garside

August 2, 2006 | 11:46

Tags: #gamespot #ken-levine #reaction

Companies: #e3 #microsoft #sega

An interesting article has surfaced over on Gamespot, that gives the reactions of all the major companies over the recent news that E3 would be downsizing.

The news of E3’s downsizing, which we brought to you a few days ago, came as a disappointment to many who enjoyed the large scale shows. However, it would seem that developers are actually looking forward to a smaller, more manageable show. Here are the best quotes:

Microsoft:
We are very supportive of the ESA's decision in providing a new vision for E3. Over the past 12 years, the industry has grown and matured, and it's great to see the show evolving to meet the needs of the industry. The show continues to provide enormous benefits from a key media, retailer, developer, and partner standpoint.

Sega:
Sega has been, and will continue to be, a supporter of E3, and the value that it brings to the video game industry. As E3 has grown, so too has the fragmentation of the audience in recent years, making it difficult to derive the value that was originally intended. As the industry continues to mature, so, too, will our industry events in order to compensate for this growth. We are excited to be a participant in the next iteration of the show in 2007.

Ken Levine, cofounder, Irrational Games:
Like most things, it's probably good for the big boys and probably bad for the little guys. If you've got a bunch of games to show, you can host a giant event, fly in journalists, give them good food, have the Spice Girls reunite, etc., and spread all those costs across all those big games. If you're a small publisher with just a couple of titles, well, then you're kind of hosed.

I'm just surprised this didn't happen sooner. Some of the biggest games at E3 had very low-key presentations. We were fortunate enough this year to have a great response to BioShock, and we were just showing it off in a tiny little room on a medium-sized television. I'm sure that didn't make some of the big guys spending zillions of dollars on the same show floor very happy. I'm sure there are big players wondering, "Why bother? We'll just do our own thing where there's no competition."


There are plenty of other reactions from industry representatives that are worth checking out, with the general consensus being that a smaller more organized event will help promote E3 to the larger community.

What do you make of the reactions? Do you think downsizing E3 will be beneficial to the industry? Let us know in the forums.
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