The ESA revealed more information about the future of E3 including dates, a location, and a subtle name change. The E3 Media and Business Summit (formally known as the E3 Media Festival) will be held in Santa Monica from July 11 to July 13. The invite-only event will take place in several hotels and Barker Hangar, a Santa Monica Airport hanger that's used for large events.
The hotels will host intimate chats between media, retailers, and developer partners as well as daily luncheons featuring top executives. According to an ESA press release, the hanger will be used as space for "companies to showcase their games in standardized, turnkey displays areas ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet." Hopefully the ESA will allow companies to have some creative freedom.
Let's see. Invitation-only, standardization, luncheons, and use of the word "summit" in the name. Has a day at E3 all but turned into a day at the country club? The guest list should be ready within the next 30 days. Unfortunately, I don't expect to be seeing an invitation.
I think that the men of E3 have gone crazy. The video game and media industry runs on the fans boys and loyalty of its consumers; E3 was the place for the super elite and the super fans to meet and celebrate the love of gaming and innovation to the market. I find this change arrogant and selfish. I understand that the premise of E3 is to inform the news of company doings and to show off to other companies but by taking the all of the public out of the convention the business men (like the asshole Will and I met at the airport) are going to run ramped., I believe it is important to the business, who are not all assholes to get whatever they need done at E3, but come on, video games are all about the fans.