Welcome to your Tuesday Loading... You can read previously enjoyed editions of Loading... in the blog archive. (For the navigation impaired that means you click the link and then look in the right menu.)
The 450th edition of Loading... is brought to you by Reebok and EA Sports: Smooth moves on the mic and on the court? Find out. Unlock Jay-Z as the newest baller in NBA Live 2007. Click Here for more!
I just realized that the advertisement from EA and Reebok calls Jay-Z a baller. Insert your best "baller" joke here or e-mail me and I may use it tomorrow. You're a witty bunch.
E3 is back. This press release, which either wasn't released or wasn't released to the press, making "press release" a misnomer tells all. Here are the juicy bits for the folks with attention deficit dis...
"The centerpiece of the invitation-only, three-day event will be the opportunity for both ESA members and non-members to stage major press events, and to have intimate meetings in premier hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners, and other audiences. In addition, the nearby Barker Hangar will be converted into a software showcase where attendees will be able to casually test drive the featured video games planned for the coming holiday season and beyond."
This really isn't different from what E3 has always been for the legitimate press. The one-man blog sites that cover games once a month while sending out 50 letters begging for free software from developers won't be leaving streaks on the revolving doors with their greasy sausage fingers. Unfortunately, this means that we won't be able to see their witless diatribes in our forums, complaining incessantly about our staff taking up press room desk space to write articles while they waiting impatiently to play some game demo they just picked up.
The problem as I see it, is that the show will be filled with staff from IGN, GameSpot and their affiliates. Large independent sites like TenTonHammer will be there, but the smaller legitimate sites will miss out, and so will you. The large sites already had intimate meetings with the developers. The only difference this time will be that we are meeting them in a hotel room and not on a convention center floor.
"The new E3 is first and foremost about getting business done. When we asked key audiences what they wanted in the new event, we heard that they wanted opportunities for high-level meetings in a business-like setting, to play games, network, and socialize, to see major company offerings while also preserving the sense of discovery that is so much a part of E3, and to hear substantive presentations on the most important issues and trends facing the industry," said Lowenstein. "We believe the event we have shaped will fulfill all those needs."
Who were these "key audiences"? The large sites can have a "high-level meeting in a business-like setting" whenever they want. Who's kidding who? If we called up a developer or publisher today and offered to fly in some staff to their location to cover their game nobody would turn us down. They already fly us all over creation on their dime to see the games.
Don't even get me started on a "business-like" setting. It's either a business setting or it isn't. I can't imagine a grey area in there. Will I be required to wear a tie and carry a briefcase? If I have to dress up like Michael Douglas and do a "Falling Down" impression I'll do it, happily, but I'm not sure that is what the ESA is really after. That my current interpretation though, which is unfortunate as I just rented a Batman suit to fly to Sigil to meet Brad McQuaid.
The classic version of E3 allowed us to have both the intimate meetings and to take a step back and observe the games from arms-length without a company representative guiding us through what they wanted to see, or didn't want us to see. It seems that this opportunity will be lost in the reinvented E3 or RE-E3.
On the bright side, we will be able to attend more events next year because we won't have such a large expenditure on one show. Sending 14 people to E3 was a huge undertaking. Flights, hotels, food, etc. It all adds up. This year we will be able to take those same resources and spread them out over many more shows. We'll have better coverage of PAX, GDC, the Austin Game Conference, GenCon and possibly even ComicCon. Leipzig and the Tokyo Game Show may now become part of our event coverage.
O.K., so the more I think about it, the better it is that E3 is gone and RE-E3 is here. It will diffuse the press to less homogenous events and provide a wider range of coverage. It will also prompt publishers to run their own junkets, which are always the best opportunities to really get the information that our readers care about.
Thank you ESA for making this change. I don't believe for a minute that the change was made to benefit the industry as a whole, but the end justifies the means in this case.
E3 or RE-E3, which was a better means of getting you the information you desire? Either in the forum or at the bottom of this blog. If you are shy (or female and sending in naughty pictures) you can E-Mail me.
Every good guild needs a home. A home free of gold ads and secondary market farmers. Look no further than GuildPortal.com.
Exclusive new TenTonHammer.com Content!
Let us entertain you or at the very least waste some of your time at work.10.17.2006 Exclusive Content
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EverQuest 2: Levelling Guide
"Tier 4 - Growing up!" -
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Four Promotional Pictures
"The folks at Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) are beginning to rev their PR engines. They released several videos at the recent SOE/Sigil press event to promote Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and we've got them here for your viewing enjoyment. Unlike some game promos, these videos feature actual in-game footage. You'll see a fly-over of the continent of Thestra; various mounts; and a little something just to whet your appetite for the game."
Vin Diesel Fact of the Day - The word vindication is derived from the root word, Vin Diesel, and means exactly what it says! [Thanks Pat]
Now from the real world. You can't make this stuff up.
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Taxes Coming Soon To A MMORPG Near You [Thanks Phil]
Next thing you know you'll die in MMORPGs.
As always, thanks for visiting TenTonHammer.com,
-- John "Boomjack" Hoskin
