The Hylia - Zelda: New E3

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E3 2007 is going to be a little bit different next year. After a weekend filled with rumors of doom and gloom, the ESA has stepped forward and announced that the event known as E3 will become the "E3 Media Festival", and it will take place in July, rather than May. On top of that, it will move into two hotels and various private events in hotel suites, rather than take place in the LA Convention Center. Finally, the event has a target audience of 5,000 people, whereas E3 2006 had 60,000.

The ESA reported that the era of the "mega-game trade show" is dead. Citing complaints from the big four (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and EA), as well as numerous other gaming companies, the ESA decided last Wednesday to downsize the event to cater to only the media and to business clients. Industry professionals and all those other "misc" people, which probably compose of the majority of E3's attendees each year, will more than likely be axed from the list of eligible attendees.
Scenes like this will be the stuff of legend, and sadly will never happen again.
It was also leaked to me from a good friend that the credentials for press will be dramatically different than previous years - companies will be making "invite only" lists, and to get on them if you weren't originally named will require you to go through a very rigorous background check - no more will fake businesses and cards suffice - if you're not a major news site, don't expect to get in (and the source hinted blogs are also on the black list, in addition to fan sites posing as news sites). The event would like to cater to bigger media outlets, so the smaller fish are being left out.

So, honestly, what does this mean? Instead of a week in May, we will have a week in July to go crazy. Sites that go will have better coverage. As far as the source revealed, press conferences from the big three are still planned for next year, as well as some other companies. So there will be a ton of "new" information, like always. Companies will be showcasing their latest product in their own private suites or in private sessions, allowing more hands-on time and less line waiting. So, what really was "killed" in this announcement?

Well, for one thing, the spirit of E3 took a huge blow. Part of the big deal was the whole frenzy that surrounded E3. It's what makes Comic-Con such a big deal, what makes Anime Expo so big with the fan communities out there - they're huge events, jam-packed beyond belief - and they have a huge hoopla. Other than that, I really don't think anything is seriously affected by this change. Well, I do have one concern - July plays host to Anime Expo and Comic-Con. Tough crowds to go against.

We're still going to get our big press conferences, which IGN, GameSpot and other sites will stream to us. There will still be Reggie kicking ass (if he still speaks) next year, Ken Kuturagi making a fool of himself, and Peter Main trying to convince everyone XBOX 360 is "hip". There will be Halo 3, Smash Bros Brawl and Final Fantasy XIII demos for people to play. You'll get bombarded with interviews and videos and screenshots, just like before.

If anything, for the average gamer, E3 is only going to mean better coverage, and perhaps give the press a chance to do their job (yeah, I blamed them earlier, but as my co-worker pointed out - it's impossible in the current E3 setup for them to do a good job, so it's a Catch 22). But, for many fans who dream of going to E3, the dream just got a little more impossible. Unless you work for a company exhbitiing at the game (if I'm still employed then - that would be somebody like me) or are a bonified editor for a major gaming news site (Casamassina, Shu, Schneider apply here), or are going to be developing for one of the consoles at the event, you probably will not be going anytime soon.

So, it's basically no more lines, no more huge booths. A miniature version of E3, though in terms of information and media, it can only be better. Quite honestly - as cool as the booth swere, and as awesome as the atmosphere was at E3, I'm all for no lines, more playtime, and more information without fear some site with no journalistic integrity will take it out of context and ruin it for the rest of us. So, here's hoping that E3 2007, I mean, the E3 Media Festival 2007 lives up to its promise.

Source: GameSpot

Did you know there is a documentary on The Legend of Zelda series? Unfortunately, it is only in Japanese, but with the help of some fans, one day this priceless work may be translated for all to enjoy!