For an industry as exciting and progressive as video games, why is our most important event so dull?
I don’t equate “gaming” with nervous developers listlessly talking about video games future. The live E3 show has become stale, and no smoke machine or massive LCD will rectify that. The solution, though, has come from the world’s oldest game developer, Nintendo. The annual media briefing should be taken off the stage and put straight onto the net
Nintendo might be lagging in sales, but they are miles ahead of Sony and Microsoft with their approach to E3. For the second year in a row, Nintendo shunned the bright and expensive lights of Los Angeles for a pre-recorded showcase. Expertly produced, the Nintendo Digital Event had more vibrancy and life than any of the arena briefings. The Robot Chicken segments were inspired, as was the bonkers duel between Reggie and Iwata to introduce Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS. In addition, the Luigi Death Stare cameo illustrated Nintendo’s connection with the community better than Phil Spencer and his plethora of indie game T-Shirts.
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| In a pre-recorded conference, Andrew Wilson would be 10% less douchey |
A recently released video from Microsoft showed the incredible effort the company goes through to produce their conference; they plan for E3 months in advance. A pre-recorded briefing would require considerably less time and save the company loads, allowing them to get on with the important work. EA are already halfway on the road to a pre-recorded show; most of their conference this year consisted of behind-the-scenes footage.
The most exciting part of the media briefings is the appearance of a surprise game, such as the Uncharted 4 reveal at the end of Sony’s show this year. In a pre-recorded show, there will still be that surprise factor. In fact, it would be harder for leaks to spill out as Sony would produce the show in-house. The only thing missing would be the yelping fanboys.
The E3 pressers have provided us with some memorable moments, but it has given us a lot more cringe and boredom. Gaming has changed drastically since the first E3 press conference; now it’s time for the companies to catch up on how they talk to gamers.
