E3 2005: A look back
By Michael Lafferty

Some good things mix with the bad at the videogame expo

As the dust continues to settle from yet-another Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) in Los Angeles, the time comes to shake off the doldrums, put aside all the work left to do and reflect on arguably the biggest videogame “industry-only” event of the year.

First, (before the explanation of the quote marks above) let it be said that E3 2005 was perhaps the least organized and most chaotic event of the five previous years. Why? Meetings cancelled, companies sharing booths and yet showing the same titles from one of the companies when meetings for the other were scheduled, and then there was the power outage on the opening day of the show.

West Hall apparently was on a different circuit, but not so the media room above West Hall, nor apparently the cafeteria-style food stop on the corner leading toward West Hall. And the power was not just out for a couple of hours; rather, it wasn’t even on for a couple of hours during the course of the day. No media room means no access to a way to send stories for many of the journalists in attendance. This compounds the problem when writers are forced to find a wall to sit beside to try to pound out all the stories gleaned during the course of the day. And, of course, you could always sit in the hotel that night, ignore the party invites, and write, write, write. Those that did not, found the stories stacking up, an impending avalanche of observations that started to become blurred by the sheer volume of titles seen during the course of the day.

As one developer mentioned in passing, at this year’s event “the quality was up, the originality was down.”

Of course, the other main accessible cafeteria being down Wednesday meant that its twin near South Hall was crammed. With the media room closed, so too was the opportunity to put laptops in lockers, meaning toting more items and remaining on one’s feet for much longer than one would have hoped for.

(Ok, about now you are probably going “waah, waah! At least you got to go!” – but how would one give a sense of the wearing nature of the event if not by mentioning all this?)

And some of the journalists spoken too openly wondered for whom E3 was intended. (And this is where the “industry-only” quote marks come into play.) It seemed, and somewhat felt, like journalists were put on the backburner, and the show was all about marketing to the sales clerk from the neighborhood retail outlet. It is a yearly complaint, though – in the decibel crush it is hard to conduct an interview or talk in a reasonable voice level with a developer about a particular game. More information seems to be available in the round of pre-E3 events some publisher have – not only in terms of actually getting to play a game, but in having a decent conversation with those who make them.

What is E3, though, if not about the sights and sounds, and the games on display clawing for attention? The look of the 2005 show was not as garish as in year’s past. It still had that bright-light carnival look, there were still stages set up for performances, and there were still a lot of improbably proportioned models and female attendees who seemed intent to pass lingerie and bedroom wear off as daytime attire and outerwear. There were women towering on blocked heels and boots, and males ogling (no, it is only a rumor that neck injuries elevate markedly in Los Angeles during E3, thanks in a large part to the first-time attendees) or asking to have their pictures taken with them. But the displays seemed streamlined, geared for effect. Sure, putting two huge screens above a main thoroughfare begs for a mosh-pit event, but the general look of this year’s expo remained a treat for the eyes – if not too worn down or jaded by being at too many of these events.

But counter that with impressive murals, with the Narnia display complete with armor and statues of satyrs turned into stone, and with the coordinators who kept that smile on their faces regardless of computer outages, missed appointments or having that ear piece jammed in the side of their head for such long periods that some are still hearing voices in their head well after the event is over and the earpieces removed.

There is a certain dread when one heads toward E3, which gives way to a dulled sense of wonder (again, so much pounding at the senses anesthetizes the observer) and then gratitude when the airport looms in the distance for the ride home. Counter that with the joy of actually seeing the immediate future for the industry, and – of course – there are the people that one actually looks forward to seeing again. 

Another E3 come and gone – maybe generally a little less impressive than others in years past, but still a chance to meet up with those one works with throughout the course of the year, see what lies ahead for games before the next and what may be ready to play at E3 2006.

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