This week in the MMO Underbelly, Sanya takes a look at a little industry trade show called E3.

In honor of E3 this week, I thought I’d write up a little behind the scenes look at the best trade show on earth.

It’s a multiday festival of wretched excess, and everyone pretended to hate it. “We spend millions of dollars mainly so we don’t look cheap next to other people spending millions of dollars, and really we’re just showing off to each other. And building the damned demos takes two months but none of it is usable in our actual product. Let’s make like hippies and hold up signs that say “What if they held a war and nobody came?” We’ll save a bundle, and that’s before we count the fifty thousand dollar bar tab.”

As a result of this breastbeating (and the open secret that in 2006 Sony spent a billion dollars on swag and booze and gorgeous booth spaces just to get freaking OWNED by Nintendo in the media coverage, and decided to take their ball and go home), 2007 was a whole new E3. It was small. It was exclusive. It was in multiple venues to keep the intimate feeling. Smaller titles had a chance to get noticed. 2008 was more of the same.

Read more here.

And then everyone goes home and writes a puff piece.

All kidding aside I hope people had fun.

Why is this in the "News" section? Was a feature on E3 toilet availability newsworthy?

Why not just have this chick write a blog and put some real news up?

I think it was more of a "Hey guys, E3 is actually doing ok again, now. That's cool." announcement, which I would agree with her is fairly relevant to the games industry.

Originally posted by Szark

The whole thing feeds on itself until the entire hall is overflowing with hope, expectation, and excitement.

I had to read that last word twice.

Originally posted by kopema

Originally posted by Szark

The whole thing feeds on itself until the entire hall is overflowing with hope, expectation, and excitement.

 

I had to read that last word twice.

Cackle. I bet I know which word you thought it was, too.

Eyes: This is the sixth column in a "behind the scenes" series, to show people the kind of stuff that simply isn't in most writeups. Read the rest of the entries.

As someone who has worked several times at the SIGGRAPH trade show (the one where the 3D software developers get together with the companies using that software -- ILM, LucasArts, Dreamworks, etc.) I really appreciated this article.  It is so very true. 

Trade shows are lots of fun to attend, but not much fun at all to be an exhibitor at.  Great article.

Great read,

I look forward to your take on the Marketing dept. for a MMO.

I absolutely loved how you wrote that, Sanya. I have some expo experiences myself, as an occasional designer of way too expensive stands with the included obligation that 'you have to be there!' at expo days. Your experiences are very recognizable. Personally, I got to hate expo's with a vengeance and I would gladly pay money NOT to go, even if it was the E3.

I think there is this synthetic "pre-fab concentrated capitalism in a nutshell" feel to every one of them.

*shivers*

Great text, Sanya! It's reassuring here in mmorpg.com to occasionally read such a good piece among so many badly written articles that were supposed to professional. Keep up the good job!

Originally posted by JYCowboy

Great read,

I look forward to your take on the Marketing dept. for a MMO.

That'll probably involve a lot of blood, guts and violence ;)

Originally posted by Belsameth

Originally posted by JYCowboy

Great read,

I look forward to your take on the Marketing dept. for a MMO.

 

That'll probably involve a lot of blood, guts and violence ;)

You mean exagerated like market does like, paper cut, nail clipping and horse play.

"New, Exitiing, Innovative, etc. etc."

Lets hope Sanya doesn't get spun by such terms and tells it like it is.  LOL, I know she will do fine.

Originally posted by Sanya

Originally posted by kopema

Originally posted by Szark

The whole thing feeds on itself until the entire hall is overflowing with hope, expectation, and excitement.

 

I had to read that last word twice.

 

Cackle. I bet I know which word you thought it was, too.

Eyes: This is the sixth column in a "behind the scenes" series, to show people the kind of stuff that simply isn't in most writeups. Read the rest of the entries.

And it is the sixth time it is a masterpiece on showing the "behind the scenes".

Great read.

Great article.  Funny and well written.

All the Whiskey in Ireland could not drag me back to a E-3, 2006 was the last time I went; and it just is a constant reminder that the industry has major issues of hype over quality products.

Underbelly indeed..anywho nice write up Sanya.