Downgrading really shouldn't surprise anyone. E3 this year was a total disaster for Sony and to a much lesser extent Microsoft as Nintendo stole all media thunder with Wii. The key purpose of this show is to create buzz with retailers who decide how much of what to buy for their inventory. They need all the help they can get, otherwise we'd be seeing Strawberry Shortcake's Revenge of the Flax.

So in the past each console company spent millions for this PR opportunity which included the cost of running their press conference, show parties, booths and booth babes (bless them). What did Sony get out of their millions this year? Not much except lots of bad press.
Microsoft did moderately better. Nintendo hit the ball out of the park.

Reducing E3's size, or 'downgrading' it's importance would work nicely for a company that can't seem to get it's product to market or even display on time. They no longer have to humiliate themselves in public. But I think this will hurt Sony more than they realize.

You see, Microsoft can always show product at the CES or any other trade event. Their product's in the market and is now simply building more momentum. They also have tons of capital to promote their product as it inter-relates to all their core business. So dropping out of E3 would not hurt them.

Nintendo's focus now is a broad audience, not just hard core gamers. Their message needs to extend past E3's core audience. E3 truly benefitted them this year and in past years with their gameboy products. As demand continues to surge for their DS systems and as more non-gamers buy Nintendo DS - retailers will continue to stock Nintendo product. The retail relationships are set from that product range, and will with good pricing, extend to the Wii. They're in the game and wouldn't be hurt with no E3.

Sony has a huge base of systems, as did Atari at one point in time. But they're having massive problems with PS3, the hardware, the cost over-runs, the media buzz. Core gamers care about all the techno-glitz but the rest of the world doesn't. Certainly not enough to blow large money on a 'game console'. They needed E3 to win over sceptics (and retailers) and to sell their Hummer in a market that's looking for Hondas. Its going to be a tough sell and without E3 next year, it will hurt them even more.

The other players that get hurt by this are all the third party developers that now will have to rely on other methods of promotion to get their product noticed by both retailers and consumers.

That hurts Microsoft and Sony more than it hurts Nintendo but it also hurts us, as it makes smaller game companies hard to catch without a stage for them to play on.

totoro

bagellord

bagellord

I will be surprised if this really happens as it sounds. A world without E3??

So Strange.

glipz

XPav

Paradise