E3 2005 Photo Coverage
Los Angeles, CA
May 19 - 21, 2005
In terms of coverage this seems to be the worst E3 yet. The place was mobbed. At 9am, one hour before the show floor opened, the lines were long. It was a mob scene getting in at 10am. Even into the afternoon, some of the aisles were packed arm pit to arm pit. With the launch of three consoles, the place was diluted with excitement but with little to show. This crowd lives off of anticipation – be it a console or a game. That was good enough to fill it with males looking for the next testosterone rush. The event was made all the more difficult when part of the West Hall was dark due to a power outage. Surprising, the actual hall was open but the show management and press offices were closed. To make matters worse, it went on about 2pm and then off again.
E3 Attendance is projected to be 70,000, up from 60,000 last year.
Douglas Lowenstein, President of the Electronic Software Association made an articulate plea for how the industry should grow. Some of his key points included.
The worldwide film industry stands at about $45 billion and the worldwide video game industry checks in at around $28 billion.
Price Waterhouse Coopers reported last year that video games will eclipse music as the second most popular form of entertainment by 2008, with worldwide consumer spending on video games hitting $55 billion to $33 billion for recorded video.
There are six fundamental issues the video game industry needs to address to become the dominant form of entertainment in the 21st century.
1. – Broaden the game audience by making more games with mass market appeal.
2. – Create more complete game experiences, i.e., greater emotional impact, better stories, more interesting and complex characters.
3. – Games should be more accessible and easier to play. This can also mean games which are shorter and less expensive.
4. – Need new financing models for game development.
5. – Developing emerging platforms, specifically online and mobile.
6. – Overcome cultural resistance and fear. This latter point addressed gore and killing that is present in many games.
Updated on 2/18/06
