The E3 Media and Business Summit starts tomorrow - hands up if you're excited!
[Pause as tumbleweed drifts by to the sound of a mad old hag cackling on a rocking chair]
The drastically eviscerated gaming showcase is expecting just 3000 invite-only insiders to traipse through the doors of the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, as well as several hotels in the vicinity. Participants will be there "to have personal meetings in hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners, and other key industry contacts," rather than to have their ears and eyes assaulted by 3000 stands determined to out do each other for sheer audiovisual cacophony.
Of course, there will be a few announcements and some footage of anticiapted titles - go to E3expo.com to keep up with all that. Right now, for example, there are trailers of Speedball 2, Boogie and NiGHTS, which are all worth a look. But there's a feeling the likes of Sony and Microsoft aren't really taking this one seriously, preferring to concentrate on their own events. Also, you've got the likes of Tecmo vice president John Inada proclaiming, "I don't have money to waste on an experimental project" and newish publisher Gamecock holding a funeral for E3.
Also, as Rob Fahey at Gamesindustry.biz points out: "with its reduction in size this year, there's a strong sense that E3 has become altogether more provincial. The focus is very strongly on North America, with many overseas journalists facing difficulty in getting invited to the event."
Anyway, if you want to try and get yourself excited, you may want to check out Rumorreporter.com's 'random and brave E3 predications' for some interesting gossip and speculation. You'll also find a list of the Ten Most Important Games at E3 2007 at a site called Advanced Media Network.
