E3 organiser, ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has announced that, according to 'exhibitor survey data', over 1,000 new videogames ('and related products') will make their debut at this year's exhibition.
Well, that's not much of a surprise as they announce that pretty much every year. What amuses me is this quote from ESA president Douglas Lowenstein, which can be found in the second paragraph of the company's self-congratulatory press release:
"The more than one thousand products debuting at E3Expo 2005 are examples of the innovation and creativity that will drive industry growth in the coming year."
I have one simple question: has Mr Lowenstein ever actually been to E3?
At a conservative guess, I would suggest that, of those 1,000 products, perhaps 5-10% will exhibit anything that could be credibly described as innovation. I'm immediately discounting any subtle little gameplay additions, or fresh variations on last year's innovations - when Mr Lowenstein mentions innovations 'that will drive industry growth' he must surely be referring to really big and exciting new ideas, like a new genre, a new way of interacting with a game, or a new hardware platform that introduces radical concepts in console architecture.
He can't surely mean, say, a new way of passing the ball in the latest annual soccer sim, or a new set of weapons in the latest FPS sequel, or a fun new character starring in a fun new third person action adventure?
Perhaps he has incredible faith in his exhibitors. 'This is the year,' he may have thought to himself while dictating his quote to some poor sap in the press office, 'that the world's videogame publishers won't turn up with armfuls of sequels, film tie-ins, endorsed extreme sports games, GTA clones, Halo clones, Super Mario 64 clones, Rainbow Six clones, Everquest clones, Burnout clones, Burnout clones with magazine endorsements, Gran Turismo clones, Resident Evil clones, Metal Gear Solid clones, poor competitors to Pro Evo with licenses no-one has heard of or cares about, Sonic clones, Tetris clones or porn games'
Creativity and innovation: these are not words to be casually bandied about in the latest corporate press release. They mean something. They should be reserved for the tiny minority of games that are actually going to push things forward. And there will be a few at E3, lurking behind the mammoth speakers that vomit useless teen punk into the air all day, perhaps on single screens as opposed to gratuitous banks of monitors. There will be no booth babes draped nearby, posing awkwardly with men whose fierce BO should qualify as a human rights abuse. They may be revealed behind close doors, or to one or two discerning gamers who happen to walk past and notice something unusual.
I've been to E3 three times. I remember every game I saw that showed real innovation and creativity. Believe me, the number is nowhere near 1,000. Let's just be realistic about this industry, eh? It's not kids coding in their bedrooms anymore, we don't have to be proud that we're - you know - still here and still making money. It's taken for granted. Let's just get on with things. Let's face the ugly truth.
