Last updated on July 23, 2020
I indulge those who note that software drives the videogame industry — and it would certainly have been damaging to E3 if, say, EA and Activision pulled out of the conference — but the hardware oligopoly of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo deciding to pull out of the show is what really killed the major event. Next Generation’s analysis is guilty of the same kind of exaggeration that killed the conference itself; the list could stop at the second reason. Next Generation should also be careful to avoid any schadenfreude as its history has also been marked by a significant collapse and attempt to rise from the ashes.
In other coverage, News.com buys the association’s line and says that the 2007 show will likely be an invitation-only affair (let’s hope not) while Penny Arcade looks at the more emotional side of E3’s “evolution” in ESA’s euphemism, and a comic is worth a thousand words.
Of many major tech events from the ’90s that have faded away — Comdex, PC Expo, summer Macworld and now E3 — one most wonder if another is on the chopping block. CES continues to grow out of control, but it would require a much stronger coordinated effort to bring down that show — Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips, Samsung and LG would all have to walk, and yet you’d still have big booths from many other exhibitors including HP, DirecTV, Creative, Intel and Microsoft — not that my feet would mind seeing CES scaled back a bit, or at least having its growth slow. CEA has just done a better job of diversifying the exhibitor base.