What do we think of the "new/old" E3?

[Brad Hilderbrand]

So as we all slowly recover from the week of no sleep, heavy drinking and backlog of writing that is E3 I'm curious to know, what did everyone think of this year's show? I'm happy to see a bit of the pomp and spectacle back once again, even though it did make it a bit harder to work than previous years. If I could make suggestions going forward, it would be these:

1. Reduce attendance a little so as to ease crowds a bit. This might not be possible though if the ESA needs a big crowd to cover show expenses. In which case...

2. If the show stays the same size, wall off a section for the journalists and those doing business and create a separate area for public demos. This way everyone gets to see the same demo and nobody who's on a schedule has to wait in line for an hour or more just to see one big-name title.

Overall I think this year's show was much improved over the last couple but yet still wasn't so over-the-top it became a circus. What about you all? Thoughts? Comments?

[Stew Shearer]

Sigh, what I saw from the live stream on my laptop sure seemed cool....

[Ben Kuchera]

Each of the booths DID have a walled off section for journalists, you just had to have made an appointment to see the game behind closed doors.

[Andrew Groen]

I thought the show was just about perfect. I never had to wait more than 15 minutes in line for any game. I had appointments with Valve, Microsoft, and Sony though so that helped me bypass the huge waits for God of War 3, ODST, and Left 4 Dead 2. Those huge lines were kind of a blessing though considering they pretty much sucked up tons of people and kept them off all the other games. I can't think of a single game on the show floor that I wanted to play, but didn't get a chance to. I played over 50 games during the show, which I think speaks to the show's success.

My only complaint was the criminally small Indiecade booth. Pretty much everything I saw over there was brilliant, and it's a shame that the booth was limited to so few. Re-open Kentia Hall for next year and I'll be 100% happy. Other than that I'd say it was a smashing success that they'll hopefully build on for next year.

[Timothy J Seppala]

I thought the show was great. Being my first E3 I can't compare it to years prior, but from what I was told by vets this year was a great mix of old and new. My only complaint was just how friggin loud the EA and Activision booths were; I had an appointment with Disney Interactive and was checking out Split/Second (one of the best playable games on the show floor) and had all I could do to hear the person giving the demo. I'm pretty sure that Nintendo has a death wish for Activision for similar reasons.

Oh and Ben, I'm a big fan of yours cheers for accomplishing all that you did while remaining sane with a two man crew.

[Andrew Groen]

Totally agree about Split/Second. Though I have a feeling that the formula wont be able to hold up after a few hours. The fact that it's based almost entirely on the player's WOW feelings means that it'll probably get a little dry after a while. But cheers to them for doing something new and exciting with the tired racing genre.

...but seriously, when that plane crashed on the runway in the middle of my race I almost crapped myself. Ditto to when the air traffic control tower crashed onto the track.

[Scott Kevill]

I agree that the show was just right. Enough attendees for it to feel lively, but not too many to be overcrowded like the earlier years.

The only thing I'd like to see is more of the smaller companies. The kind of thing Kentia Hall offered.

[Timothy J Seppala]

Hey Scott, we met at the Into the Pixel event. You were telling me how you saved Demigod's online system. Remeber?

[Scott Kevill]

Sure do. I wedged into your conversation when I overheard talk of Australians. :)

Then I recognised your name badge from previously lurking here.

[Joshua O'neal]

The ESA could make E3 have a public day and charge people to visit the show. I mean, these games are for the public and the industry would definitely get more attention from the mainstream. This works for Blizzcon and Tokyo Game Show, so why not E3?