Phil Elliott
11:33 (BST)
17/07/2008
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Ubisoft: E3 is "not appropriate" at the current date, location
Ubisoft executive director Alain Corre has told GamesIndustry.biz that he feels this year's E3 Media and Business Summit has taken place at a time and location "not appropriate" to the importance of the event.
Talking in an interview the day after the company's press conference, Corre still believes that E3 is a key date on the calendar, but that the event should be bigger, and take place earlier in the year.
"For E3, it's very important to be there, and to present the games, because even though it's much, much smaller than it used to be, still the American media are here, all our competitors, so you need be there, to be ready and to share product.
"It's one milestone in the communication of your products throughout the year, and it's important because it's the ramp-up for Christmas," he said. "[But] E3 here, mid-July, in the Convention Center in downtown LA - it's not appropriate I would say."
He went on to explain that the downsized event came too late in the year for new product announcements, meaning that the buzz around the event suffers and fewer media outlets consider it crucial to their publishing plans.
"There are no retailers at all, from anywhere on the planet - not even the US retailers are there, and there are very few media outlets from outside of the US," he said. "Even the mainstream media from the US aren't there."
Additionally Corre feels that while there should be limits placed on proceedings in order to prevent it from becoming the "funfair" experience of 2006, the event does need to be bigger - and that the company is discussing the options already.
"What we would like, and we're discussing that, is to have an E3 back in May with a bigger size," he explained. "It shouldn't be at the same level [as 2006] because it was getting too big, it was a funfair, and the cost was too heavy for everybody.
"It has to be a reasonable size with some reasonable limits as to noise, attendees or whatever, but with a bigger ambition than the one we have this year."
But Corre was quick to point out that Ubisoft was pleased with this year's showing at E3.
"This year we're happy because the response to our products has been good, people loved it," he said. "The press conference went well, so we can't say we're not happy with this E3 after the first day. It's just that it could be even more efficient if it was done in a different way - earlier in the year, and in a bigger way with everybody."
The full GamesIndustry.biz interview with Alain Corre will be available later this month.
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