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Vox Pop - Your views on E3 2003

What were your overall impressions of E3 this year - if this is a way to measure the pulse of the industry, how healthy are we, and what things really drove the show this year, in your opinion?

PHILIP OLIVER, CEO, BLITZ GAMES:
In my opinion it was simply game quality that drove the show this year. The high standards and production values in many of the games show that we truly are an innovative industry that's at the top of its creative game right now.

JEZ SAN, CEO, ARGONAUT
The quality of production values in games has gone way up. I saw lots of good stuff. No one title (that was playable ;-) shone any brighter than the pack this year, unlike previous years. And yes, it was the year of the Sequel.... but when they look this good, who cares?

KRISTAN REED, EDITOR, EUROGAMER.NET:
Although Sony's PSP announcement was arguably the most significant development at the show, it was just that, an announcement. A spoiler to muddy Nokia's waters and to make sure everyone was talking about Sony. The N-Gage press conference was hilarious, and the company needs to think seriously about its pricing strategy and the ergonomics of the handset before it will succeed.
The Half Life 2 presentation was arguably the talk of the show among gamers, with the Source technology behind it simply a quantum leap above anything else present - including Doom III. It also shows how a developer, like Valve, can effectively take control of its own destiny. Not only was the game shown off separately from the Vivendi stand, but everything to do with the publicity has been handled by Valve. More power to the developers - I hope this is a sign of the creators wrestling control back again. It's not before time, either.
Console wise, the mid cycle blues seemed to have set in, with a proliferation of sequels and lack of innovation blatantly apparent. The return of the PC was certainly apparent, and I think you'll see even more evidence of that next year as the technical gulf grows between the PC and consoles.
EA, again, showed how far ahead it is, and why it is the No.1, and the contenders did little to show signs of catching up.

IAN BAVERSTOCK, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, KUJU:
I think the industry seemed pretty upbeat this year at E3. There were some amazing PC games on display and I think there will be a lot of excitement about what a PC can achieve as the platform draws away from the current generation of consoles. But overall I was most impressed with the really high quality of the console games. There seemed to be excellent games everywhere and I think the console market is going to power ahead very strongly in the next two years.

NICHOLAS LOVELL, FINANCIAL EXPERT, LOVELL CONSULTANCY
The show was good but not great. It is getting harder to judge the merits of the games, as the stands get louder and the marketing ever stronger. But if you work in this industry, it is very tough to stay on top of the market if you do not attend. Depressingly, I found that the majority of games on display suggested that the industry was getting more derivative, but this of course is the oldest complaint in the book.

BRIAN BAGLOW, INDOCTRIMAT
This year's event seemed to be much more positive and upbeat than any other year I can think of. The publishers seem to be much more confident and the exhibitors in general were pleased with the show. The key factor driving the show seems to be a confidence that the industry as a whole is viable and is not about to pitch into a long term recession. The dire warnings about studios closing their doors, platforms going under and the cyclical nature of the games business made a lot of people nervous and caused a lot of uncertainty. We're here to stay.

DAVID MCQUEEN, GAMES KITCHEN
Everything at E3 looked very polished. The overall standard of production is definitely getting higher year-on-year. I cannot remember seeing any game that actually looked bad. However, this year's show was very much dominated by sequels and derivative titles. Publishers are obviously less likely to take risks.

TIM GATLAND, FUND 4 GAMES
Pretty good, I would say we're pretty healthy. Yes, there are lots of sequels and licenced material, but that is always true. The anticipated MS & Sony price reductions were less than expected. Sony's handheld initiative will be interesting to follow. Microsoft's stand lacked cohesion - I think the guy responsible must have quite a lot of experience in organising car boot sales, although some of the content looked nice. Having a stand near Nintendo biased me against them as I had to listen to constant high volume commentary on multiplayer Mario races - although it did look fun.

MARK GREENSHIELDS, DC STUDIOS
In general the quality of the games was high but once again originality was scarce - I expected something new on the Nintendo booth but was disappointed. Video on GBA is very interesting (of course as we have done it too!) but I guess the announcement of the PlayStation Portable was a great teaser and a hope for next year.

GED GRIMES, JACKS HOOSE MUSIC
This was my first E3 but compared to GDC which I attend every year it was on a completely different scale. I sense real optimism in the industry after a couple of wobbly years which, let's face it, were necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff. It gives the industry a much more solid foundation going forward. The things that drove the show were the MMORPG's from Sony On-Line Everquest and Atari's booth had everything covered. Also EA were as usual very strong.

NIGEL LITTLE, CEO, DISTINCTIVE DEVELOPMENTS
Overall I was impressed with the ever improving quality of the games being produced, although games with wow factor were very few and far between. Ultimately, I think E3 2003 will be looked back on as a major milestone of mobile gaming with the arrival of the Nokia N-Gage.

DAVID THOMSON, GAMES KITCHEN
More than ever before, production standards were consistenly high on every stand. Five years ago, at my first show, some things (even on the big stands) were a bit iffy. Now, everything looks and sounds fantastic. In those terms, no problem. The problem comes from the fact that there was very little visible innovation.

What did you think about the UK Pavilion (and SGA stand) at the show?

IAN BAVERSTOCK, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, KUJU:
I was initially sceptical about the value of the UK Pavilion but I am now happy to report that it was a great success from Kuju's point of view. The UK has a very strong part to play in the global industry and we should shout louder about it. I'd like to see the message played on a video wall somewhere where all the execs who never get to look round the show floor will see it.

NIGEL DAVIES, COO, BLITZ GAMES:
We had a great location and it provided an excellent opportunity for developers such as Blitz to have a base at the show that we could otherwise not have afforded. A little more space would have been useful but hopefully the design can be refined for next year to allow a bigger meeting area.

JEZ SAN, CEO, ARGONAUT
Excellent. A nice, quiet, airconditioned oasis in the middle of the west hall, sandwiched between Sony and Sega. Our meeting room was getting almost 100% utilisation in between press and sales meetings. Thank you UK Gov, DTI, and everyone involved in it.

TIM GATLAND, FUND 4 GAMES
UK Pavilion. Great to see them on the main floor. I only visited the stand a couple of times and it was always very busy - I'm not sure I could get much done in such a claustrophobic atmosphere, but great to see it so well supported. SGA stand. Nice and relaxed - but needs much more support from the Scottish companies.

BRIAN BAGLOW, INDOCTRIMAT
Both stands achieved what they set out to do — provide a central meeting point for interested parties to come and find out what's going on and allow a number of smaller companies to create a presence on the main show floor. The UK Pavilion was always busy but I wonder how easy it was to carry out actual business in the stand itself. The SGA Stand reflected the fact that this is the 6th or 7th year it has been there. It's got space (and seats more importantly) for general meetings or for people to wait, as well as private offices for meetings. The companies who attended all seemed to be able to use the stand as their base and speaking from a PR point of view, it was excellent to have a space where journalists were glad, GLAD, to come and see us. And we do throw a good party. We do.

NICHOLAS LOVELL, FINANCIAL EXPERT, LOVELL CONSULTANCY
The UK Pavilion was an extremely useful meeting place, and the developers and trade bodies seemed to be making the most of it. I'm not sure how well it showcased UK development talent if you were not actually meeting the UK teams inside. Shame about the drums next door.

GED GRIMES, JACKS HOOSE MUSIC
I thought both stands punched well above their weight in the grander scheme of things. Everyone who came to SGA stand was welcomed with open arms and The Whisky Reception was full to bursting.Perhaps there is a case for amalgamation next year though as there is strength in numbers.

DAVID MCQUEEN, GAMES KITCHEN
The SGA and UK Pavillions both looked good and attracted a fair bit of interest. The UK pavillion had an odd layout since the stand was largely 'closed', which I personally think is a bit of a mistake. We Scots are much more open and friendly...

The best thing about E3 was...

NATALIE GRIFFITH, PR MANAGER, BLITZ GAMES:
... in game terms - Prince of Persia. Just how you always wanted it to be in your head when you played the original version!

KRISTAN REED, EDITOR, EUROGAMER.NET:
... Half Life 2, hands down. It was like peering into the future, and it's a very exciting place. It's products like this that will drive the industry, not making a game based on the latest action movie. Thank god for Valve, otherwise it may well have gone down as a flat E3. As it turned out, everyone seemed to be buzzing about it.

JEZ SAN, CEO, ARGONAUT
... The PSP announcement. The Parties. And of course, going home. (I'm getting on a bit ;-)

BRIAN BAGLOW, INDOCTRIMAT
...Seeing a greater variety of technologies, platforms and game styles being taken seriously. It's not all FPS any more. And the conference sessions were worthshile for a change. The one on marketing was absolutely top notch 10/10. More of this sort of thing. Yes.

GED GRIMES, JACKS HOOSE MUSIC
... Catching up with people I had talked to on the phone but never met, hanging out at the Sky Bar and explaining the Loch Ness Monster to gullible Valley Girls...George Clinton at the Sony Party.

IAN BAVERSTOCK, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, KUJU:
... Seeing one of Kuju's games on the big Sony video wall. That was the best thing for me.

TIM GATLAND, FUND 4 GAMES
... Eye Toy - perfect for the casual gamer/my kids at Christmas

NIGEL LITTLE, CEO, DISTINCTIVE DEVELOPMENTS
... All those lovely games to play and no hassle from the girlfriend saying 'Haven't you got anything better to do?'.

DAVID THOMSON, GAMES KITCHEN
... Gamewise, Starcraft: Ghost and Viewtiful Joe did it for me. But most of all, it was seeing a giant TGK logo and a massive Shelly (Wireless Pets turtle) on the screen outside the Staples Center on the way to the SGA Whisky Party. And then again on the giant screen above the court. I think that Shaq and Kobe may have been excited by that as well, and that put them off their game on the Thursday...

The worst thing about E3 was...

BRIAN BAGLOW, INDOCTRIMAT
Fortress America. Understand the need for security, but deporting journalists at gunpoint seems a trifle unnecessary — and really screwed up my schedule.

NICHOLAS LOVELL, FINANCIAL EXPERT, LOVELL CONSULTANCY
... The noise, and the way in which much of the marketing was pitched at teenage boys (or men behaving like teenage boys): cars, guns, wrestling displays, pneumatic girls in microskirts. If we want to be treated like a grown-up industry, isn't it time we started behaving like one?

KRISTAN REED, EDITOR, EUROGAMER.NET:
... Endless sequels, GTA rip offs, Max Payne rip offs and lazy licenses. Also publishers like Take Two keeping its best games hidden from view. This kind of paranoia is irritating for the press, but you can kind of understand it from their point of view, given the amount of GTA rip offs out there. Hiding games like Max Payne 2, though, is pointless.

DAVID MCQUEEN, GAMES KITCHEN
... That companies *still* use "booth babes". Even the testosterone-fuelled automotive industry has grown out of using scantily clad models to sell cars. We can't expect to be taken seriously as an industry if we continue to act like a bunch of teenagers.

IAN BAVERSTOCK, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, KUJU:
... Not getting a chance to play all the games that I wanted to. Too much business and not enough time.

JEZ SAN, CEO, ARGONAUT
... The parties ain't as good as they used to be. And now they have the super secret "Hollywood celebrity" parties that no one in the games biz gets invited to. And Sony didn't show the PSP.

TIM GATLAND, FUND 4 GAMES
... Some stoned guy who pestered me for an hour trying to persuade me that his Asian base was really part of the UK and so eligible for project finance.

MARK GREENSHIELDS, DC STUDIOS
... Some of the PS2 and Xbox games were unbelievably poor which will affect the platforms. Also, we need to add some innovation in games, as sequels are not enough.

GED GRIMES, JACKS HOOSE MUSIC
... The distance from my hotel to the show and the hangover after hanging out at the Sky Bar...

NIGEL LITTLE, CEO, DISTINCTIVE DEVELOPMENTS
... It being in LA. Oh.. the traffic... the pollution... the taxi drivers!

DAVID THOMSON, GAMES KITCHEN
... The noise level in South Hall, the morning of Day 1. Everyone blamed everyone else for starting the 'Decibel War' ("They turned their's up to 11, so we just made our 10 louder..."). Perhaps I'm just getting old...


Got a strong opinion on E3? Loved it, hated it? Let us know! contact@gamesindustry.biz for all your comments, suggestions and rants...

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Rob Fahey avatar

Rob Fahey

Contributing Editor

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.