Even More Interviews

Marko Kylmamaa: Senior Programmer, Digital Illusions Canada

First, can you comment on the argument that rising costs in exhibiting and planning for E3 has cause this retrenchment of the show?

The competition at E3 is getting fiercer especially as the next generation games are all competing to push the envelope further. The next generation development alone is quite expensive, and preparing your games for exhibition at E3 can be a slight distraction for the production process. While E3 provides some good visibility for the presented games, it to some degree also mandates their presence, especially for larger titles. In this sense, I can understand if especially the largest publishers feel that the production of many of their games is negatively affected by this cycle, and the overall marketing rewards are limited, as it is harder for most games to standout it in such a crowded environment.

E3 was the single biggest worldwide media even for the video and PC game industry, bringing in attention from a ton of both game enthusiast and mainstream media to cover the show. Without such a large event in the US for 2007, do you think that could impact the attention that the video and PC game industry gets from consumers and gamers?

I do think the E3 has been a big publicity flagship for the games industry. It’s the closest kind of a media event compared to the rest of the entertainment industry that the casual public can relate to. It’s hard to predict whether the lack of E3 would affect the market negatively, it probably would to a certain degree. It would definitely be a shame to see such a promotional event disappear from the mainstream media.

Do you think the people who exhibit at E3 will save their money and spend less on marketing and advertising as a whole or will the money that was previously earmarked for E3 be used in other ways?

I believe the same money would ultimately be used for marketing in different ways. Most likely the larger publishers will put more money into sponsoring their own events. This makes sense for them, as it allows them to present their own titles with more time and attention allocated for them.

Do you believe that this retrenchment is just temporary or will other events in the US, including CES, the Game Developers Conference and Digital/Life, become bigger and more important without having E3 be such a big presence in the industry?

It’s hard to predict the future of these events. However if E3 would not be there, especially the smaller developers would have to find other venues for exhibiting their work, and gaining more media attention. The other technology & entertainment events could be good candidates, as they already collect a large number of people together and allow for a decent exposure.

Finally, is there anything else that you wish to say about the retrenchment of E3?

I think the games industry needs more mainstream events like E3. Comparing to other entertainment industries like the film or music, the games industry doesn’t still publicize especially the industry behind the games to the general public as much. For example, there are a number of high profile awards ceremonies for the other entertainment sectors, and it would be exciting to see something equivalent happen for games and their developers.

Dmitri Kruglov: CEO, Play Ten Interactive
First, can you comment on the argument that rising costs in exhibiting and planning for E3 has cause this retrenchment of the show?

The rising costs are an argument, but the crumbling video games market is an even stronger one. We’re facing the sharpest decline since NASDAQ crash probably. So everyone now looks into cutting the costs. Moreover, the last 2-3 years were “more of the same”, without any breakthrough achievements. Everyone knew about them quite some time in advance, like in the case with presentations of next-gen consoles. So it was inevitable that some people will lose their faith in the show. After corporate giants finished trimming their staff, the next step in minimizing the spending would be to lower the participation in various media events. The evolution of this could be a decrease of the overall media support level.

E3 was the single biggest worldwide media even for the video and PC game industry, bringing in attention from a ton of both game enthusiast and mainstream media to cover the show. Without such a large event in the US for 2007, do you think that could impact the attention that the video and PC game industry gets from consumers and gamers?

E3 was something of a relic of the US Game Industry of the Nineties, with all the glamour and clamor of a big consumer’s show added to the usual gamedev people bravado. It is out of place today, in a country which is waging incessant wars and suffers from the largest trade deficit in the known history. There will be an impact, but not such a big one. Many great companies have their own consumer’s shows anyway, and the smaller ones are more interested in making deals. The organizers promised to keep this part intact. Perhaps the US gaming enthusiasts will be the ones who suffer the most. Maybe there will be a smaller event for them in the near future, but nothing like E3. For media people, this will be a mixed blessing. On one hand, they do not need to compete so fiercely during the show and pay so much for E3 attendance. On the other, they will miss a lot of good times and findings at the show.

Do you think the people who exhibit at E3 will save their money and spend less on marketing and advertising as a whole or will the money that was previously earmarked for E3 be used in other ways?

The money “saved” from E3 will leak into the most crucial parts of the today’s publishers budget. That is the development of next-gen titles and the research into venues alternative to retail. Such people as EA have more than enough advertising as it is. Even if the original intent was to spend more on the direct customer’s approach, other equally important issues will appear as soon as the funds become available. So there will be an overall increase in advertising and marketing, but the lion’s share will go elsewhere.

Do you believe that this retrenchment is just temporary or will other events in the US, including CES, the Game Developers Conference and Digital/Life, become bigger and more important without having E3 be such a big presence in the industry?

The situation in the game industry is dependent on a lot of outside factors, some of them cannot be taken into account now. When average people start caring more about gas, and fuel, and bread, they will pay less attention to the computer games. One thing is for sure, we have to cope with far smaller development budgets on the projects which are much bigger than before. This is something to be thought over at the next GDC. Surely E3 cannot be just “replaced”, no matter what.

Finally, is there anything else that you wish to say about the retrenchment of E3?

The obligatory dressing of booth babes at the last show was an ominous sign. Perhaps they should’ve ordered them to wear fatigues! ;)