Kotaku
When the Entertainment Software Association announced two years ago that they were downsizing E3, cutting attendees, and in particular the amount of journalists invited, down to a fraction of former head-counts, there was a lot of consternation among the working press.
What if, people wondered, favoritism and nepotism were the rules of the day. Would journalists be blocked from covering E3 if they didn't write positive stories or angered a publisher?
So far, that doesn't appear to be the case, but now both the Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain (DICE) summit and the Game Developers Conference are moving toward an invite only system and the same concern is rearing its head.
But the heads of all three organizations say they're going to great lengths to make sure that doesn't happen.
The Game Developers Conference is moving to a new invite-only system starting next year, the show's director, Jamil Moledina, told me.
"We don't have it nailed down, but we are looking at moving to an invite model for press access at GDC," he said. "It's meant to be a networking event for people who make games, but more and more we are seeing a lot of individuals who are obtaining press credentials who aren't full-time press. It's kind of open to being spoofed, in a way."
In 2006, for instance, about 1,000 press members attended the conference, which had a total admission of just 16,000.
And it's not just that an abundance of press, both professional and amateur, get under foot, it also costs the people putting on the show money.
On top of that, Moledina says he has to worry about maintaining the show's atmosphere.
"Making sure the Game Developers Conference fits its core goals is the main thing we concern ourselves with," he said. "As long as it remains predominantly about learning, thats what we are concerned with."
The problem, Moledina says, is that the show draws some of the biggest names in development every year, which in turn draws quite a crowd of journalists and even more publishers hoping to show off their wares in the "halo" surrounding the show.
"I am concerned that if we don't focus on what makes GDC work we will face some complications down the road," he said.
That's primarily the impetus behind DICE's decision this year to cut down on press attendance.
"The academy's role, first and foremost, is to make sure the academy members are comfortable and that the role of the media is to be there to watch and not participate," said Joseph Olin, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, which puts on DICE every year.
This year, the academy decided to cut down on press attendance by assigning the invitee lists to two public relations companies. One handled mainstream press and the other handled enthusiast press and blogs.
The decision came, in part, Olin says, after some misbehavior on the part of invited press in 2006. Some writers were too enthusiastically pursuing interviews, which led the developers to feel like they couldn't focus on the show itself. Olin said he felt like the show had also become a place for writers to find great interviews that could be saved up and doled out over the rest of the year.
"The opportunity to be among so many high-profile signature members of the game-making community is that it creates this opportunity to be, 'There's so and so, I need to go talk to him'," Olin said. "Some of our high profile members said they felt uncomfortable.
While DICE did manage to cut down on press attendance, mostly by limiting the number of those attending for one organization, it also seemed to arbitrarily exclude some sites, including, initially, Kotaku.
Olin acknowledged there were some issues with the vetting process this year and said that it's being looked at for next year.
"We will be reviewing our policies for 2009," he said. "I'm going to get a lot of feedback from our attendees and (journalists)."
The ESA, meanwhile, plans to stick to their invite-only system for E3, which involves getting a list of invitees from participating publishers and developers and creating their own master list.
While last year's show had some hiccups, the downsizing was generally well received.
Rich Taylor, senior vice president for communications and research at the ESA, said the main reason they went to the invite-only system was because the publishers and developers felt they were getting lost in the "swirl of attendance."
"There was a decision to match the need of companies with the goals of the show itself," he said. "We aren't interested in blocking freedom of the press. The selected attendees come from the publishers themselves. The whole point isn't to limit access but to get the information out."
"There is an expanding, exploding universe of folks who have the ability to write or opine about our industry and there just isn't a way to include all of them."
Taylor says there was very little "blow back" from bloggers and mainstream press last year over the invite-only system and promised that if an issue did come up they would be quick to address it.
Taylor added that news that both DICE and GDC seem to be, in some ways, following their lead in this regard is a "validation of a path we chose."
"Across the spectrum there is an increase in the number of people covering events and you can't just keep making larger doors to the convention halls."
Comments
wow...that sucks.
This just means we'll have better articles because people will have more time with developers, games, and publishers and that we'll get to read video game blogs 24/7... but it'll be more indepth..
or I misread.
They are maintaining the Atom-o-Sphere? This cinches it. I am confident that GDC is a cover operation for an evil organization, Ala bond movies. I apologize for my lack of accented letters, but I don't feel like going through that alt-key BS.
I think the Atom-o-Sphere is some sort of field generator that causes atoms to spontaneously split within it's effect, contains the resulting energy, and uses it to power the next reaction. Sort of a contained nuclear bomb and generator all in one.
... Yeah. I watch way too much sci-fi and enjoyed that typo too much. I say it stays.
Well It's all good, it's better for the media outlets to get more information for gamers.
Yeah, because the gaming media has NEVER been biased by advertisers, events, or swag before.
What they need to do is put up a public event like E3 used to be. I'm sure a lot of what do the call it, amateur journalist, went there, because there really isn't any big conference anymore. If they want journalist to get a better story and give them more time, thats all well and fine, but the fact of the matter is the group they should be busting their ass to please is the public, because they are the ones who buy the games. I don't see why they can't make a public, journalism, and devs conference. E For All took a shot at this, but it didn't seem to really have the support of the industry.
I was invited by bungie to go the year the downsized it. Unfortunately that didn't end well because they DOWNSIZED IT! This is e3 im talking about of course. I was still invited to the after parties. The only reason I didn't go, because I live in indiana, the event was in freaking california. Maybe we should band together and start our own conference in the midwest. Having Epic and all those game studios on the east coast, maybe we could get a good turnout. Or probably not and i am doomed to an existence equalling that of hell.
I actually prefer this. The Game Developers Conference should NOT be a press event. It should not be a place to launch marketing campaigns. It should be an event where game developers hone their craft.
So basically, its to make sure that your publications is one of two things. Your publication must have a certain amount of reach( site hits ,confirmed readership), and two that's its getting across the sort of message our companies want. ( i.e. they're not bashing your games in previews or giving them lower scores than meta critic, 1up I'm looking at you.)
It sucks the list is getting smaller, that means people like Jeff Gerstmann who is now considered maybe part time press will not get into these events.
I am all for this. I have been to GDC for the past few years and it seems like every year there is more and more people who are there who don't work in the industry at all. I think that it is great that gaming enthusiasts are very excited about the people and products game developers make, but it is called the "Game Developers Conference" for a reason. It should only really be for game developers. A place they can share knowledge, teach each other, and make the industry better.
Hmm I can see this being both good and bad.
Will hold judgement until next years round of shows and will decide then.
I can understand and support this with GDC. While I loved having Gears 2 announced, it just didn't seem to fit the atmosphere of the entire event and seemed a little out of place but with E3 so far away, they needed to get the press train rolling for the game now. Other than that, the coverage for the event was good in my opinion. I'm not a developer but I loved reading about devs' opinions and ideas on things as well as the new ideas being put forth in their games, APB coming to mind.
Hopefully these changes won't mess things up too much and make the gaming events into nothing more than tight lipped, sympathetic press gatherings. Only time will tell I suppose.
@notalkjustrock: I agree. I basically stopped going to GDC for the last 4 years because its been full of amateurs and amateur press. Everyone and their grandmas that have a web blog, or students gaining access to this event is a complete and utter slap in the face to all the developers and publishers. GDC is a developer/publisher event, a place where we can summit our ideas/experiences, including gaining contacts and possible business relationships. Well, at least that's what it used to be. Now-a-days the only reason I'd go to GDC would be to have drinks with old colleagues that have moved on to new companies across the country.
I guess the is what happens when video games start trying to imitate the "grownup" profession of movie making. They have no more time for the people and the "amateur" press that got them to the point where they are today.
You would think an investor would see how there are no options for gamers in the US to go to shows like the gamers in Europe and Japan and capitalize on it.
The problem is, the invite-only model totally failed with E3. Sure, it cut down on the press...but it also cut down on developers! If you aren't one of the biggest developers in the industry, you aren't going to get invited. And that would totally suck if the same thing happened to the Game Developer's Conference! This is extremely bad news for developers and the game industry in general.
@Mr Fortitude: E3 was never a "public event." It was always an industry-only gathering, that got smothered by the same sort of crap that GDC and DICE is getting hit with. You have a bunch of kids who make a website for a couple of months and then get a press badge, or something along those lines.
saxifridge hits it on the head here, there are just too many people at Game Developer's Conference who are not Game Developers, and it's starting to get to be a bit much.
There IS a public event now, E4All. 'Course, it's not very good, and it never will be - it costs way too much money to put on a large booth at a conference hall, and to have the show in only one city drastically reduces the number of people you're reaching in the first place.
By the time the last Real E3 came and went, Sony was spending upwards of $5 million on their booth. $5 million in three days. Do you really think they got much of a return on their investment?
I can tell you right now that they weren't.
And you want companies to blow that kind of money on a single-location consumer-only event? Never gonna happen.
I'm still waiting for some form, ANY FORM of Gaming Event to happen in Atlanta. I mean hell, ANYTHING. It sucks >.>
Iv always said they need some event on the Eastcoast. I mean shit, even PAX is on the west coast. Give us some sort of east coast convention and put it in Virginia because thats the middle ground, regardless of me being in the same state.
But if you're going to put it in virginia you might as well put it in the brand spanking new Virginia Beach convention center right on the oceanfront.
How does this apply to presentations? Are presenters only invited now, or is this just for visitors?
@Mav: doesnt japan do ti with the Tokyo Game Show? So it's not like it's impossible
GDC should have been invite-only all along. Don't really know if it's a good idea with E3 though but I guess it all depends on how many people actually get invited.
@saxifridge: Ditto, GDC needs to remain focused on game development, not press releases of new AAA titles.
@ArmyofJuan: No the TGS has business / news days and public days.
They have not changed that formula "yet".
@HurricaneDave: No, this is what happens when anybody and his brother can start up a blog and call themselves "press". In the old days, the only "press" that existed were mainstream media - newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, magazines. There weren't that many of them and what did exist was easy to verify. The people who worked for them were by and large professionals who were trained in the industry and usually had many years of experience.
All the industry is trying to do is put things back to the way they used to be. That may or may not be either possible or advisable at this point, but it's not about trying to "grow up" - it's in fact the opposite. It's about trying to turn back the clock to a time when things were a little more manageable.
I agree with all these organizers that something needed to be done. These are not, never have been and were never intended to be public shows, but that's what they had become for all intents and purposes. And at a certain point, you get to where the environment is such that no actual work can get done. I mean, trade shows exist for the purpose of getting people in the industry together to talk to each other; to exchange ideas, to make deals, etc. That can't happen when you have to worry about some kid standing next to you writing what he overhears on his blog. At that point, you may as well just skip the whole event and just go to a bar somewhere to talk instead. That's to say nothing of just how physically unpleasant these overcrowded events have become.
All I can say is, those elitist pricks. Can you imagine a bunch of fat guys in suits smoking stogies and drinking Cognac? That's what I imagine when I hear "invite only."
This system does not only affect press, but the budding developer as well. With the invite-only method, there will be no more hands-on time with new technologies and potential partnerships. Now, we'll have to wait for press releases and PR BS, and that plain sucks.
@badasscat: Agreed, but tell that to the bloggers who insist they are on the same level as a newspaper or magazine, all the while posting about how much money they spent on a dinner (I'm looking at that pathetic attempt at a site called joystiq).
Some bloggers try hard, I know, but on a whole the format has some real stinkers, and it is getting out of hand. When a bleach blonde 1up user goes to E3 soley so she can tell me "this year's E3 was not as good as last year's E3" and show me pictures of famous people she posed with, I wonder what dicks I have to suck to go play preview builds for free.
What I find even more hilarious is the number of people in general (not just on Kotaku) that complain saying things like "Oh that sucks", etc.
Why is this funny? B/c the majority of them are people who wouldn't be (or shouldn't be) at GDC, E3, etc. in the first place since they don't work in the industry (or have the want to be in it.) They just want to go to so they can plan some games that aren't out yet.
I've always wanted to go to E3....maybe someday. Maybe.
@HurricaneDave:
I don't think this is a case of game developers forsaking the people who purchase their products at all. It's not about ignoring the little guys. In the end, the event is suppose to be for game developers to come together and learn. That is really hard to do with the way GDC has been for the past few years.
@taidan19: You forgot to mention Kotaku (and Destructoid) when you mentioned Joystiq.
If all these BLOGGERS (they're not journalists) want to be taken seriously then they need to abide by some guidelines instead of taking (childish) pot shots at industry people. Example? The whole Miyamoto "hack" thing that Kotaku did a while back. You would NEVER see that kind of stuff on from IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy, 1UP or even the magazine publications.
Umm, it sounds like they are making it invite-only for press, not just invite only. It looks like they just want members of the fourth estate to pony up cash for admission like the rest of us.
While I can see why conferences would want to limit the number of gaming journalists attending, if the list were to become too short, the industry would be shooting itself in the foot.
One of the main things the gaming press creates is anticipation for upcoming games. Through screenshots, interviews, demos and the like, the press is a great marketing tool for developers who want to show off their games. When a game receives a bad review, there will still be that group who'll be like 'wow, I remember that preview in X magazine, I think it'll be a cool game.' (That's how I got stuck buying Soul Caliber for the Wii... big mistake, I know.) Therefore, a large and varied group of journalists would be in a publisher's best interest.
But I can understand why high-profile game developers would feel uneasy if they're being hounded by a few dozen journalists during the conference for an exclusive interview.
I hope they over-regulate their conference and it implodes. I don't see how anything useful can come from E3 as imagined next year.
Jago's right taifdan19. How can you single out Joystiq when Kotaku and Destrutoid are Blogs as well? Seems like you just don't like Joystiq for some reason.
@jago.kot: Agreed, I think the only reason people are up in arms about this is because the industry is gaming. I don't see people foaming at the mouth to attend the Vacuum Cleaner Maker's Convention.
Woot.
@Paustinj: You should try GDX at Savannah College of Art and Design. It's like a Mini GDC. There are people who are actually in the industry who attend. It's not only for students and industry folk but I think it's open to the public as well.
Reading a few of your comments is terrifying. Most of you sound really hostile. That or I'm very easily intimidated by angry adults. Alot you sound like you're yelling at us to get off your yard.
As a kid (20 and I still consider myself that), I apologize from the bottom of my heart that we get on your nerves. We don't really to be a bother, honest. We just want to network so we'll have a place to go after college. We also want to hear the new and innovative thoughts and were our industry is heading from the great minds of our time. We really look up to you guys and strive to be like you someday. I'm sorry, I really am. Please don't be mad.
Never heard of it, but I know of SCAD. Thanks for the info, I'll look into it.
I just think most people posting here are upset that they haven't ever and can't go to a gaming event/convention. I know I am :P
@TheDollHouse: It's not about mad adults or anything though. I totally understand wanting to network to try and get a job. I was there once myself. The problem is not the college students who want to go the career pavilion, its the people who crowd the place just to play games that are not out yet, the people who show up and go to GDC simply because it is a gaming event and they like games. There are conventions for that sort of thing, like PAX. That is not what GDC is suppose to be about.
@badasscat: You can say what you want, but as far as I'm concerned the whole notion of "video game journalism" is a joke. The real journalist will not get invited to these events if they honestly write and report what they fell or what is actually going on, and the only ones left are going to be the ones who feel that there is nothing wrong with getting free swag from gaming companies when they are invited to view a new game coming out.
What they need to do is come up with an alternative gaming event that resembled E3 of the past. Make it a gaming convention similar in size and scope to the San Diego Comic-Con where its the fans who get a chance to attend in addition to press and industry people who will be there anyway. The industry has gotten large enough that something like a Gaming-Con will satisfy the gaming public and still give companies another venue to display their products and make announcements.
@badasscat: You nailed it right here.
"I mean, trade shows exist for the purpose of getting people in the industry together to talk to each other; to exchange ideas, to make deals, etc. That can't happen when you have to worry about some kid standing next to you writing what he overhears on his blog."
The worst is trying to get into an over-crowded Hall for a keynote or panel, not being able to attend due to the over abundance of non-game developers trying to get info on the next big title of n developer. It's extremely frustrating to be cheated out of information that you'd actually put to practical use , and functionality rather by some basement dwelling dork trying to get more hits to his page. What they should do is commit E3 to the public and transpose the developer/business areas from E3 to GDC. No need to have 2 conferences doing the same thing. E3's hasn't been great for the last 10 years anyways.
Okay seriously, some of you kneejerk kids need to understand the difference between a professional conference/summit and a media expo. GDC is one of those things, and not the other.
It's not about 'supporting amateurs' or 'inviting everyone', it's about networking and sharing ideas. It's been said several times in these comments already, but some of you are seriously not getting the point. People pay to get into these things with the desire to Learn Something, not to be fodder for someone's blog. Saying you wish all these events should fail is just plain childish and nearsighted.
Jeeze.
Um...your no longer a kid when you're 20 yrs old. That's college age.
As for the networking stuff...that is understandable BUT E3 is not the place for it. Plus with the way E3 has been in the past (before it went invite only last year), the event would be too chaotic to network with anyone (I should know...I've been to 8 shows.)
As for GDC...it is possible to network at the show BUT you have to do it at the right locations. Some places will openly look for jobs there but most of the booths there are for networking (within the industry...middleware, etc.)
If you're REALLY interested in networking then see if there is a local IGDA (International Game Developers Association) chapter in or near your area. That is a GREAT place to network & you can also check out their website as well and read their forums (IGDA.org)
@jago.kot: BINGO! IGDA is a great resource.
@frieze: Agreed, excluding people like educators or indie game developers (with something they could actually show; not those "I have this /great/ idea" people) would be counter to the goal of the show(s).
At the same time, I think that announcing new games at a show about development, design, innovation, etc. gives the wrong impression; I'd much rather hear about what could be and what should be than what will be. Save the what will be for, what's this, PRESS events.
Dropping hints is okay though.
@WoozyB: Finally someone who actually gets it. One thing some gamers will never realize is that these events role and purpose is not to appease and please the gaming public but to discuss how to make the industry move forward in terms of technology and business practices. Some gamers just think because in the past some big announcement were made during GDC, DICE, E3 that the public should have free access to the place without the right credentials.
These organizations should just raise the price of admission to the event. Make it so that only those who actually have to be there and can expense their admission fee can afford to attend.
@Athest: if I'm not mistaken E3 wasn't really for the public. They opened it to the public for one day but the original purpose was for developers and publishers to make deals.
I think GDC tightening up makes sense as most of these conventions aren't for the public. To be honest, I'm not sure how many of these REALLY need to be open to the public. As long as quality sites like Kotaku are able to attend and give their impressions of the game, will it really matter of the John Q can play it before hand? Most of the times those games aren't polished enough anyway and do nothing for the rest of us who didn't attend as those in the public can't give their impressions.
They just need to allow room for some amateur and/or up-and-coming journalists to attend.
To those complaining about the move to invite-only for these big events, have you ever been to one of them?
I think these "limitations" are great moves. Business can get done without tons of people being there that have no purpose there.
I agree that DICE, home to the Interactive Achievement awards, should provide a relaxing atmosphere for the people that work on the games. They shouldn't feel obliged to provide a full-fledged interview.
GDC should be for developers to get together, share technology and talk new technology. It should not become a show for revealing new titles and the such as it has become recently. Leave that to E3/TGS.
To those that say there should be a big event that's open to the public, there are two options: PAX or E for All. But with the creation of a show for consumers, this takes away time those developers and publishers could be using to actually work on their products versus demoing stuff to the ungrateful public.
/rant