The only thing there was more of at E3 than games were complaints about E3's new, tidy, business-like format. Everyone from company execs to game developers to the working press seemed to have something unhappy to say about the show.
Coasting right there along with the complaints was a building buzz that next year's E3 was going to have to undergo some mammoth changes. Just how mammoth? According to a number of well connected sources I spoke with during the show, there's considerable thought going into opening the doors, this time officially, to the public at next year's big event.
Reached for comment earlier today, the Entertainment Software Association had this to say:
"The ESA is currently in the process of receiving feedback and will make an announcement about the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit at an appropriate time."
My two cents? I find Leipzig's Games Convention to be the best format going for large gaming events. In the big Europe-centric show you have a number of mammoth halls showing off the best and brightest gaming has to offer to the public. You also have a hall or two dedicated solely to the press where writers and reporters can have quiet meetings and interviews with developers, producers and businesses types. The best part for a working journalist? Being able to do your interviews with the movers and shakers of the industry and then walk five minutes to get a chance to talk to the people who play those games. It's like reporting nirvana.
Come on ESA, follow suit.