E3 really was a massive moment. Shame we won’t really have stuff like this again. I miss the yearly cringe.
Thankfully there’s still the swathes of other comic, video game, and anime conventions out there to get your dose.
ETA: have we all forgotten about San Diego Comic-Con? The literal largest comic convention in the world that most big production companies use as a major event to announce upcoming projects?
But…that’s not specifically about video games?
E3 cultivated an “insider” appeal that not many large cons tried to match. You could look forward to game reveals that you’d mark on your calendars.
PAX has a more indie feel and Gamescom feels much more like an actual trade show.
All the video games magazines would do an E3 issue and I remember binging on all the game announcements and event photos. Good times
E3 taught me a lot about how to sneak into paid conventions and invite-only after parties. Had just moved to LA and a new friend brought me along and taught me the ways.
Care to elaborate?
Yeah, he invited me there, said he got me a ticket. What he actually had for me was a toolbelt, high biz vest and a hardhat. He used to work as an electrician for these events. So we walk in and store our things. In the evening the big publishers would hold private parties. We did the same routine to get into Sony’s. It was the mid 2000s and we ended up doing this for multiple events before disbanding :)
We’ll never get another “$299” moment again :(
A .biz domain still feels really scummy to me
It wasn’t a trade but a gaming show
Not originally. It was a trade show.
