We’re now just a few hours away from E3, the glitziest games expo of the year. Well, that was until this year. The Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the event, has decided to sober up E3 by making it strictly business. No more Vin Diesel to promote new releases, champagne flowing all over the place, fireworks or scantily clad “booth babes”. According to GameSpot this year’s E3 will “feature subdued, standardized booths”, cut the light shows and “product previews will be held in private suites rented by publishers”. Some disappointed games publishers, like Tecmo, have already decided to skip the event altogether. So have the ESA forever sapped the soul of E3 or will their cleaner cut, business oriented event yield more deals for games publishers?
We’ll only know this once E3 shuts its doors on July 13. For now, the event is still expected to unveil a great deal of exciting titles, especially for new consoles like Nintendo’s Wii, Microsoft’s XBox 360 and Sony’s PS3. What about PC games? E3 still has a lot to offer for Windows gamers and we’re really looking forward to games like Activision’s Enemy Territory and Call of Duty 4, Namco’s Hellgate London, or Midway’s Stranglehold. E3 should also gives us the chance to take a closer look at Blizzard’s Starcraft 2.
