E3.

Those two characters are enough to send most serious gamers into convulsions of ecstasy, complete with pelvic thrusts. They are enough to glue most of that same crowd to their computers and TV’s in a desperate bid to feed on every scrap of information they can get their eyes on. Because of those two characters, we more than willingly leave our significant others, family, houses, pets, possessions behind to fly into another city and be dazzled by the biggest and best the gaming industry has to offer.

Awesome, right?

That’s actually a heavily loaded question. Is it awesome to meet and greet the developers and publishers of our favorite games? Absolutely it is. Is it great to be the first to know some of the biggest announcements in gaming each year? Youbetcherass.

So, Veilsix, why on earth are you being so downtrodden about it, you might ask?

Simple. E3 is no longer the boisterous, loud and energetic event that it used to be. Ever since the 2007 reformat, it has not generated nearly the same hype and buzz that it used to. This is not only painfully obvious at the actual event itself, but after having viewed the online videos and feeds presented to the public, it looks downright gloomy and … dare I say boring?

The image isn’t really far from the truth. When you get past all of the neat displays and mockups, it’s really no different than reading an article with pictures. So why is it that when the internet and media age have evolved to the point of effectively delivering the experience to the at-home viewer, that E3 has dialed down the excitement and fun so drastically? What happened to the desire and pride of generating a buzz in your target audience?

It saddened me to see these guys come out on stage when you could see the excitement in their eyes, and be met with a mostly polite applause at best from an audience of reporters who (for the most part) have no idea who they were looking at. Most of the audience seems to be clueless outside of their press kits and a few bits of broadly general information. They had no real grasp on the significance of anything at all… about all they know is “Clap if the announcement contains the words Gears of War, Halo, God of War, and Grand Theft Auto”.

E3, I’ve loved you for many years but this is not good enough. It’s not good enough for your audience and it’s not good enough for you. E3, you feel like Major Nelson’s Weekly Update on Xbox Live: forced upbeat enthusiasm put on for 1 camera and no audience. At least Nelson has an excuse, whereas you could easily pack an amphitheater full of screaming fans and give yourselves, the live audience, and those at home some real energy and enthusiasm. I want to be exuberant again when I hear people talk about the likes of Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, Halo Wars, Rock Band 2, Fable II, Final Fantasy XIII… the list goes on. I want to feel real disappointment when Bungie fails to come through with their “big announcement” they’ve been hyping up (granted, we all know it’s going to be Halo 4 but still…).

E3, my sincere wish is that you liven up for 2009. Make some changes and get an announcement out later this year that makes us excited for it. Go back to your old self and give your fans a chance to enjoy you and in turn give you the atmosphere you are sorely missing these days. Next year, Versus EE should want to close and attend E3, instead of playing it in the background somewhere. At the very least, it should be something that can play with pride on the big screens where everyone can see it, and more importantly, FEEL it.

That is all.