- Photos:
-
Summertime is the premier season for gaming—especially here, where every year, the L.A. Convention Center morphs into a 300,000-square-foot Japanese arcade, awash in a cacophony of gunshots, laser beams and cheers. New title announcements, keynote speeches and business meetings draw journalists, industry insiders and fans alike to the South Hall to catch a glimpse of gaming’s future. So it’s always been at E3, the unparalleled annual electronics expo—until last year, when the convention adopted an invitation-only policy. The public is no longer allowed.
When word first got out, there were riots—not in the streets, but on the Web. The Internet was ablaze with geek-fueled fury over the fact that the average gamer could no longer participate in L.A.’s No. 1 gaming event.
Still, while E3 ain’t what it used to be, many would argue the gaming industry is changing—and growing—for the better. Redwood City-based Electronic Arts, one of the biggest and most influential game publishers in the world, may be one voice in favor. Pioneering the film-to-game movement, EA is responsible for some of the biggest game adaptations around, including Lord of the Rings and Batman Begins. What EA and every other game developer have realized is that video games represent the evolution of the entertainment world. Profiting from the hundreds of millions of dollars made by Hollywood box offices is a no-brainer: The story is already written, and the technology becomes the focus. And what better place to fuse these two industries than Los Angeles, the bastion of creativity?
With a mystique once reserved for the movie biz, the video game industry now possesses its own glamour. Many gamers have driven past EA’s high-tech slate-and-glass office building in Marina Del Rey silently hoping that one day they too would be able to work at the epicenter of the gaming world. Which makes the convention’s newfound exclusivity that much harder for gamer geeks to get their heads around.
Attempting to mirror the excitement of E3 without any of the boring stuff, the Entertainment Software Association, which hosts E3, created the Entertainment for All Expo, or E for All, which premiered last October. The event, which is specifically geared toward the gaming masses in cosplay outfits, has garnered popularity despite needing to work out a few kinks. So there may be little to complain about after all when, this October 3-5, E for All returns to L.A. and die-hard fans will get hands-on demos of what was announced three months earlier at E3.
When you need two separate conventions to get down to business, it’s clear just how much of an influence video games have on mainstream culture. All we know is that between our jobs, homes, personal lives and other responsibilities, we can always find time to annihilate an entire race of aliens or conquer a small country.
Click here for details on the 2008 E3 Summit »
Check out our favorite gaming picks on the horizon »
Need to get out of the house? Head to these gaming bars »
