By Tom Ivan
“The Los Angeles Convention Center concourse was as quiet as a college library during summer”
“In our view, E3 is headed for extinction, unless the publishers and console manufacturers wake up to the fact that nobody cares about the show anymore,” said Wedbush Morgan’s Pachter in a note to investors on Monday.
“The lack of a spectacle will likely keep media away in the future, the lack of surprises will keep retailers away, and the lack of interaction with management will likely keep investors away. Without these three constituencies, the show will likely lose its relevance.”
Pachter’s comments follow criticism leveled at the event last week by EA CEO John Riccitiello and Ubisoft’s North America president Laurent Detoc. "I hate E3 like this," said the former, while the latter labeled the event “terrible”, comparing it to “a pipe-fitters show in the basement".
“We strongly believe that E3 should be held no later than early June (when companies can meet with investors and when some “secrets” have yet to be revealed), and believe that the spectacle should be restored by increasing the size of the show space,” Pachter continued.
“The show was small in scope, and the spectacle of E3 is dead. The Los Angeles Convention Center concourse was as quiet as a college library during summer, with little to attract media attention. The main game display area was similar in size to a school cafeteria (as compared to filling the entire convention center), and the “fireworks effect” of past shows was reserved for the evening parties.”
E3 attendance figures are believed to have plummeted from around 60,000 in 2006 to about 5,000 in 2008 following the event's downsizing.
