If you were Larry Probst, CEO of Electronic Arts, the news about E3's shift to a more "intimate" format might well have been delivered to your palatial estate by a very proper English butler carrying a silver tray bearing a personal note from Doug Lowenstein.

But then again, Probst didn't need to be told. In fact, it's a good bet that he dictated the change to Lowenstein. From news reports, it's pretty clear that EA wanted E3 dead - the glitzy, panoramic E3 we had come to know and love, anyway.
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Cabbies, booth babes and hoteliers are just some of the many Los Angelinos who will be feeling the economic fallout from E3's sudden demise.

As reported in today's Los Angeles Times, E3 brought $19 million into the local economy. The ESA's decision to kill off the extravaganza caught L.A. officials by surprise.

"It's not good news," said Michael Collins, of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. "There is no question that we are going to feel the loss of 36,000 room nights, certainly in '07 and '08."

From GP's new obituary section:

Electronic Entertainment Expo, suddenly, July 31st; survived by father, Doug Lowenstein; beloved brother of Mario, Sonic and Master Chief; private burial; in lieu of flowers, send suggestions for best ways game journalists can survive May, 2007...

Hard to believe, but Next Generation, is reporting that E3 is dead:

"...all major exhibitors have effectively pulled their support from the show, prompting the majority of game publishers to also cancel plans for high-cost booths..."

"The decision by big manufacturers and publishers to walk away has left ESA in damage-control mode... E3, in its present form, is dead... The ESA will make an announcement later today that will attempt to add some gloss to this catastrophe... Whatever is announced today will be no more than a fig-leaf. The days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone."

GameSpot is reporting in a similar vein, although with somewhat less of a doomsday flavor than Next Generation's coverage:

"GameSpot... learned that the show would radically shrink in size and... will take place at a location that would support exhibitors in meeting room space only, with... attendees numbering in the hundreds rather than thousands."

It's a shock to the system to imagine the month of May without an E3. In the next few days we'll be trying to assess the implications for the ESA as an entity.

So, you want to go to E3, eh?

Of course you do.

Who wouldn't want to attend the game industry's largest yearly event? New games! Sexy babes! Earsplitting noise! Three-hour lines! As long as you don't suffer from claustrophobia or epileptic seizures, you'll have a good time. Ah, but will you have a great time? Here's some useful advice for the E3 novice.

Getting in. The ESA is making it more and more difficult to attend E3 if you don't work in the industry or for a legitimate news outlet. Oddly enough, by the show's strict standards, GamePolitics doesn't quite qualify as media, so how did I get into E3 2006?

Ryan Sharpe of Get-Well Gamers informed me that as an exhibitor, he had a few extra passes but unfortunately had given them all away. So, I emailed a GP-friendly game developer who managed to score me an industry invite. Armed with newly-printed GamePolitics business cards, copies of a few of my GP articles, and a smile that makes the ladies swoon, I was able to successfully register.

(Tip: Avoid killer registration lines by picking up your E3 badge the day before the show actually opens. You will save yourself hours.)
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The lengths I go to for GP readers - forcing myself to attend this year's E3 in Los Angeles; playing all of the new games and even checking out a bit of the E3 party scene.

In fact, while waiting in line to play the Nintendo Wii, I began to wonder which games will politicians and the anti-gaming crowd target in the coming year? What game will be the new GTA San Andreas or 25 to Life? Based on what I picked up at E3, these games could bring some rough sailing for the game industry:

First up is Grand Theft Auto 4 Why? Well, just because it's GTA. What more needs to be said? Ever since Hot Coffee, poor San Andreas has been pegged as the poster child for everything that's wrong with the video game industry. Will GTA4 cause a similar brouhaha? My gut says yes. It's true that we don't know anything about the game except for its name and release date but a lack of facts has never stopped the industry's critics. And besides, it's a pretty safe bet the characters in GTA4 won't be playing much ping pong.

Reservoir Dogs - If you've seen the movie, you know there's going to be a lot of violence towards cops. And 25 to Life showed how politically disastrous that can be for the game industry. Based on E3 previews, Reservoir Dogs has two play styles: psycho (kill everyone in your path) and professional (don't kill anyone). Check out Gamespot's preview for a gameplay video detailing all of the ear-slicing fun.

Sadness - Not much is yet known about this adult horror game due out for Wii in 2007 but here's an excerpt from the developer's website: "Imagine driving away rats with a torch, throwing a rope (as a lasso) when you want to climb over the wall, or slitting the throat of a persecutor with a piece of glass... All of this with the help of the Revolution controller."
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With E3 just concluded, it seems only fitting that the video game industry's point man is highlighted. Washington Post reporter Jose Antonio Vargas does just that in an excellent profile of Doug Lowenstein.

Calling the ESA president "the Jack Valenti for the PlayStation-Xbox-Nintendo set", Vargas notes that Lowenstein shuns publicity.

"It's not my persona to get in the limelight," the 55-year-old Lowenstein said. "I don't want to be seen as, 'Here's the guy who defends hideous violent games. Here's his story.'"

Speaking of Valenti, the former MPAA boss was complimentary.

"He's got a really tough job to do. But Doug listens, and listens very well. Too many people in Washington think they're the repository of all wisdom. Not Doug."

Representing the video game industry makes Lowenstein somewhat of a controversial figure. Vargas notes that a $500 campaign contribution Lowenstein made to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was returned to him by Obama's staff.

"Stuff happens," was Lowenstein's comment.
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Pixelante shirts are everywhere these days, including at the industry's big dance, the E3 Expo.

Here we see GP reader DanZuke showing off his Pixelante style while trying out Nintendo's amazing new Wii system.

What game are you playing there, Dan? The new The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ??

Although we don't have direct link anymore, you can still get your own Pixelante shirt (they come in many styles and colors) right here.

All proceeds, of course, go to the Get-Well Gamers Foundation.

Want to talk about it? You can discuss this story via the "comments" feature (click below), or in the new GamePolitics Forums...

E3 is a sea of humanity, a fair percentage of which is comprised by online media. The quality of the journalism may be somewhat uneven, but the standard of behavior is usually pretty good. That's why GP feels moved to point out the antics of a media-credentialed pair from Destructoid, a game blog which describes itself as "hardcore."

When these two showed up at ESA boss Doug Lowenstein's E3 keynote, one was wearing a robot head mask. At least, I'm pretty sure that wasn't his real cranium. Okay, that was cute, and flashes popped around the theater while people took his picture as he sat in the crowd before the keynote started.

After the ESA president's speech, Doug was gracious enough to stay around and take questions from the media. 99% percent of the keynote attendees disregarded the opportunity, heading straight for the breakfast table instead. But a few of us, including Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury-News and GP, clustered around Doug for the chance to have some on-the-record Q&A with the industry's point man.

Mr. Roboto stayed too, apparently hoping to ask Lowenstein a question about the high price of the PS3.
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If you were expecting ESA president Doug Lowenstein to focus on the industry's political concerns in this morning's E3 kickoff speech, you were probably disappointed.

Instead, Lowenstein zeroed in on the many positive aspects of the industry, particularly the ripple effects it has on the U.S. economy, technological innovation and education. He suggested a forward-looking approach, thinking not in terms of the current console transition, but the next one, circa 2010. On this he said, "By the time we reach 2010... the video game industry will be bigger, more important, more influential, and more relevant than ever before."

The ESA's point man likened the video game business to other "transformational industries" (autos, T.V., PC's andphones)which changed the American way of life. He cited demographics which show that by 2010, 75 million Americans will be between the ages of 10 and 30.

"Video games," Lowenstein said, "are the rock and roll music for the digital generation and Halo and The Sims and Zelda are their Grateful Deads and their Rolling Stones."
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A character dressed in black robes could hit E3 with a lightning bolt this week. But he's not a mage and this is no game.

The character is U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte, who on Friday will hear final arguments on California's 2005 video game law in a San Jose courtroom. The lightning bolt would come if hizzoner ruled against the video game industry's First Amendment challenge to the California legislation. Like many such bills, the law would restrict sales of M-rated games to minors. The state's video games bill was championed by California Assembly Speaker Leland Yee (D) and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) in October.

Judge Whyte, who in December issued a temporary injunction blocking the law from taking effect, will consider arguments in favor of the law from the California Attorney General's Office and in opposition from lawyers representing the game industry. If you'd like to read the state's latest submission in the case, click here. For the industry's position, here.

To date, the industry is batting a thousand with its First Amendment argument, including recent big wins in Illinois and Michigan. Based on that track record, as well as the fact that Judge Whyte already found enough problems with the California law to issue the temporary injunction, it seems likely that once again the industry will prevail.

Then again, you never know.

Want to talk about it? You can discuss this story via the "comments" feature (click below), or in the new GamePolitics Forums...

What just happened?

Did the ESRB really re-rate Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion from "Teen" to "Mature"?

Damn right they did. And, hey, let's talk about that. But... but... but... E3 starts tomorrow and we all want to know about the PS3 and the Wii and Halo 3 and Spore and The Sopranos and all the rest of the cacophony of press releases, deal announcements, game trailers, celebrity sightings and attendant hoopla that E3 generates.

Don't color me too X-Files here, but maybe the announcement was timed that way? A couple of business days worth of chatter (the re-rating news hit late on Wednesday) and then, like everything else game-related, the Oblivion story gets vaporized by the ever-expanding mushroom cloud of news that is E3.

If you think about it, the timing is quite interesting.

Oblivion hit retail on March 20th, a full six weeks before the re-rating. That means developer Bethesa and co-publisher Take-Two Interactive already realized the great majority of potential Oblivion sales before the re-rating took effect. (most titles sell heavily just after release and tail off quickly from there).

Nor would the logistics of the re-rating seem to cause major financial problems for Bethesda, since there was no recall and no removal of the game from retail shelves. You may remember that last year's Hot Coffee scandal cost Take-Two and developer Rockstar an estimated $25-30 million in recall, relabeling and re-mastering expenses.

But let's go back to E3 for a minute.

The industry has been taking steps to polish its image of late, including redefining how provocative booth babes can be. Mainstream media attention is likely to be higher than usual, since this is the first post-Hot Coffee E3. Having Oblivion's industry-imposed re-rating as a notch on the ESRB's belt certainly can't hurt when the talking heads begin to ask the inevitable tough questions about game content.

There's also the issue of the Xbox 360 version. The ESRB press release cites the now-infamous topless mod, applicable to the PC version only, as well as "more detailed depictions of blood and gore than were considered in the original rating of the game." Both versions - PC and Xbox 360 - were re-rated, but only the PC version will receive a new content description for "nudity." Both versions already carried descriptors for "blood and gore," and these will remain in effect.From here, it really smells like the topless mod was the key to the re-rating decision, not the blood and gore.

The ESRB's action has caused a low-key, but obvious dust-up between Bethesda and the ratings board. The wording of a Bethesda press release seems almost bewildered by the decision:

"Bethesda Softworks made what it believes was a full, accurate, and comprehensive submission on Oblivion to the ESRB months before the game's release. Bethesda used the ESRB's application forms and believes it adhered closely to their requirements. Nothing was hidden from the ratings agency."

ESRB boss Pat Vance fired back, putting the onus on Bethesda in an interview with GameDaily BIZ.

"Bethesda is fully aware that the content in question," Vance said, "both the more extreme depictions of blood and gore as well as the locked-out content, should have been disclosed to ESRB, which is part of why they have wisely chosen not to contest the rating change."

The various possible scenarios are all very confusing to GP, who admittedly confuses easily. One possibility is that everything is just as reported.

Another view, let's call it the grassy knoll theory, might be that this is as much about strategy, timing and public relations as it is about game content. After all, since Oblivion has pretty much run through the bulk of its retail sales and doesn't have to implement a recall, who really gets hurt here?

Only Bethesda's pride, it would seem.

Want to talk about it? You can discuss this story via the "comments" feature (click below), or in the new GamePolitics Forums...

It is the best of times and the worst of times.

It is E3, the video game industry's annual extravaganza. And it's only 10 days away.

Earlier this week GP issued his personal screed on the show in E3: Ten Things I Hate About You.

Now, the shadowy GameDaily BIZ columnist known only as "Media Coverage" has issued his own numerical rant in 7 Annoying Things To Do At E3.

There are some surprising parallels to GP's observations, including the sorry practice of so-called journalists cheering at press conferences. Among the suggestions offered by Mr. (or Ms., we really have no idea) Media Coverage are exposing booth babe gawkers by saying things like:

" Psst... Ma'am. I don't mean to alarm you, but I believe that gentleman in the Final Fantasy XIII hat is looking at your boobs"

Definitely worth a read.

Okay, so GamePolitics does not really hate E3. In fact GP loves E3 - so much. This year's expo will be GP's ninth E3 and he hasn't missed one since 1998. But some things about the show are annoying.

This column originally ran last May, just as the 2005 show was wrapping up. GP reprints it today in the hope that some of the people who are either running E3, exhibiting there or in charge of the City of Los Angeles are paying attention.

1.) A press appointment is made with a company at the show, at their request. You arrive at the scheduled time, but the folks at the media check-in desk don't seem to know who you are. Please, companies, coordinate the scheduling, especially when your in-house people are working with contract PR firms.

2.) You make it to the appointment, sit down with the company rep, and he/she asks, "So what can I tell you about XYZ company?" Well, they invited you. You didn't invite yourself. You would assume they had something they wanted to say. Duh.

3.) Worst of all, you can't even find the PR check-in. E3 is loud, crowded, and cluttered with huge displays, flashing lights, and noise. When a firm buries their PR desk somewhere in the back of all that stuff (hello, Microsoft, are you listening?) it can easily add 10 minutes to your arrival time. If you are on a tight E3 appointment schedule, this sets your whole day back.

4.) Okay, we'll give the PR folks a break - for now - and move on to the attendees. As mentioned, E3 is an absolute, three-day mob scene, with upwards of 60,000 folks crowded into the LA Convention Center. It's hard enough to keep moving. What makes GamePolitics crazy are the attendees who are walking ahead in the traffic lane, and suddenly stop to stare up at some whirling bright lights or booth babe. Or maybe to have a conversation with a friend they bumped into. That's when our latent South Philadelphia cab driver persona emerges. Hey, buddy, move it to the side of the road!

5.) Attendees who take pictures of booth babes. Haven't you ever seen an attractive woman before? GamePolitics doesn't even want to think about what use these pictures are put to later on. Ewww.

6.) Fanboys posing as media. You're embarrassing yourselves. Understand this: journalists don't cheer at press conferences.

7.) Speaking of press conferences, that scheduling one-upmanship game played by Microsoft and Sony (in 2005) must never be repeated (and looks like it's not this year). First, understand that there is history here. Since the Xbox came along, MS always had their press conference Monday night. Sony always held theirs Tuesday morning, and Nintendo followed Sony's about mid-day Tuesday. This pattern has been more or less carved in stone, and GamePolitics and, one supposes, many other attendees, base travel plans upon it. Consequently, we booked a Monday flight back in January (2005) that would allow us to get there in time for the Xbox event on Monday night. When Sony came along and moved theirs to Monday afternoon, we were screwed since there was no way to get there in time...

8.) In the E3 press room, there are rows and rows of computers, thoughtfully provided by the ESA for the use of media covering the show. These media members need to think of things to write and construct articulate sentences. They are on deadline. So why do we have to listen to the person at the next workstation jabbering on their cell phone? GamePolitics is simple-minded and easily distracted. It's damned hard to compose copy with someone else's conversation flowing into one side of your head. Please, E3, make a no cell phone usage policy in the computer area. And while we're on the topic, turn your damn cell phone off during Doug Lowenstein's keynote speech, too.

9.) This entry is about Dem Bums of Los Angeles. No, not the Dodgers. The homeless who populate Figueroa Street, panhandling money from E3 attendees as they walk to and from the show, or out to dinner, or Starbucks, etc. In a city where they enforce jaywalking, why can't this be addressed? GP isn't being heartless here, but some of the panhandlers can be persistent, even abusive.

10.) E3 hotels are getting harder and harder to obtain if you are not with a company that is purchasing a big block. ESA, please make it a little easier on your small company attendees to find a room.

While editing correspondent Monica Valentinelli's excellent debut article (above), GP was reminded of ESA president Doug Lowenstein's comments on women gamers during last year's E3 keynote. Doug was spot-on with these remarks:

"There is another major and well-known gap in market penetration for the video game industry: women. It's true that ESA data shows that women make up a third of the console gaming community and 40% of the PC community but we also know that many of these women are casual gamers who might invest more time and dollars into this form of entertainment if we produced content they could more easily embrace."

"But it is more than just content with cross gender appeal that's necessary. We need a cultural shift so that young girls and women feel that playing games is not a testosterone monopolized hobby reserved for their boyfriends and husbands."

"Last February, a woman gamer writing under the name Fizgig on the site womengamers.com asked, 'Why do my mom and I lower our voices when she wants to tell me about the new level she just finished with her Amazon in Diablo II? Why don't I tell people at the university where I work that I play videogames?' The reason, she posited, is that women like her have a sense of 'gamer shame.' 'Gamer shame,' she wrote, 'is a powerful social convention and the gaming industry really isn't doing a very good job of combating it.'

It's hard to argue with her complaint that our own industry, mainly through our marketing practices, reinforces the stereotype that most gamers are men. Our challenge as an industry is to break down the social conventions she described if we are to truly create, again in Fizgig's words, 'a gender neutral inclusive gaming community?[in which my daughter] could proclaim her love of games to the world without any shame at all.'"

Stirring stuff from the video game industry's point man. If the topic interests you, GP recommends Sheri Graner Ray's excellent book, Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding the Market.

Simply put, the ESA's ban on "booth babes" at the 2006 E3 Expo stinks. It's a politically-correct ploy by the video game industry that will have a negative financial impact on the dozens - if not hundreds - of actresses and models who typically work at the show.

While we understand all of the arguments against booth babes (tacky, exploitative, etc.), they've been a part of the E3 landscape forever. E3 is a trade show, and exhibitors use a variety of means to attract attention to their wares. The time-honored booth babe is just one such method, along with army men, singers, celebrities, quiz shows, t-shirt tossing, gear give-aways, and on and on...

Nor is GP buying the argument that scantily-clad booth babes stop nerdy E3 attendees in their tracks, thus blocking the aisles. A show like E3 is all about creating a buzz for one's game or system or peripheral. Ever been to Nintendo's exhibit at E3? Mario & Co. purposely designs the display area to be one huge traffic jam, making it look like they have more buzz going on than the GameCube perhaps merits.

In fact, E3's aisles are jammed because the ESA lets too many people into the show. The number goes up every year, and a good many of the attendees have minimal qualifications for admittance. Like the two guys I met last year from Drunk Gamer, a fan site about the nexus of games and beer. Nice guys, but...

Shutting out the booth babes will also take money out of the pockets of Los Angeles' massive population of aspiring actresses, most of whom seem to find a gig at E3. For the booth babe, E3 has always represented three days of work at a decent wage. Thus, the local L.A. economy takes a hit as well.

Finally, GP, cynic that he is, doesn't believe for a moment that the suits at the ESA made this decision in a sudden burst of enlightenment. This flip-flop from past practice is strictly political, an attempt to massage the game industry's sagging public image. With the first post-Hot Coffee E3 coming up, we're quite sure the ESA expects an unprecedented level of scrutiny from the media, from Wal-Mart, from politicians, and from the Religious Right.

Ultimately, the struggling actresses and models of Los Angeles will join the ranks of those paying the price for Take Two's mismanagement of the Hot Coffee fiasco.

UPDATE: GameCloud has a lengthy, balanced report on the booth babe issue. Next Generation has a well-reasoned commentary that takes a position opposite of GP's. The IGDA's Sex & Games SIG has articles on the booth babe controversy here.

Was ESA headman Doug Lowenstein thinking of the new game Snow during his E3 keynote when he said, "...we've all seen games that depict content which is constitutionally protected...yet which also raise the question of whether it really was necessary..."

Probably not. But he could have been.

Snow, developed by Frog City Software and to be published by 2K Games, is a "tycoon" game in which the business is dealing illegal drugs. The title was on the E3 show floor at 2K's booth and is planned for early 2006 release on PC and Xbox. In Snow, players take on the role of Johnny Morrell, a down-on-his-luck actor who turns to drug smuggling to make ends meet. The goal of the game is to achieve kingpin status by building and managing a drug distribution operation that is multinational in scale. Money laundering and eliminating rivals are key "business" strategies.

By the way, that shuffling noise you hear is the political crowd lining up to rip Snow in particular, and, by extension, video games in general.