JULY 11 | SANTA MONICA, Calif.—Entertainment Software Assn. president Jim Ward admits that this year’s E3 feels strange. It is expected to draw just a fraction of the tens of thousands of people who normally descend upon the annual videogame conference.
But Ward, president of LucasArts, is confident E3’s change from splashy amusement fair to serious business summit is necessary to reflect the morphing gaming industry, which is trying to attract mainstream acceptance.
“This may seem weird for people who have been in the industry for a long time,” said Ward, speaking to about 100 people at Tuesday evening’s opening reception here. “This industry is in the middle of a giant transition. We’re not just going from one console generation to the next, but more importantly, the industry is transitioning from a niche entertainment form to a culturally relevant form. We will be as relevant as the film, music and any other form of entertainment. We’re transitioning from making products for the few to products for the many.”
New consoles such as Nintendo’s Wii are designed with the whole family in mind, and Sony’s PlayStation 3 is working to extend its fan base from its current young male gamer core, he said.
This year, 24% of gamers are over the age of 50, according to an ESA consumer survey. Women 18 or older represent a larger portion of the game-playing population (31%) than boys ages 17 and younger (20%). Parents are often getting into the action, as 67% of heads of household say they play computer or videogames.
Matching a growing consumer base, gaming industry revenue rebounded in 2006, from falling dollars in 2005. U.S. computer and videogame sales totaled $7.4 billion in 2006. That is up from $7 billion in 2005 and flat with 2004 figures.
In order to tackle this shifting industry, ESA wants to only focus on business at E3, through an intimate setting.
“This is a decision to refocus [E3] around something that’s not about the size of someone’s booth but focus it on the audience that it was intended for,” said Ward. “They want to be able to play the games, network and socialize.”
Some E3 participants were grateful for the cut-down affair and looking forward to sampling wares more easily.
“It’s a better focus than last year’s spectacle, where it’s now geared toward the people that matter,” said Jonathan Dankoff, Ubisoft play test coordinator. “Last year, you had to wait an hour to play anything. If you have 50,000 people in the crowd, you can’t pinpoint that one person that you need to talk to. This is quality over quantity.”
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