The Entertainment Software Association have announced 1000 new games are lined up for the E3 Expo next month; and they've released a lengthy list of the never-before-seen products that will appear at the show (reproduced in the Discussion link).The number is staggering (over 5000 products in all will be displayed), and the president of the ESA Douglas Lowenstein hailed the sheer number of titles as "examples of the innovation and creativity that will drive industry growth in the coming year,", but it met with some scepticism over on Gamesblog:
I have one simple question: has Mr Lowenstein ever actually been to E3?
At a conservative guess, I would suggest that, of those 1,000 products, perhaps 5-10% will exhibit anything that could be credibly described as innovation. I'm immediately discounting any subtle little gameplay additions, or fresh variations on last year's innovations - when Mr Lowenstein mentions innovations 'that will drive industry growth' he must surely be referring to really big and exciting new ideas, like a new genre, a new way of interacting with a game, or a new hardware platform that introduces radical concepts in console architecture.
He can't surely mean, say, a new way of passing the ball in the latest annual soccer sim, or a new set of weapons in the latest FPS sequel, or a fun new character starring in a fun new third person action adventure?
E3 Expo official site
About the Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
E3 - 1000 new games on show
Discussion >>
