The Ombudsman Lives

Here are my favorite theories for why there have been no new posts here since I left for E3 nearly two and a half weeks ago, as proposed by the imaginary readers who have been e-mailing me asking what's going on.

1. I realized just how horrible the video game journalism industry was at E3 and decided to give up.
   
   
2. I got trampled to death when the U.S. Army invaded E3 and the government covered up the story.
   
   
3. I had finals, graduation, an apartment hunt, a new fullish-time job and trips to Philadelphia and New York to worry about first.

Feel free to decide for yourself which theory is correct.



I do have some coverage planned for my first trip to the show, including a first-time journalists guide to E3, reviews of some of the 27 free game magazines I managed to haul away from L.A. and some analysis of the coverage. The news hasn't stopped either, so there are quite a few non-E3 stories filling up in my queue. They'll all have to wait till next week, though, as I'm going away for the Memorial Day weekend tomorrow morning.



To hold you over, here's Dan Hsu, executive editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly, as quoted in a New York Times story on movie-based games. Discuss!



"These licensed properties get a lot of mainstream press because they are easily recognizable to the masses," Mr. Hsu said. "Most of the mainstream media are new to covering games and so they're going to want to cover the The Lord of the Rings or Spider-Man game before they are going to want to cover Zelda or Metal Gear Solid."

E3-mail

The Personal Information that we collect is used to process your registration or may be used by E3 for marketing and promotional purposes to keep you informed with the latest news about the event.



The people at E3Expo.com weren't kidding when they put this notice in their privacy policy. Since my registration for my first ever E3 was confimed on March 18, I've received at least 53 e-mails from companies asking me to see their wares at the show. This doesn't include at least 27 more forwarded by my editors and co-writers at GameCritics.com (many of which duplicated messages I had already received).



There's no larger point to this post... just thought I'd share those quick stats as I prepare to jet off to sunny L.A. (just in time to miss the big three press conferences, unfortunately). If you want to look for me there, I look like this only in color. I'm sure the show itself will give me plenty of fodder for the blog (I've had a few story suggestions already), so be on the lookout for my thoughts, impressions and opinions (and other synonyms) when I get back. Ciao!

Announcing... an Announcement!

** SAVE THE DATE ** SAVE THE DATE ** SAVE THE DATE **



SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON DAY #1 OF E3

May 12, 2004 in SEGA Room



Mark your calendars for a "mystery briefing" event in SEGA of America's E3 Room.



This is your opportunity to hear the latest 2004 title announcements from company executives in addition to some explosive news -- something even YOU won't be able to guess!



If you're lucky enough to be attending E3 and you're a member of the press, you probably got a message like the one above in your e-mail box recently. If you're not an E3-attending member of the press, you still might have heard about the event from any number of sources (including at least three that posted the exact same article by Bryan Dawson.)



Now, if you're a member of the press planning on attending E3, the value of this announcement is apparent. If you're an average reader of a video game news site... well... it's not quite as apparent. The question then: Is the mere announcement of an announcement enough to warrant a news item?



The decision to run a story about the announcement is definitely justifiable. Even though Sega is not in the hardware business anymore, they're still an influential third-party and a major player in the video game business. When a company of Sega's stature says they're gonna talk, we should say we're gonna listen (A point I made when I linked to the GamerFeed story in today's GameCritics news update).



One could also make the case that, by helping publicize the information, the media is putting pressure on Sega to live up to their lofty promises. We're merely making sure the spotlight on Sega so everyone notices if (and when?) they trip up. If Sega can't deliver, they have no one to blame but themselves.



On the other hand, it's pretty easy to look at these pre-anouncement stories as nothing but free advertising -- unearned hype about an anouncement that we only think will be big because Sega says it will be. Despite having no idea what will be announced, journalists are all too willing to parrot Sega's words and call the announcement "explosive." If a smaller, no-name company made the same claim, would the media be so quick to believe them?



One could argue that the increased attention to Sega's announcement distracts from other developments in the busy pre-E3 season, giving an undue spotlight to a company simply because it had the time to craft a breathless press release. One could also say the attention helps make Sega's promise more of a foregone conclusion ("Hey, look at all the people at Sega's booth. They must be announcing something BIG!")



In the end, I think the decision comes down to one of audience. If your site caters to a hardcore crowd that really follows the industry closely and wants to know everything before it happens, then a small news item could be warranted. Most general sites, though, should probably wait until Sega actually makes their "explosive" announcement before deciding whether it's worth the readers' time.



Comments Question (A new end-of-post filler inviting answers in the "Comments" thread): Despite Sega insisting that the announcement will be "something even YOU won't be able to guess," everyone is already guessing what the announcement will be. Leading contenders right now seem to be the announcement of Shenmue III for the Xbox, a revival of the Dreamcast, or a shocking re-entry into the console business. Of course, if Sega's statement is true, then the mere act of guessing something automatically eliminates it from possibly being in the announcement. Ironic, no? Anyway, post your grossly irresponsible guesses about the announcement using the comments link below.