2007 last year for e3, says gamecock GameCock Media Group's Mike Wilson, one of the co-founders of the independent game publishing company, believes that alternative events will eventually replace the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). And in an interview with Joystiq, Wilson believes that it could end really soon - 2007 in fact, if he were any more specific.
"I'd say there's a really good chance this is the last E3. Or anything that's even remotely related to E3. In fact, we're planning a funeral service for E3 on the beach Friday night of this event," said Wilson. Invite only doesn't seem to be GameCock's cup of tea, or an effective way of reaching out to the core audience - the gamers - in a fun, interesting, and all-out way. Wilson continues:
There will be alternative [gaming] events popping up and we will be part of those. Hopefully we can help drive creativity and direction of making an event that's more fun and welcoming than the E3 that needed to die or this, sort of, I don't know what to call it ... the business summit, as it were.
Being an independent entity in a industry that grosses revenues in the hundreds of millions may be daunting, but it appears to look different in GameCock's eyes. After jokingly commenting on a funeral soon to be held by GameCock behind Hotel California - one that isn't invite-only (hurray?) - Wilson hinted at why the indies would think E3 Media & Business Summit won't be as stellar as ESA claims it to be:
It'll be a combination funeral for E3 and a wake (celebration) for originality, creativity and independent development. We think there's plenty of stuff to be excited about out there, all original, all from strong independent developers and that's all the tip of the iceberg. I think there's a real movement, the pendulum is swinging back I think.
