Wolf Tracking

I am not an avid gamer. I’ve dabbled into the world of Grand Theft Auto and Ultimate Fighter, graduated from novice to “knowing what I’m doing” while playing Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, and of course my Wii Bowling League had me ranked in 3^rd place at the end of our recent season. But, just as with any industry, especially in entertainment, unless we’re a part of the insider group, consumers only begin to build buzz about new products and look deeper into an industry when press coverage spills out of only trade and into mainstream and social media.

This week, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, kicked off in Santa Monica – the event where enthusiasts of the gaming entertainment world get super geeked up for sneak peeks and launches of new consoles and software.

The heavy hitters, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, who I will refer to as the Gaming Gods, lead the annual event with anticipated genius. In past years the E3 event was known as somewhat of a spectacle, including massive laser light shows and mammoth sized booths at the Los Angeles Convention Center packed with sound systems and “booth babes”. This year however, E3 was split up between multiple Santa Monica and Los Angeles venues. The reasoning was to bring the focus back on the games and less on the “show” (Many of us PR folks wouldn’t agree with this move, but hey what do we know, right?!?). Microsoft dared to be different by staging their press event at a high school amphitheater – why?

A recent CNN article summed up that PR effort quite nicely “With the format for this year’s event designed to cut down on the number of rabid gamers who would inevitably sneak their way into the convention center, what better way to keep prying teenage eyes away from what you’re eventually going to be marketing to them in the Fall than by setting up at the one place they wouldn’t be caught dead near in the middle of July?”.

So what’s being discussed at this years event?

• Microsoft is introduced its highly anticipated XBOX 360 game, Halo 3, the first person shooter conclusion to the Halo Trilogy.

• Microsoft also announced that they are partnering with Disney to bring the studio’s library of films to the XBOX Live Marketplace. Microsoft says that with the expansion into the video-on demand marketplace, they expect to expand their online community to 10-million members by this time next year.

• And of course for the Madden lovers, New Orleans Saints star running-back Reggie Bush helped show off this year’s edition of EA’s Madden ‘08. The word at the expo is that Bush might be just as good with an XBOX controller as he is on the field.

Even though E3 toned down the production of this years event, consumers are still in a chatter this week about what “The Gods” have cooked up for electronic entertainment junkies. Closing my point about the importance industry events can be for building brands and creating buzz, even while subtracting lasers and babes. Game on.