Wright discusses status of E3

News - Arms race was getting just too pricey

According to 99.9% of the games industry, this year's E3, which took place in July, was something of a bitter disappointment - the event lacking not only the buzz of consumer attendance, but also the gaming clout; the pizzazz to keep business types and press happy.

Spore creator Will Wright laments the crashing status of E3 as the world's most important games show (Leipzig and Tokyo are likely this year's champions), but also understands why this has come about, firm's unwilling to engage in the E3 "arms race" of yesteryear.

"It almost feels like a zombie at this point; it’s the walking dead," Wright told GI.biz. "It’s such an abrupt end to what was E3, which had been this huge escalating arms race."

Apparently, money is key: "I understand why they really pulled the plug on the big E3. Looking at the amount of money a company like EA would spend on it, it was ridiculous amounts of money just to be present and competitive with everyone else, so I think they were looking for a way to sign the arms treaty and de-escalate the whole thing."

Quite where E3 will go in 2009 remains unclear, though something needs to give, clearly.