Worst Marketing Move Ever

I'm no gamer. And I'm no marketing analyst. But I'm pretty sure I can see a stupid move when I see one. Not a move that will cost the gaming industry millions of dollars, but one that cuts off the pretty solid edge of pre-sales word-of-mouth that they afforded themselves with E3.

E3 was the biggest gaming trade show in the world, where the likes of Nintendo and Microsoft show their wares months (years?) before they'll be available to their thirsty, often drooling public. Now they've closed their doors to most, making it invitation-only and, so I'm told, more Big Game-friendly than many would like.

The problems should be obvious. Firstly, they say they're cutting their typical patronage from 30,000 to more like 5,000 so that the media can get more personal responses from game companies. Certainly, making sure these people understand the games is necessary to getting readers and internet users to getting excited about product.

But what they haven't thought of, it seems, is the fact that games are now a part of show business, in a way that Pong, Super Mario Brothers and Duke Nukem never were. Gaming was poised to win over every other medium, struck and won. It's a business that's almost pure profit, which is surely the reason they just don't seem to give a damn. But even the film and TV industry, though stuck in a rut, would never give up festivals, distributor shows - ways to expose product to anyone willing to pay. Because it's a tried and true idea.

The gaming industry is creating an even greater elitist image, of the conglomerate who cares less about getting people excited about product and more about doling out that responsibility to hand-picked journalists who are sure to be at least a little more favorable with their new status. Sure, you could argue that these trade shows put on a great but dishonest face, when a lot of games and systems seem not to be delivering of late. But as Microsoft recently proved with Vista's voice recognition abilities, there's a lot to be said for what you can learn at a trade show.

Gaming is visceral. Pure and simple. Passive gamers just aren't gamers. E3 is running the risk of appearing, perhaps becoming, passive about their product. And with the shut-out of smaller zines and blogs and smaller software companies, the industry also risks what Hollywood risked and lost in the late seventies - Credibility and creativity.

Too many cooks will spoil the pot, and people will be stuck with the "Family Matters" of gaming. Which will, likely, be "Family Matters" the game.