E3 ... Do Gamers Really Care?

E3 is on again. You probably know this because, all of a sudden, there is a mass of information being posted on gaming websites. So much information that I get to the point where I just can't be bothered reading it at all. Many gaming websites don't necessarily sort through the information, or think that gamers are interested in reading about press conferences.

I think the best thing for a gamer to do while E3 is on is to go on holiday. Any major news will live on after the conference. All of the small and insignificant news will just go away as though it never existed in the first place.

If you want to know what I think has been the biggest news story of the conference then my money is on Final Fantasy XIII being released on the Xbox 360. This is big news for a number of reasons. Square Enix has been in bed with Sony for a long time. I think that this news item is indicative of the way platform gaming is going. In the past it was possible for a developer to rely on exclusivity to push sales because there was predominantly one major platform (which was the Playstation). Now, it is very difficult for developers to ignore a multi-platform release because they risk losing revenue. This also highlights Sony's arrogance in the marketplace (yes, they appear to be more arrogant than Microsoft). Sony refuse to kick in money to those developers who have supported the Sony brand in the past in order to drive console sales through exclusive titles.

E3 is all about Information Overload. If that is your thing then suck it up. If not then find your favourite game and play as much as you can. Ignore the fact that E3 is on. After it is all over you really will not have missed out on anything.