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Evening Reading: Leaving Las Vegas

by Garnett Lee, Jan 11, 2010 5:13pm PST

I'm back in the saddle and ready for 2010 to get going in earnest after surviving another year-opening CES. The same could be said for video games. Our industry gets caught in an awkward no-man's land at the show. As pointed out in comments following my analysis of the Microsoft keynote, it's not a games show on its face. That doesn't stop them from becoming a subject of attention there year in and year out.

Take this year's Microsoft keynote for instance. They devoted a substantial chunk of the program to games and closed on them without going back to any sort of tech-related stuff -- present or future -- to wrap things up. But for making them such a featured part of the presentation there wasn't much punch to what was shown.

It's a tough call. On the one hand CES draws a huge crowd and becomes a stage seen by the broader media that video games are always trying to reach. On the other, it's at tech show and the video games many times become more like props to illustrate new hardware and features more than the games themselves. But as it stands we leave the presence on the floor to an eclectic assortment of peripherals and assorted oddities pushed off to a corner of one hall like a sort of side show. It's E3-like hype that leads to only touring the old Kentia Hall.

While I'd never suggest going back to the two E3's a year approach, a more concerted effort at CES could be good for video games. There's something about the time right at the turn of the New Year. Resolutions, predictions -- it's the perfect time to show some stuff off to get excited about in the coming year. And it's not our E3 so publishers wouldn't need the same holiday buying season emphasis. A few exciting titles that offer a glimpse a ways down the road would be a perfect compliment to the tech of the future vibe at CES. But who am I kidding? If we ever see more engagement it will probably immediately become E3 part 2.

It was an interesting start to the week in news:

Sounds like Sony Pictures decided to scrap Spider-Man 4 and start over and the result could put Raimi at the helm of the World of Warcraft movie.

One of the alleged Woods mistresses wants to start a show to discuss the "the downside of being the other woman"

Some rumored leaked artwork for Criterion's Need for Speed hit the Net. Make of it what you will.


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