E3 COULD EPITOMISE THE BEST, RATHER THAN THE MOST PREPOSTEROUS, OF GAMING CULTURE.

With developers, press, and players all under one roof, exactly who is E3 for nowadays?

As games battle for artistic recognition it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile that with E3. I hear a lot of talk nowadays, from developers, from yaysayers, about games being art. But when I think of art – or of artists – I think of dignity, confidence, and articulation. I don’t think of Zac Efron and Jamie Foxx playing Battlefield 1.

I know that’s a somewhat trite comparison. There are occasions at E3 when the patronage, and the gurning, and the corporate jargon retreat backstage and we’re treated to a preview of a game that’s genuinely brave and compelling. But if videogames want to convince the broader public they’re nowadays more mature, E3, a veritable carnival, surely isn’t helping. Because who doesn’t roll their eyes at E3? Who doesn’t look at the sequels, the celebrity cameos, and the awkward executives wading through their scripts, and think ‘this is a bit embarrassing’? E3 remains the biggest public platform games have and it’s used, far too often, for stupidity. If that makes me sound a killjoy, so be it – I think a lot of people would prefer an E3 that makes games look like artistic ventures rather than commercial ones, and features less developer/ publisher shenanigans.

Otherwise it’s not serving anyone. It’s not serving game creators, because it’s making them seem silly. It’s not serving players, because it’s condescending to them (these days, we’re wise to marketing talk, so we can’t be charmed by E3). And it’s not serving games, because it’s making them look artless; simply by appearing at E3, even the most sincere piece of work looks like it’s part of a machine. If we can collectively admit E3 exists to sell us new videogames, then so be it. But if it’s to promote games as an entertainment or expressive art form, there is a better way to do it. E3 doesn’t have to be brash. Like games themselves, which continue to strive for sophistication and credibility, it could be an event that epitomises the best rather than the most preposterous of gaming culture.

Otherwise, E3 risks becoming an anachronism – there are only so many more times can we laugh about the show being rubbish.