ISA is probably an extremely unfamiliar name to players in any circle.
But another project it spearheaded is one that makes it a household name in the gaming industry.
te electrnic entertainment exp.
Abbreviation: E3 Expo
It can be described as the Olympics of the video game world.
Before E3, although there had been sporadic video game exhibitions, none had ever stood on the world stage and reached such a large audience as E3.
Before E3, game developers had very limited options if they wanted to participate in the expo.
Nintendo's " Shoshinkai, the United Kingdom's "ECTS" Europe gaming industry trade show, and the United States's CES Consumer Electronics Show.
The largest of these is, of course, CES, a major international trade show.
However, it is not a gaming expo, but a comprehensive consumer electronics expo.
In comparison, the exhibition area for video games in the venue was actually very limited.
Before Amenva rectified the situation, manufacturers attending CES were sometimes even housed in tents outside the venue. During that period, CES treated them like dirt.
Rainwater leakage and damage to display equipment are common occurrences.
These accounts were even given personally by Tom Kalinsky, CEO of Sega North America.
Only a large manufacturer like Atari, which covers various fields, could manage to secure a passable booth at that time.
Global manufacturers are accumulating increasing dissatisfaction with this unfair treatment.
Finally, around 1995, the first e3 exhibition was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
As a true exhibition dedicated to video games, it quickly attracted over 400 exhibitors upon its opening.
Its massive scale established E3's future status in the gaming industry, making it an important annual event for the gaming world.
Not all manufacturers are as capable as Amenva or Nintendo of hosting their own Direct presentations.
If you want to gain enough exposure, E3 becomes a good choice.
Many manufacturers prepare promotional videos, demos, or various other content to attract players in advance, aiming to make a splash at E3.
But if we really talk about the origins of E3... it actually has nothing to do with "standing up for game developers".
It actually stems from a very simple and basic idea—to make some money!
E3 is organized by ISA, a completely private "official organization".
Its creation stemmed from the social controversy sparked by works such as Mortal Kombat and Nit Trap, which had serious public relations problems.
To prevent interference from higher authorities and ensure the autonomy of the video game industry, a group of top manufacturers sat down for a discussion, found a scapegoat (namely Doug Lowenstein), and established a self-governing oversight body.
In fact, the ESRB age classification system was gradually finalized during this process.
This is normal. After all, while Amenva is the king of California and no one can control it, other smaller manufacturers with less influence don't receive the same treatment.
The birth of ISA, in a sense, inadvertently saved the video game industry from the brink of collapse, providing a way to silence parents.
Then... a problem arose.
Where will the funding come from?
Maintaining such a large administrative team, along with expenses for various public relations activities, venue fees, and other miscellaneous costs, is it possible to expect game companies to provide them with daily support?
That was obviously unrealistic. So ISA set its sights on CES, which was booming back then but was now hated by game developers.
What if... we organized a video game expo?
Yes, it is very regrettable that many seemingly magnificent Legend stories in this world hide extremely simple truths behind them.
The birth of E3 wasn't some epic tale of "heroes uniting to slay a dragon"; it was simply a matter of ISA wanting to make money.
However, it must be admitted that whether it is the ISA Electronic Games Association, the ESRB age rating system, or E3, they are all typical examples of "bad intentions, but well implemented".
By a twist of fate, video games actually rose to unprecedented heights in public relations thanks to this wave.
For Lin Lixin, the pure purpose of e3 was actually a good thing.
I'm very interested in your proposal.
When Sam received the instructions and brought Doug to him, Lin Lixin spoke.
This has always been a problem for Amenva.
They have consistently lacked a sufficiently formal, large-scale exhibition.
Amenva has been to CES quite a few times, but most of the time, they really just want to showcase games, not all sorts of fancy consumer electronics. PKePal, graphics cards, laptops—those things aren't necessarily on display every year.
E3 might be a great opportunity.
Incidentally, this will also solidify Amenva's dominant position in the industry.
"I might hire you as the person in charge, and of course, I'll also send a few extra friends to help you."
In fact, he had already called John Branca a few minutes earlier.
As the top lawyer behind Michael Jackson, John Branca's professional skills are absolutely unparalleled.
There's no time to lose.
Now that things were settled, Lin Lixin didn't intend to waste time and energy on unnecessary trouble.
He left all the follow-up matters to Sam.
E3 must be held, and it should be held this year!
And the date... is set for May 11th! " Sam, have Ash call Satoshi Hiroshi Yamauchi and Norio Ohga. E3 welcomes game developers from all over the world."
"Oh, by the way, why don't you arrange the Sony and Nintendo booths closer together? That would be so much more interesting."
"Have Satoshi notify Sega Namco as well. After that, have David bring over all the companies under Activision."
"Since we're going to do it, we naturally have to do it well."
Your older brother has specifically requested a get-together; are you going or not?
Ken Kutaragi's view on this matter is not actually that pessimistic.
From the very beginning, Playstatin's goal was not to compete with Amenva, but to dethrone Nintendo and take the second place.
He'd love to get as much exposure as possible by participating in exhibitions.
As for Nintendo's iron-fisted president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, although he was very reluctant to come, Nintendo was now deserted by many, and it wasn't the time to act out of character.
In no time, the gaming industry, which had not yet fully recovered from the impact of " Gran Turismo ", was once again embroiled in an even larger upheaval.
Amidst a flurry of reports from CNN and other media outlets.
Gamers all over the world know what's happening today. Amenva is hosting an exhibition! A mega-exhibition! A grand celebration dedicated solely to video games!
Keep in mind that their press conference for reporters held at the beginning of the year was only a short time ago.
I didn't expect another tough challenge to come so soon.
With the media's support, the entire gaming industry, both game developers and players, is now on edge.
The number of exhibitors quickly climbed from the initial 120 to 200, then 300, 500, and approaching 1,000.
Fortunately, the Los Angeles Convention Center is large enough that with proper planning, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Considering that this is, after all, the largest convention center on the entire West Coast, and that Amenva cannot immediately build a larger exhibition hall in the short term, Lin Lixin simply signed a long-term contract.
And so, amidst the beaming smiles of the event organizers, the first E3 officially finalized its schedule and was announced to the media that same day.
The exhibition will last for one week.
It is divided into three parts: professional day, open day, and trial sales day.
The first three days are designated as professional days. To ensure the smooth running of the exhibition, only professionals such as manufacturers, media, retailers, investors, industry insiders, and invited special guests are allowed entry with credentials.
This is naturally done to facilitate business negotiations among the professionals present. Investors might be interested in the EM (Electronics Equipment) exhibited by a small factory and be willing to take a gamble.
Retailers may also take a liking to a particular game and pre-order a batch of products.
The media can take this opportunity to gather ample material and make a big fuss, bringing the latest gaming industry gossip that has not yet been made public to everyone's attention.
Starting from the fourth day, tickets will be sold to the public, with a limited number of tickets available.
Of course, if you are one of the first nvabx users, you can enter with a " Brahmin Certificate " and enjoy the same treatment as the Amenva Museum.
From that day onward, ordinary players could also enter the exhibition hall with their tickets for the day and personally try out the works of their favorite manufacturers.
You can also experience those brand-new game consoles or peripherals face-to-face.
Of course, on-site sales are also an indispensable way to generate revenue, something no one would refuse.
The last day was for trial sales.
If exhibitors have already completed the development work, they can pre-press and package the cartridges and prepare a small batch.
Based on the trial sales results of the day, we can roughly judge the range of the final sales results, which can effectively avoid warehousing pressure and unnecessary waste caused by stockpiling.
... Although the exhibition is still a while away, the gaming industry has been incredibly busy these past few days.
The event was sudden, and they had to start preparing their exhibits as soon as possible to present their best side to investors and players.
As for Amenva, since they are going to participate in the exhibition and act as the host, they naturally have to bring something decent to the table.
Therefore, Lin Lixin simply convened the entire development department.
"Judging from the current number of attendees at the event, players who queue for several hours will probably only be able to play for about 3 minutes."
Lin Lixin wrote this number on the planning board.
This is crucial data, directly related to what kind of works they should produce.
"We need a super fast-paced game that will get players hooked and unable to stop playing within minutes."
Exhibitions and trade shows are different from retail.
Players don't have time to slowly savor the game's profound and expansive core gameplay.
Currently, none of the main companion games on nvafsin are suitable for the exhibition environment.
Due to the limitations of the devices, Lin Lixin selected many immersive but relatively slow-paced games for this launch event. Even racing games like " Gran Turismo " and FPS games like " Half-Life " are among the slowest-burning titles in their respective genres.
This time, however, they need to make a change.