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ESA Announces Exhibitor List for E3 2009, Activision-Blizzard to Attend

Zach Lott — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:43:21 -0600

After pulling out of the ESA and holding its own media event last year, Activision-Blizzard is headed back to E3, according to the current list of exhibitors for the 2009 event on the official E3 website.

Activision-Blizzard isn't rejoining the ESA, but it seems that they've managed to come to terms with the organization after an abrupt exit last year over reported displeasure with CEO Mike Gallagher.

Also, Joystiq is reporting that NCsoft will once again miss the event.

"While NCsoft has been a member of the ESA in the past, we are not currently an ESA member and do not expect to attend E3 this year. We will continue to evaluate how E3 fits into NCsoft's plans each year," a representative told the gaming blog.

The show will be held from June 2-4, so stay tuned for future announcements from the ESA and exhibitors. Hit the jump for a list of companies expected to attend.

Activision Blizzard, Inc.
Atari, Inc.
Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
Bethesda Softworks LLC
Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Disney Interactive Studios, Inc.
Eidos Interactive
Electronic Arts, Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
505 Games
IndieCade
KOEI Corporation
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC
Majesco Entertainment Company
Microsoft Corporation
Midway Games Inc.
MTV Games
Namco Bandai Games America Inc.
Nintendo of America, Inc.
Rebellion
Sega of America, Inc.
Serious Games
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Sony Online Entertainment LLC
Square Enix, Inc.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
THQ Inc.
Ubisoft Entertainment
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc.

Mother 3: If You Want Nice Things, Sometimes You Just Have to Do It Yourself.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:12:22 -0500

Glorious news for those of you eager for information concerning the perennially disappointing handling of the Mother series by Nintendo. No, Nintendo hasn't announced that they're translating and releasing the title. If you're the sort of person who has been waiting for a new Earthbound, you're the sort of person who knows that Nintendo will never release a new Earthbound.

For several people who were faced with that stark reality the solution became apparent, if the masses were to ever have any hope of Mother 3 getting an English copy they would have to do it themselves. So thusly, they embarked upon an epic journey involving translating squiggles into slightly more recognizable characters and attempting to pay service to Shigesato Itoi's legendary writing ability.

Fortunately for them and for the rest of us who were not blessed with such multi-lingual functionality, their work is nearly at an end and the patch for an English Mother 3 is ever closer to release.

Thanks to Shannon of Ganza Watching for the amazing picture.

Activision, Vivendi, Others Pull Out of E3

Zach Lott — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:12:22 -0500

E3 has been much smaller and focused since it became invite-only last year, but things are about to shrink even more, as Kotaku, Joystiq, and Gamespot have all made varying reports that several publishers have decided not to attend this year's show.

Kotaku kicked things off by reporting that Vivendi, Activision, Her Interactive, NCSoft, and id Software are pulling out of E3 this year. Soon after, Gamespot reported that id is attending and that Foundation 9 is joining the list of absent publishers. However, they have since declared id's status to be "unclear." Also, Joystiq reported that RPG behemoth Atlus has dropped out as well.

Vivendi and Activision's decision comes with news that they have dropped out of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which runs E3, leading analysts to speculate that they are unhappy with the orginization's president, Mike Gallagher. He has been criticized for being "less knowledgeable and sophisticated about this industry than Doug [Lowenstein, former ESA president]" by Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Morgan. Kotaku's other sources agree that Gallagher's actions are involved with the publishers' decision.

However, the other publishers haven't left the organization, with NCSoft telling Kotaku that the decision not attend E3 came from their development cycle and had nothing to do with the ESA.

Foundation 9's decision, according to Gamespot, also has nothing to do with the ESA. "... exhibiting at E3 is just not something that fits with our marketing strategy this year," said a representative for the publisher. The rep also stated that some of their employees may still attend, but that the company is "not investing in the exhibit space."

Also, it was noted by Joystiq that an Activision representative told them that the company will not partake in "official E3 activities," meaning that the company might maintain a "presence" at this year's show. They will also have a non-E3 event on the first day of the show, according to Kotaku.

E3 Returning to LA Convention Center, Still Invite Only

Aaron Dunlap — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:35:32 -0600

This year's E3 was a bit of a mixed bag. While I absolutely loved the invite-only, just-business approach the ESA took, the fact that all of the meetings, demonstrations, and showfloor venues were spread all over Santa Monica made everything a huge hassle. Standing in front of my hotel for 20 minutes to wait for a bus to come and then sit in the bus for 30 minutes before taking off with only one passenger to drive 15 minutes to my next random hotel destination became quite tedious after the first time (of many).

It was a popular complaint, and the ESA heard it. They've just announced that the 2008 E3 Media/Business Summit will be returning to the LA Convention Center from which it was spawned. However, it won't be the overloaded, crowded boob-fest it had become before. The attendance list will still be invite-only, and restricted to those who actually have business being there.

"While there will be opportunities for game demonstrations, the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit will not feature the large trade show environment of previous years," ESA stated.

The way invites work still confuses me. My invite came directly to my house this year, not through our office address, and I was the only person to get one. It was weird.

Could have been all of the "E3 Needs to Change" editorials I'd written up to that point.

The event is scheduled for July 15 - 17, 2008.

Just when I thought I was done with downtown LA hotels forever...

New Caesar IV Trailer, Box: Long Live Rome

Shiva Stella — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 11:46:00 -0500

This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Vivendi Universal Games has unveiled a new box art and trailer for its upcoming Roman city-builder (we've been getting a lot of these lately), Caesar IV.Opening with a sweeping, birds-eye view of a vast urban expanse, the clip showcases quintessential Roman edifices including coliseums, hippodromes and forums. In the marketplace, citizens engage in commerce, while ships loaded with goods roll into the harbor. As the economy develops, so does your city - a feature demonstrated in the trailer with a humble cottage evolving into a full-fledged villa.In Caesar IV, aspiring emperors start on the road to becoming the next Caesar by governing a province somewhere in the immense Roman Empire. Players plan, build and develop their city, which they must defend from ruthless barbarian attacks while maintaining a strong economy and good relationships with the gods. The citizenry and a group of trusted advisors provide feedback on player performance, helping to develop political suaveness and bringing players ever closer to ruling over the Eternal City.Caesar IV is currently being developed by Tilted Mill and should release on September 26 for the PC. Enjoy. divxMovie('http://files.gaminghorizon.com/C4_TRL_800k.divx',true);