On the assault

There’s little doubt that E3 is the most important date in the gaming calendar. The trade show plays host to the industry’s biggest announcements on an annual basis, and its importance continues to grow with the introduction of live streaming technologies and up-to-the-minute online coverage. But for all its excitement, E3 is also an exhausting, noisy period where every publisher in the industry is simultaneously vying for attention. Yet Sony, to its credit, has found a way to consume the pre-E3 enthusiasm, ensuring its announcements dominate website homepages almost exclusively before the show even begins.

Ordinarily a title with the commercial clout of God of War: Ascension or demand of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale would debut amidst the glitz and glamour of an E3 press conference, but Sony has been pulling the trigger early on its big announcements for some time now. Titles such as Killzone 3 and MotorStorm: Apocalypse all enjoyed periods in the spotlight ahead of their respective E3 debuts, and it appears to be a strategy that’s working well for the platform holder.

Sure, each and every pre-E3 announcement is met with ponderous forum posts and blog comments lamenting the loss of a big press conference surprise, but this mindset only applies to the competitive angle that the trade show appears to have adopted. The idea of grading conferences based on their announcements seems somewhat nonsensical when you stop to consider it, but it’s something that’s hard to escape during the flow of the big show itself. Industry followers want to be shocked, rocked and excited: you need your heavy hitters to do that.

Room to breathe

But the true value of holding the ultimate press conference is vague. Sure, it stands to please the devotees that take time off work and stay up late to ensure they’re up to date, but given the size of the industry as a whole, that’s a niche. There’s obviously merit in putting together a good show, but there’s arguably more worth in ensuring the big announcements stand out from the crowd.

At E3 it really is much harder, arguably, to achieve that. Make no mistake, God of War: Ascension is not a minor game by any stretch of the imagination, but when it must compete with platform announcements and other major titles, its importance is devalued. It’s impossible for a single game – no matter how good — to consume all of the E3 hype.

Before the show starts, while most other publishers have half-an-eye on the event itself, titles like this can enjoy some attention; that’s why the announcements of God of War: Ascension and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale have been so well timed. If you happened to venture online at any point this weekend you’d have been inundated with coverage of Sony’s new mascot mash-up. Sure, the initial enthusiasm of the announcement has now been quelled, but with the game already well established, the countdown to E3 allows fans to anticipate its next proper showing; the same applies to God of War. Both of these titles can absolutely still excite at E3, but this way they're also guaranteed a much greater degree of press coverage before the industry is inundated with other announcements.

Hogging the headlines

Sony will still have surprises at E3, of course, but the company is clearly approaching the event from the perspective of an announcement season, rather than a single conference. Revealing early may lessen the impact of the big show itself, but it ensures each of Sony’s upcoming titles get the full attention they deserve. And that’s a good thing.