Weekend Reading: Hate It or Love It, E3 Is the Most Important Gaming Expo

E3 2012 closed its doors last week and, while it “only” managed to draw in around 45,000 attendants, it has once again demonstrated that it’s the most important gaming convention out there, with all sorts of companies showing off their future plans and games, ranging from Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo to EA or Ubisoft.

Now, after the Los Angeles convention has come to a close, more and more companies are confirming that they won’t be present at any other expos this year, including much bigger events like Gamescom 2012 or the Tokyo Games Show 2012.

Microsoft is the latest company to announce such a thing, joining other impressive publishers or developers, including Nintendo or Sega, who already confirmed their plans well before E3 2012, or THQ, whose financial troubles force it to skip the German convention.

This is too bad, as while lots of people paid attention to E3 2012, it was a closed convention, open only to the media and representatives of different retailers. Meanwhile, both Gamescom and TGS are open to the general public, meaning gamers can actually get a firsthand experience of upcoming games, not just read hands-on published by various outlets (like our own).

While all of them promise to appear across Europe and Japan during smaller, regional conventions, it’s safe to say that quite a lot of gamers who were eager to test out the Nintendo Wii U, Aliens: Colonial Marines or the many upcoming Xbox 360 games are going to be disappointed.

What’s more, during conventions like Gamescom or TGS, companies brought the same demos from E3 2012 and even the same booth decorations, at least from my personal experience, so all they need to do is ship their items from Los Angeles to Cologne or Tokyo and set them up.

Do you approve of this change in strategy for companies like Microsoft or do you think they should appear during all conventions, big or large?

Via: Weekend Reading: Hate It or Love It, E3 Is the Most Important Gaming Expo