E3 2013: 5 Lessons We've Learned From That Hectic Week

by Reggie Fells

The Electronic Entertainment Expo of 2013 is long over. In a short period of time that saw Microsoft vilified, Sony praised, and WhatCulture.com hitting it from all angles, we have certainly witnessed plenty this week, as the Electronic Entertainment Expo commenced earlier this week in Los Angeles, California.

Sony new conference in LA

*sigh* Someday I'll go... and be bored in the seat.

If you're at least remotely technologically savvy, or at least have been paying attention to some form of social media, you'll have at least of general knowledge of the events that occurred at this year's E3. Without having to ask, I'm sure the general gist of it went something like this:

overly exaggerated praise for Sony (and this is a lot coming from me, 'cuz I love Sony) hostile criticism of Microsoft (which wasn't entirely undeserved) Nintendo who? (more on this later) a "rape" joke (*sigh*...) the REAL Infinity Ward finally pokes their heads out Sony's Public Relations/Marketing department becomes God Tier NBA Live is still a thing? why the f*ck was Drake there? THEY FINALLY SAID HOW MUCH MONEYS I HAS TO SPEND! Minecraft v2.0? Kingdom... Hearts... III... Still with me? Was I wrong? Yes? No? Maybe so? Either way, excellent. The Electronic Entertainment Expo isn't only an event for major gaming companies to show off the fruits of their labor to us judgemental consumers - it's primarily for each company's investors and shareholders, to influence their investment decisions and basically keep them abreast of the company's plans. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA, Ubisoft, and Activision are the big names that you will always see at these events, however, don't let the six most familiar corporate entities cloud what you see. Many different aspects of the massive business of digital gaming are put on display here. It isn't just public relations, or a peek at what's to come - the intrepid viewer can discern a lot about the state of gaming by paying attention to the (admittedly repetitive staple of) company representatives displaying the fruits of their labor to an eagerly waiting crowd - which isn't just the audience directly in front of them. If you were watching via television or live stream, that means you too. Here's five lessons we learned...
Contributor
Contributor

I'm a technologically savvy Sony Gamer born in the epic city of New Orleans, currently pursuing a degree in Mass Communications in South Carolina. When not losing hours of my life with a controller in my hand, I'm probably losing hours of my life typing endless words into a keyboard, my attempt at this thing called "technology journalism". Hi there.