The life and death of E3
In the beginning, it was about respect.
The video games industry in the 1990s didn't get any. Tom Kalinskie, who led Sega America during this time, recounts two stories that sums up the world's attitude towards gaming.
The first came about during the famous 1993 – 1994 US senate hearings around violent video games. Kalinskie had been called in by his own senators to talk about the issue, and he explained how games are not just for kids.
"They scoffed," he recalled. "They couldn't believe it. "Are you kidding me? Everyone knows video games are just children's products. You shouldn't be doing these aggressive things'. And they basically tossed me out of their offices in DC."
Later on, Kalinskie visited Jack Valenti, the head of the Motion Pictures Association, to ask if video games could use the same age ratings system as the film industry, especially as everyone was so familiar with it. Valenti refused. He didn't understand why the huge movie industry would lend the tiny games industry its rating system.
US Government scrutiny over violent video games is what ultimately led to the formation of the Interactive Digital Software Association (today called the Entertainment Software Association), a dedicated trade body set up by the games industry, initially, to create a ratings system for games (and thus avoiding any Government legislation). The games industry had finally unified, and it was through this new organization that it would start to push back. Part of that, it became apparent, was having its own event to showcase the medium.
Back in 1994, the games industry would descend upon the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to showcase its games and consoles to retailers and media.
"CES didn't care a jot about video games"
"CES didn't care a jot about video games," recalls Kalinskie.
"It was bad enough they used to put us at the back of the big hall, but one year they put us out the back door under a large tent. You had to walk past all the porn sections to get to us. It
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