1Up’s Senior Reviews Editor Garnett Lee made a good point on the 1UP Yours E3 wrap up podcast last week. As it relates to enthusiasts’ press and what their role is if E3 is for the mainstream, it’s to add context and explain to the mainstream what they are seeing. Game press often knows ahead of time what will be at the event, and they’ve seen many of the demos and trailers at previous events. Certainly, the industry could find a cheaper means of showing off the surprises they actually have for the hardcore.

If the spectacle draws in media outlets that normally don’t follow games, someone has to be there to educate those outlets on what they are seeing so they have the proper tools to relay to their audiences what they have seen and why they should care. It also familiarizes those reporters with our industry’s media, so when controversies such as the ones surrounding Grand Theft Auto and Mass Effect arise, they know journalists with an expert grasp on the industry, as opposed to just running to the same people who sensationalize issues.

For those that point to companies like Activision Blizzard and LucasArts leaving the ESA, remember: that was essentially a money issue. I’m certain other things like the space for booths may play into E3 concerns, but notice that while those companies aren’t officially part of E3, they are keeping themselves close. They, much like the companies they didn’t leave, need the mainstream press and to be part of the buzz.

None of these companies can generate this much press and attention on their own. Even Nintendo, being the mainstream darling of this generation, doesn’t draw the number of journalists from E3 as any individual event of their own.

I acknowledge even with that laid out their many concerns that still linger for many. Many developers and journalists have complained that demos at E3 don’t provide an experience that reflects what the experience one has at home. You can’t blame the event for that. I understand the pressure from publishers to have big games ready in some form at such a big event. That said, I don’t need a marketing degree to know to not show off a product that doesn’t reflect well in a certain environment. If your game requires being fully immersed in the atmosphere you’re creating, it’s not a good idea to show it in a venue with pulsing music and distractions all around. I have a hard time sympathizing when someone shows off their product in unfavorable light and then blames the venue. Or when it’s shown off before it’s ready and the press and public reacts badly. The event doesn’t control the showing of a product. The developer and publisher control that. The publisher often holds more control than the developer. Don’t mismanage access to your product and you can better influence the press it receives.

E3 may pull together a lot of competing companies, but those companies need each other. There wouldn’t be any other industry events like GDC and D.I.C.E. if that weren’t the case. So the companies will get together and make something work out for next year. Sure, some people will still have issues. Sure it won’t be perfect. It never has been and never will be. But it will continue to serve the purpose of being the summer media draw for the industry. More importantly, it’ll continue to be positive media draw the industry needs until its mainstream respect finally matches its mainstream dollars.