Being spontaneous is the secret to creating surprise and memories. I think one of the reasons why gamers look for fun more online is because the ‘formulaic’ single player is so anti-spontaneous but that’s another post for another day.
E3 is likely dull because of the lack of spontaneous energy which is the lack of gamers. Gamers, just looking for fun and not having to answer to any publication, will be ‘wowed’ or ‘scared’ by the good and bad products which makes it all fun to watch.
Someone finally found the video I was looking for of the E3 stampede. This was a Kotaku video no longer hosted on YouTube but is currently on Fugly. The video is pretty short, but you get a sense of the energy. Such a video could not be replicated at E3 2007 and 2008. E3 needs to be more crazy because crazy works.
Taking away gamers from E3 is like taking away the children at Christmas time. Yes, it is quieter, less hassling. But it feels like the magic of the event is gone.