While a lot of people were delighted by their E3 experience, there was a lot of grumbling by people who had been there before. The author of GameDrool is one of those people.

Why am I so cranky about these fan boys? Because they prevent me from actually looking at the games on the show floor, which is not only my job, but also everyone else’s. Do you really want to be pushed and shoved around as you walk from booth to booth by a dude whose sole objective is to get the attention of that young lady throwing out a t-shirt?

Corpnews also has a front page rant on the problem.

Companies are no longer courting the press, or even attempting to develop new contacts among them; now, it is an established siege war between giant website network and shitty magazines, and arrogant companies who divulge the merest crumbs and act as if this were a thunderous pronouncement from Yahweh…Worse yet, the number of people who fundamentally should not be at E3, wearing badges from fabricated companies or retail outlets, continues to grow.

Now, I didn’t make E3 this year, but it’s definitely a trend that’s been observable over the last few years. A huge part of the problem is, actually, the blurry line between fan sites and the press. Almost anyone can put together a few front page stories and call themselves ‘press’. Ironically, Corpnews is exactly that. What magic line of popularity of popularity and posting frequency does a site have to pass before it crosses over from ‘fansite’ to this ‘new gaming media’ thing that people breathlessly talk about?

All that being said, I work in MMOs. Our industry gets a lot more traction out of online communities like Corpnews and F13. Being as is there is a commitment involved with becoming a monthly subscriber, we depend heavily on building buzz in key communities. I definitely want online communities of a certain success level to be represented at the show, even if they never post a front-page article. Similarly, getting clerks in from EBGames and Best Buy is smart, as evangelists at the point of purchase can really help build buzz. I want them there too.

Perhaps, the answer is to lengthen E3, and set aside certain days for certain audiences. Perhaps the answer is for a larger venue, with larger booths and better planning for the ever-growing flock of unwashed nerddom that descends each year. But when companies like Nintendo really expect people to wait 3 hours (read: 1/6th of their total E3 time) to see one 15 minute movie, it’s clear that something’s broken and needs to be fixed.