Sega fears new E3 arms race

Having seen spiralling costs bring about the supposed death of E3 – and the industry’s hunger for an annual US get together subsequently revive it – Sega has voiced concerns that the expense associated with the event may start to mount once again.

E3 is something you have to do and we’ll do it properly this year – and we are a proud member of the ESA so we’ll get behind it,” North American and European president and COO Mike Hayes told CVG.

However, we are still slightly concerned about getting back into the ‘arms race’. The costs of running E3 are still something we baulk at.”

Nonetheless, Hayes was keen to stress that pulling out of the event is simply not an option.



But we know we have to do it as Sega, and we have a ton of product to show. To not be there would be ridiculous. Could we spend that money more efficiently [on promoting games] to the consumer? The answer is probably yes. That’s always the operator’s frustration – but it goes for a lot of trade shows.”