Why it's good to be press:
The press is given unparalleled access to developers, programmers, and publishers at E3. Showing your media badge to a PR representative at a booth will not only normally get you access to any demo on the floor, but will earn you an escort and an introduction to the people involved in the hands-on making of the game. If other people are playing, they’ll kick them off for you. If you want information about a game, they’ll provide you with press kits, or introduce you to someone that knows enough to quote.“The overpopulation at E3 forces the people working there to look at every attendee the same way, so those of us with our lovely and distinctly-colored "MEDIA" badges get dumped in the same kiddie pool as everyone else.”
I completely disagree. Game companies by and large go out of their way to accommodate individuals with the colored media badges, but as a consequence it’s our responsibility to make ourselves known. We can’t just wait to be recognized.
The first task of any member of the media at an E3 booth is to seek out a member of the PR staff; standing at the end of a line waiting to for a game console is the equivalent of waiting for someone to shove a PR packet into your hands. It’s letting the news discover you, instead of taking the steps to discover it yourself.
Know who you're dealing with:
What’s more, a game journalist should be as knowledgeable about the target company as he expects them to be of his or her own publication. If you’re interested in seeing something that Microsoft has to show off, then you shouldn’t approach the booth without knowing the name of the PR person your magazine traditionally works with. This isn’t always practical, but in general the PR world is made up of a rather small network; a little research prior to your appearance at a booth can make a great deal of difference to the people you’re hoping to talk to.As members of the media, it’s our job to make sure we educate ourselves enough to be worth dealing with.
Behind closed doors:
"The reason you never hear any E3 complaints is because the people who do most of the E3 reporting are all cruising down easy street. Media center woes don't affect the gigantic websites or G4 because they've all shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars for their own booths at E3 where they can do their own uploading and reporting from. Their jobs are already done for them. They even have their own food brought in so they don't have to troll the game publishers' meeting rooms for free sandwiches like a real journalist."
Being a member of media at E3 means legwork regardless of the size of the media outlet. In fact, when you talk to writers for IGN and GameSpot, what you find is that their deadlines and turn-around expectations are much higher than most of the independent journalists, who don't normally write their coverage until back at their hotel. E3 means running around the floor during the show, but it also means a lot of e-mails and correspondence before the show as well. In the five years I’ve attended E3, I’ve never once had more than two hours spare time to wander the floor without purpose; the majority of the time is spent racing from meeting to meeting. Some of those meetings were set up by the publisher contacting us; some of them were set up by us contacting them.
Some companies have greater access than others. The first time you see a magazine come out with “full E3 coverage” a week before the show you realize that some companies do receive PR and previews material in advance, but I’d also be willing to bet they have people that sit around and actively pursue that material. While game companies do bring information to you, especially after you reach a certain size, editors at large magazines do the same things we at the small ones do: Say things like, “We need more information about this game here. Let’s call the publisher and see what they can send us.”
The point is, much of the access game magazines have is a result of an extended relationship built over time. I’ve attended behind closed doors meetings with editors and writers from GameSpy, IGN, and The Rolling Stones Magazine, and I’ve never felt penalized for being from a smaller publication.
Are there meetings I don’t see? Of course there are, but I’ve never felt that inhibited my ability to research, interview, and produce quality E3 coverage capable of competing with larger game sites.
Often, how much access we have is determined more by the legwork of the writers and editorial staff, not the size of the magazine. Blaming it solely on anything else is dodging the point.