Tomorrow evening, the players will meet at 11:00 p.m. to follow THE Summer Game Fest Live 2024a conference organized and presented by Geoff Keighleya former journalist who now takes care of punctuating the year with this summer event and the Game Awards in December. A major conference, especially since the disappearance of theE3but some in the industry are skeptical.
Esquire spoke with several people working in the video game world to understand the behind the scenes of Summer Game Fest and the work of Geoff Keighley. Of course, most have remained anonymous, unlike Greg Miller, former journalist forIGN who now produces the podcast Kinda Funny and who greets Geoff’s desire to highlight little-known gamesespecially during the first edition of the Summer Game Fest. Ash Parrish (The Verge) explains that the events around the conference, especially the Play Days, are great ways to discover other games and meet the developers. For three days, journalists can participate in the event in Los Angeles to try out games and conduct interviews, just like in the days ofE3. Finally, the presentation of Days of the Devswhich takes place in livestream after the Summer Game Festonce again highlights independent games.
One thing intrigued Esquire : in addition to Geoff Keighley, it is difficult to know who is behind the organization of these events. The newspaper requested information from the principal concerned, who did not respond. Furthermore, a insider says that organizing this kind of conference is “really expensive”, while several anonymous professionals explain thatone minute of video for the Summer Game Fest Live 2024 costs $250,000, 1:30 costs $350,000, two minutes costs $450,000 and 2:30 costs $550,000 ! Esquire did the calculation, assuming that the prices were the same, the 2023 edition of the Summer Game Fest reportedly grossed $9.65 million from the videos alone, although it’s hard to put a number on the 30-second trailers and the moments where Geoff is on stage with guests.
Suffice it to say thatit is almost impossible for an independent studio to afford a trailer at Summer Game Fest, such sums are reserved for large studios with a large marketing budget. Those who succeed still greatly feel the return on investment, one developer even adds that the popular success of a trailer depends on its duration and the moment at which it is broadcast during the conference. Of course, it is the long, therefore expensive, videos that retain the most attention from viewers.
In terms of income, the Summer Game Fest can also count on the ticket office, part of the 6,000 seats at YouTube Theater will be occupied by spectators who will have paid $41 to attend the event, with theoretically $246,000 more in the organizers’ pockets. It’s less than a one-minute trailer, but, either way, there are plenty of seats available for guests.
Another point that annoys members of the video game industry, Geoff Keighley’s silence on certain issues. Last year, members of the program Future Classselected by Geoff himself as part of the Game Awards, had published an open letter asking him to speak on stage about the massacres in Palestine. Geoff never responded to this request, it must be said that the subject, as serious as it is, is far from the video game world… unlike layoffs. Here again, not a word during Game Awards on the thousands of developers fired in recent months. An anonymous developer quotes theUncle Ben of Spiderman“With great power comes great responsibility,” explaining that Geoff Keighley is “now the de facto voice of gaming”, organizing and presenting the two most-watched ceremonies of the year. He could therefore do better, but another developer has another solution: leave more time for the guests on stage to express themselves, whatever the subject, thereby removing this thorn in his side.
Greg Miller finally states that Geoff Keighley is very attentive to comments and criticism, regularly reading the comments on social networks and sincerely trying to produce the best possible conferences. Suffice it to say that the articleEsquire will undoubtedly go back to him, it remains to be seen whether he will rely on everything that has been said to improve the formula of his events.
Concerning Summer Game Fest Live 2024 tomorrow evening, everything is already closedGeoff Keighley had also mentioned several points of the conference during a stream on Twitch. See you tomorrow evening to discover this event. As always, you can find games on sale on Gamesplanet.
| Clint008 Editor – Tester |
