Today’s rant is a little bit de-fanged. No… maybe “Rothbart’s Reminisce” would be a better title today. I’m looking at this week’s CES coverage/events and I’ve pretty much boiled it down to “meh.” It seems like to stand out anymore, you’ve got to bring it so hard that it slams people in the chest and leaves them breathless before it’s “big”. And frankly, that doesn’t happen very often. I got excited at the potential prospect of a Blu-ray sucker punch knocking HD-DVD on its ass, ending the format war in a day… but it’ll probably drag on. The move was two parts show, one part political and 100% financial. Consumers… oh yeah, sorry, it was done for the consumers. For us. We should be… happy. Umm… yay?

Aren’t we being desensitized by all the instant-access media and coverage of every tiny thing that goes on at these events? Aren’t constant announcements for products shipping so far off they may be canceled before they’re released dulling our senses? Do we really get anything out of seeing one-off prototypes shown under ultra-controlled conditions?

I look back at shows like GDC, Tokyo Game Show, E3 E For All Summit, and CES and it seems I’ve been as caught up in them as anyone else. I’d refresh my RSS reader waiting to find out the latest scoop, the latest “megaton,” but usually, all I would find was the latest disappointment.

More despair about the state of trade shows after the jump (and nearly-nude pictures of American Gladiator “Crush”)…

Okay, so I flat out lied about the pictures of Crush. You can’t blame me though, it would be infinitely more interesting to discuss her than the way trade shows have been trending… the topic of this Rant/Reminisce today is how boring all the excitement has gotten. If that sounds stupid, then you get my point exactly.

Now I’ll be the first to admit, if I were attending CES or one of these other shows, I’d find them infinitely more exciting. If I got to stare at a 150″ Plasma screen in person, it might be a little more meaningful to me. It’s certainly nothing new for companies to try their darnedest to outdo everyone else, but was the crash of (the real) E3 a sign that the hype, the splendor, the expense of these shows had ballooned beyond any possible rewards for attending (as an exhibitor)?

What are your thoughts on the circus that has become gaming and technology trade shows and expos? It takes time and money away from other projects to adequately prepare for these things, would you rather all the companies just keep working than spend time and money preparing to compete among hundreds or thousands of other exhibitors for the attention of people likely attending to see some skin and snag some freebies.

On a side note, if I’ve “reached” any exhibitors out there that feel sick and tired of the spectacle, let me know. Even if you’ve already budgeted to go, feel free to send me that money. I’ll put it to good use. Perhaps I could become even more sarcastic if I had an HDTV of my own. Yes, you read that right… I’m still gaming in standard def. It’s a shame, isn’t it? Pity me. I accept PayPal.

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