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Playing Keep-Away (4/9/00)
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The naysayers can prattle on about Apple's relatively small market share, its continuing inability to get Mac software onto store shelves, and its trailing position in the clock speed races-- but there's one thing they can't deny, and that's this: when it comes to pulling out of trade shows, Apple is the king, baby. Apple Expo 2000? Withdrawn. Internet World? No keynote for you. And now, the hat trick: according to MacGamer's Ledge, Apple has pulled out of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, known to those in the biz as "E3." What do we learn from this? Well, Apple may be serious about games-- but not nearly as serious as it is about retaining the expo-bailout crown. Priorities, people!
See, E3 is the big show to attend when it comes to what's hot in the gaming world. As such, in the past, you'd likelier find Apple hosting a pie-eating contest at the local county fair than bolstering the Mac's reputation as a "toy" by establishing a major presence at E3. That was before Apple's newfound love of games, however, and for the last couple of years, E3's been on Apple's short list of functions not to miss. We actually figured that, for once, Apple might really be serious about promoting the development of hit games on the Mac platform.
Well, you know how in the cartoons sometimes people's heads turn into giant suckers? This is one such occasion. Straight from the horse's mou-- er, statement: "After careful evaluation, Apple has decided not to exhibit at E3... our event strategy is a focused one and with InternetWorld, NAB, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, and Macworld/NY happening in the next few months, we've got a full schedule." Gee, we're tempted to interpret this decision as proof that the gaming industry is no longer an extremely valuable market to Apple, and that it reflects a lack of commitment to its developers in this market. Oh, wait; "the gaming industry is an extremely valuable market to us and this in no way reflects our commitment to our developers in this market." Never mind...
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SceneLink (2215)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/9/00 episode: April 9, 2000: Apple ducks out of E3, proving once more that it's the king of conference withdrawals. Meanwhile, the organizers of the recurring nightmare known as Apple Expo U.K. are having another go at it, this time without the word "Apple" in the show's title, and Dell's a bit late to the party, but the addition of FireWire to the company's lineup only proves that desktop video is here to stay...
Other scenes from that episode: 2216: Try, Try Again (Again) (4/9/00) Speaking of pulling out of trade shows, wouldja believe that those hale and hearty U.K. Mac fans are trying again? It's a classic example of the fabled British "stiff upper lip"; after all, Apple bailed on Apple Expo '98, Apple Expo '99 was cancelled due to Apple's continued noninvolvement, and Apple Expo 2000 (planned as a "this time, for sure" rave-up starring Steve Jobs himself) collapsed after Apple pulled out yet again... 2217: Spreading Like Wildfire (4/9/00) We'll say one thing for Mike Dell: he certainly doesn't make our job very hard sometimes. We've been watching his every move ever since that catty public remark back in 1997 about how, if he were running Apple, he'd have shut it down and given the money back to the stockholders...
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