No ‘real’ E3, no authoritative Euro trade show and a proliferation of supplier events have all left retailers frustrated in recent months – but now two major publishers have led the way in trying to solve the problem.

MCV can reveal that THQ and Sega are to work together on a European showcase in June, giving retailers the chance to assess over 20 new titles at what the two publishers are calling ‘a professional and cost effective retail-minded event.’

And there’s real potential for other publishers to get involved – both THQ’s Ian Curran and Sega’s Mike Hayes would welcome further collaborations with their industry contemporaries.

“Without E3 and without a true pan-European event at the moment customers are going to have to traipse off to so many different publisher events,” Sega Europe’s president Mike Hayes stated. “There has been a lot written in MCV recently about how many days retailers have to take out of the office in order to go and see product, so we’re aiming to make their lives more convenient.”

Ian Curran, THQ’s senior VP of international publishing, added: “We believe that we need a purely retail-focused event – there are very few egos involved between THQ and Sega and a lot of mutual respect in terms of what we’ve both achieved in the last few years.

“If someone else approached us and asked to be part of it, and their ideas are in line with ours, I see absolutely no reason why it couldn’t involve other publishers as well.”

As MCV revealed a few weeks ago (‘Retailers are fed up with publisher events’ 02/03), an increasing number of publisher trips has meant that retail buyers are spending an ever-increasing amount of time out of the office. And with no ‘traditional’ E3 to speak of, THQ and Sega have come up with a solution that could please all parties.