Orange County video game makers were uncharacteristically absent from the recently concluded annual Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The exception: Atlus U.S.A. Inc. in Irvine, which shared a large exhibition space on the showroom with Sega. The unit of Sega of America provided industry insiders and fans a sneak peak of its anticipated role-playing game “Persona 5,” which will be released on Valentine’s Day in the U.S. and in September in Japan.
“E3 is always one of our biggest shows each year,” said Public Relations Manager John Hardin. “It was great to see the response, everyone was really impressed with ‘Persona 5.’”
Irvine-based independent game developer Ready at Dawn held private business meetings and demos for the media, a spokesperson told the Business Journal.
Newport Beach-based inXile Entertainment also held meetings with industry executives off the showroom floor, founder Brian Fargo told the Business Journal.
Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc., the county’s largest software maker, didn’t hold demos or meetings this year at E3, the world’s largest video game trade show, which drew more than 70,000 visitors.
Publisher Little Orbit LLC in Santa Ana, which typically showcases several new or upcoming releases at E3, also was absent, joining the likes of KOG Games and app game maker MobilityWare, both based in Irvine.
MobilityWare employees did attend the event but more as fans than marketers.
“We make it more of a fun day,” said Chief Executive Jeff Erle. “We like to release the passion and gamer in everybody.”
E3 is in a transition of sorts, as perennial newsmaker and large exhibitor Electronic Arts opted to host its own nearby conference during the trade show, while the prominence of mobile gaming has eliminated the need for such industry launches because developers directly target consumers.
This year’s big draws at E3 included “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and demos of several virtual reality devices and other immersive experiences, including the in-development Sony PlayStation VR headset and the recently released Vive by HTC and Valve.
QLogic’s Post-Sale Future
Silicon Valley chipmaker Cavium Inc. and QLogic Corp. are in the early stages of establishing a joint task force to implement an integration plan following the Aliso Viejo-based networking equipment maker’s pending $1 billion sale.
Expect some significant job cuts at QLogic’s local operation, which employed nearly 375 through March, according to Business Journal research. It had 782 worldwide employees through mid-May, down 15.6% from a year earlier, according to its annual report.
Cavium employs about 1,000 at its San Jose headquarters and design hubs in California, Massachusetts, India and China.
The deal, expected to close this quarter, calls for annual cost savings of at least $45 million on combined yearly sales of about $1 billion.
“A significant amount of hard work lies ahead of us in order to most effectively integrate QLogic into Cavium to maximize the opportunity and realize the synergies and benefits,” Jean Hu, QLogic’s acting chief executive, wrote to employees in an interoffice memo when the deal was announced on June 15.
“This acquisition will result in a stronger, more competitive combined company that is good for employees, customers, and investors.”
Cavium Chief Executive Syed B. Ali will likely lead the combined company.
