The World’s Biggest Gadget Show Matters Again

The last time CES mattered to the masses may have been as far back as 2001, when Bill Gates appeared at the consumer electronics show to promote Microsoft Corp.’s first Xbox. Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, then best known as a wrestler for what was still called the WWF, exchanged catchphrases with Gates for a few minutes onstage in Las Vegas before they demoed the video game console’s top-of-the-line visuals. A year later, the first entry in the Xbox Halo franchise would become the fastest-selling console game released to that point. It probably would’ve done just fine without CES, but the trade show was considered a key stop on its road to commercial success.

Things changed. The focus of the consumer technology industry swung from hardware to smartphone apps and social media. Companies such as Apple, Samsung, and Google began holding their own, separate product demo days, usually a bit closer to the next holiday shopping season than January. The Vegas show became largely the province of automakers hunting for new gear lower down in their supply chain. This year, however, the biggest internet companies are pouring money into a growing range of consumer gadgets, many in competition with one another. CES is relevant again.