gaming The end of E3?

SaburoDaimando · March 11, 2020

Recently, thanks to a certain outbreak, word has it that E3 this year will be cancelled.

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E3 2020 as we know it is over.

Multiple sources familiar with the Entertainment Software Association (ESA)'s plans have confirmed to Ars Technica that the organization, which is responsible for the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), will soon cancel the three-day expo. Like in prior years, E3 2020 was scheduled to play out in early June as a three-day event at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Shortly after we received the tip, indie game publisher Devolver Digital posted a brief, ominous message on Twitter: "Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y'all." The ESA had not made any announcements about E3 2020 at that time.

One source who spoke to Ars on background said they'd heard the news of E3 2020's cancellation "directly from ESA members" and that an official, public statement on the matter "was supposed to be today [Tuesday, March 10] and slipped."

Representatives for the ESA did not immediately respond to Ars Technica's questions about the state of E3 going forward or whether the event's seismic shift may instead mean a delay, a move to a completely different venue, or a wholly virtualized, live-streamed event.

Exactly why the event will be canceled is not clear at this time. Late last month, the ESA addressed concerns about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on major 2020 expos around the world by insisting that it "continue[d] to plan for a safe and successful E3" while otherwise "monitoring and evaluating" its potential impact on events held in Los Angeles.

Following that announcement, E3's contracted creative directors, the merchandise and events company iam8bit, resigned from its post after five weeks on the job. That news followed a February announcement that longtime E3 collaborator Geoff Keighley would not be participating in this year's expo.

More so than the organizers and headlines, E3 has always been about the games—but even that fact has been a sore spot, as E3 has seen major game publishers bow out in recent years. Activision-Blizzard became an unreliable attendee starting in 2016. EA officially ditched E3 in 2016 to operate EA Play, a standalone event timed alongside E3, on an annual basis ever since. While Nintendo has regularly had a major booth on the E3 show floor, the company hasn't hosted an E3 keynote event for some time, choosing instead to host pre-filmed Nintendo Direct presentations on YouTube.

Sony's absence in 2019 was considered particularly major, given that it's the producer of the world's best-selling home gaming console, and its E3 2020 no-show seemed even more glaring in comparison, thanks to a new PlayStation 5 console expected to launch later this year.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/03/e3-2020-has-been-canceled/

Given the last few years for E3, it feels like a convention that's on its last legs. And this cancellation could finally seal the fate of this long time expo...for good. This is in comparison to another convention I've been going to for a long time: The San Diego Comic-Con. Right now, that convention will be going on despite the outbreak. But with E3 going down for good, what are your thoughts on the sad end of the Electronic Entertainment Expo?

Luigi · March 11, 2020

Somehow I’m not surprised

ShadOBabe · March 11, 2020

I’ll miss watching reaction videos to game announcements, but if it went away, I would be unbothered. I’m sure there will be other events to take it’s place.

Not to mention more companies have been taking to digital media to share their new products anyway. Any hey, people make reaction videos to those too, so I’m still good!

Edited March 11, 2020 by ShadOBabe

Darksword66 · March 11, 2020

I think the aspect is that it's just more profitable to make your own event. That and E3 as a whole would just have to adjust itself to work more for the smaller companies than the larger ones. It's great they had power houses but for the most part it's about the sponsors, and the smaller companies that are there. I hope it doesn't fall out of course, mostly because it's good for those who attend and a great way to expose games to others, be flashy and such. But what happens happens.

Megas · March 11, 2020

I mean, E3 has been losing relevance especially with several major publishers dropping out including Sony. I'd say last years gaffe where they accidentally doxxed the personal info of several journalists help do them in, and the Coronavirus helped accelerate it

Sparklefan1234 · March 11, 2020

I'm not usually interested in a lot of the games that are shown off at E3 but I would be sad to see the "exclusive"* trailers disappear.

*That usually end up on the game companies Youtube sites, anyway. :muffins:

LegoDashie · March 11, 2020

i always wanted to go for once but those ticket prices and not to mention hotel and gas and also food prices...its just much better saving your money watching it live.

Patty Thundersnow · March 11, 2020

It's not much of a surprise that they are cancelling E3, but seriously... that's three months away. They need to wait and see what happens. THen in a couple of months, make the call.