The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, the long-running annual game show that brought the world’s game publishers, retailers and press to Los Angeles, is dead.
“After more than two decades of serving as a central showcase for the U.S. and global video game industry, ESA has decided to end E3,” the Electronic Software Association said in a statement Tuesday. “ESA’s focus and priority remains advocating for ESA member companies and the industry workforce, making a positive cultural and economic impact every day.”
Analysts who spoke to CNET cited withdrawals from major publishing partners, along with increased competition from other events, as reasons for the event’s demise.
The end of E3 comes after publishers slowly began to withdraw from the show over the past decade. Nintendo stopped holding press conferences at E3 in 2013, instead opting to upload pre-recorded videos online. Both Microsoft and EA opted to hold off-site events during E3, which drew people away from the Los Angeles Convention Center. A big blow came in 2019 when Sony decided to withdraw from E3 altogether.
As more and more companies organize showcases outside of E3, the event’s relevance slowly diminished. As of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, E3 has canceled or postponed in-person shows, although it did host an online event in 2021. In 2022, ESA said E3 would return the following year, but ultimately canceled this year’s edition. show due to lack of interest.
The decline of E3 coincided with the rise of Summer Game Fest, a series of game reveal events hosted by veteran industry insider Geoff Keighley. Summer Game Fest started online and hosted its first in-person event in Los Angeles in 2022, striking during E3’s usual event period.
Read more: Gaming industry insider Geoff Keighley explains his vision for showcase events
A world without E3 could lead to more canned comments
While later E3 events would open their doors to let fans experience the displays and demos on the show floor, the convention has traditionally been the launching pad for news from gaming companies large and small. Without an in-person industry event, gamers looking for announcements and updates on upcoming titles will have to rely more on pre-recorded presentations and press releases from major companies like Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and EA, with fewer opportunities for press interviews and off-the-record the art interviews. -cuff notes.
“The real importance of E3 is that everyone was there all at the same time,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. Unlike the Game Developers Conference or Tokyo Game Show, E3 attracted CEOs and CFOs from across the industry, according to Pachter. This also meant that the mainstream press attended the event, which attracted a lot of consumer attention.
E3 began in 1995 as a trade show designed to engage retailers in coordinating the holiday shopping season. The show evolved into a premiere event that attracted mainstream press from around the world with bigger and flashier press conferences. As the retail environment changed, with more games moving online and major titles arriving outside the holiday shopping season, E3’s central role diminished. Having one show in the summer didn’t really work for publishers who were planning to release games in March. That prompted companies to present titles at their own events instead. The last in-person E3 was in 2019 and the last E3 in 2021, although it was online-only.
“I’m noticing that companies are a lot less transparent and really want to have control over the message,” said David Cole, principal analyst at DFC Intelligence. Now that companies are sticking to online presentations and not making executives and developers immediately available, it is more difficult for the press to ask tough questions. This is partly designed so that companies can determine their own messaging, Cole said. The reduced transparency also makes an analyst’s job more difficult.
“I can’t get honest answers from these companies,” Cole said. “It makes it difficult because you’re kind of just buying into their own hype about what they’re saying in public and you really have to dig to find out the real story.”
In addition to releasing videos and sending out press releases, companies will continue to rely on online influencers to guide public opinion. While some influencers are transparent about their level of access, others may collect payments from publishers to showcase games, something trusted journalism organizations do not do. Cole said that influencer-leaning companies have been around for a while and it will take more due diligence from consumers to understand how the online hype is potentially being manipulated by marketing teams.
“The companies that ‘pulled out’ (namely Sony) made a huge mistake and killed the show,” Pachter said. “EA was stupid to move its competing show across town on the same days and Microsoft was stupid to move to the Peacock (formerly Microsoft) theater. I’m hopeful that the ESA recognizes the importance of the show and brings it back, but I’m not optimistic.”