TLDR: E3, the prominent video game showcase, ends after nearly 30 years due to major withdrawals from companies, increasing competition, COVID-19 challenges, and waning interest from companies and public alike.
E3 is officially no more. The Entertainment Software Association has just announced that the once biggest showcase in the video game industry will be permanently shuttering their show after nearly 30 years operating.
— E3 (@E3) December 12, 2023
In a statement by ESA CEO and president Stanley Pierre-Louis to The Washington Post, he said, “After more than two decades of hosting an event that has served as a central showcase for the U.S. and global video game industry, the ESA has decided to bring E3 to a close. We know the entire industry, players and creators alike have a lot of passion for E3. We share that passion. We know it’s difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it’s the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners.”
After multiple cancellations and other troubles, we can’t say that this is all that big of a surprise. Even though most video game fans and enthusiasts can see this outcome coming, it’s still quite sad as E3 has been ingrained in the video game zeitgeist for some time particularly during the 2000s and early 2010s. This was the place that many memorable events in gaming history happened.
So why did such a huge and important event like E3 die? Here’s the gist of it.
Withdrawals by major players
A few high profile exits by developers and publishers are among the major contributions to E3 decline and eventual demise. Beginning with Nintendo back in 2013 when the company decided to stop attending the expo in favour of doing more smaller events and posting videos and announcements online via Nintendo Direct. Although the company did maintain a booth at the expo up until removing themselves completely from E3 2023.
Undoubtedly the biggest upset is Sony’s decision to pull out of the expo back in 2018. It was a pretty monumental move at the time considering it was Sony’s first time not attending the E3 expo in over 20 years. Looking back, Sony pulling out seems to signal the death knell for the expo. We, and more importantly ESA, just didn’t know it yet.
Sony’s departure also led to other high profile withdrawals namely longtime gaming journalist and frequent collaborator, Geoff Keighley who went on to create his own video game event. Recently though, the announcement of more and more publishers and developers declining to attend E3 2023 seems to be the final nail in the coffin for ESA.
Increasing competition
As mentioned before the high profile withdrawals by key players led to an increasing number of video game events and showcases that directly competes with E3. With Nintendo and Sony’s departures came an increased focus on their own Nintendo Direct and State of Play. Notable companies like Microsoft and EA also chose to hold different events away from E3 with Xbox Games Showcase and EA Play.
Undoubtedly the biggest competitor to come out of this is the Summer Game Fest which was started by former E3 collaborator, Geoff Keighley and its quick rise seems to come off the back of E3’s rapid decline. Summer Game Fest began in 2020 and due to COVID-19 was mainly an online event up until 2022 when they held their first physical event.
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic struck a huge blow to pretty much everyone and E3 was no different. Due to lockdowns ESA was forced to cancel the E3 2020 showcase and proceeded to do an online-only event a year later for the 2021 showcase. Ultimately though, ESA wasn’t too equipped to handle the challenges brought upon by the pandemic. This was evident with the way they handled the 2021 showcase which had a less than stellar reception from the video game community.
Lack of interest
Companies were also pulling out of the expo once they started to realise that the potential benefits might not be able to justify shelling massive amount of their finances for attending such a high profile event. Why spend so much when they can just drum up hype and publicity on their own through their respective social channels?
Developers and publishers nowadays are also preferring to take their time with their announcements of games as such considering that the video game landscape have changed a lot. Games are costing a lot more money and taking much longer to develop therefore E3’s usual June window might place too much pressure on developers. So rather than aligning with a specific event, companies will just opt to make announcements at their own pace.
A post-E3 world
It’s sad to see a classic video games industry juggernaut go down the way it has. The E3 expo has been a prolific player in the history of the video games industry with many notable events happened during these showcases that’s seared in the consciousness of gamers everywhere. Everyone knows Reggie Fils-Aime’s “My Body Was Ready” line or Keanu Reeves’ “You’re Breathtaking!” quote or the iconic price reveal of the original PlayStation. I foresee that it’ll be harder to find golden moments like these in the future now that E3 is gone.
On a personal note, it looks like my dream of finally attending an E3 expo will remain just that, a dream. Thanks for the memories E3. You are and always be a legend in my book.
Source: IGN, The Washington Post, Variety
