Mom, I Can’t Pause #16: The Actual Decline of E3
Welcome back to “Mom, I Can’t Pause!” This week, I’m going to dedicate most of this to E3’s apparent cancellation, and what this could mean for the gaming showcase as a whole. Let’s get right into it:
Eradicated Entertainment Expo?
Almost three years ago now, I wrote this piece here about the apparent decline of E3 after Sony had announced their intent to skip the 2019 edition. I tried to walk the line between hopeful and realistic, but I was ultimately optimistic that E3 would continue in the years to come. I even suspected that Sony would return the following year to begin their PlayStation 5 marketing.
Then next year, the strangest thing happened…
Obviously, the pandemic put a halt to just about all in-person events in 2020, E3 included. In its place, numerous game showcases were aired across the entire summer. Most of these events felt as if they were showcases that would normally be at E3, just streamed directly to consumers rather than through E3 and its parent company, the ESA. The quality of the showcases wasn’t consistent, but I personally would say they achieved the same goal as the typical press conference at the event.
E3 would return in 2021, with an all-digital online event. Most big-name publishers would re-join the event, except for Sony who continually opted to do their own thing. The event itself went up against Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, which he started in 2020 to fill the void left by E3. Unfortunately, while the public was pretty excited over Summer Game Fest, E3 was generally considered to be a mediocre event. While it was nice to have some big game reveals and some showcases, the event itself felt poorly organized and lacking when it came to big game reveals.
This shouldn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of the ESA, but it was definitely a notable setback. Still, there was some optimism in the air: people were hopeful that the event would return in 2022 to reclaim some of the “glory” of E3s past. This will probably not be the case, as it’s been reported that E3 2022 will most likely not be taking place at all. While the linked article gives wiggle room for an event to take place, at least in the digital space, I don’t see it happening.
The phrase “the end of an era” has been thrown around quite a bit since this news has come out. Many folks are seeing this cancellation as the de-facto end of E3 as we know it. Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel the same way. I try to look at this from the perspective of both a consumer and a professional. On the consumer side, I’ll miss seeing the conferences alongside my friends online and having the occasional freak out when something big is announced. There’s a strange sense of community in providing commentary alongside friends on Twitter.
From the professionals’ perspective, this has to be a sigh of relief. If you’ve ever watched an E3 presentation, you may be familiar with the trailers and/or the game demos prepared for presentations. Those demos are also known as vertical slices, a sort of proof of concept for the game. While these games may be in development, what we see on the stage may not even resemble the final product. These vertical slices are not easy to put together, and often require crunch to get done in time. A famous example of this would be EA’s Anthem, as the gameplay demo was famously different than the final product. Without an E3, game publishers can now show their games when they’re ready, rather than stressing to hit the goal of having something to show in June.
E3 ending in such a way feels so bittersweet to me. On one hand, I always wanted to attend the event and be a part of the crowd for an extremely hype showcase. In the months since I’ve started this newsletter, I’ve been trying to plan out my coverage of E3. Hell, I was even planning on going to cover the show in person. To seemingly never be a part of it is truly unfortunate, to me. And yet…
I also can’t help but be relieved that it’s over. I’ve seen stories from established journalists that have covered E3, and they make it sound like a goddamn nightmare. Plus, let’s be fair: the ESA is a goddamn disgrace of an organization. I hope we all remember the ESA essentially doxxing many journalists on their website and doing fuck-all about it. Also, I know it was a long time ago, but we should really never let them live down the booth babes.
E3 is probably dead, or at least in the way we knew it. As saddening as it may be, or as it may be a relief, there really won’t be anything quite like it ever again. Maybe the Game Awards or Summer Games Fest will reach the highs of a dynamite Sony showcase, a Nintendo Direct, or even a strong Xbox show. Lord knows that as long as gamers thrive off of hype, there will be a showcase to capitalize on it.
