It's official! Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), which was the largest video game industry convention is no more. The writing has been on the wall now for a few years, with Sony pulling out of the event in 2018, and Nintendo focusing all their big announcements via Nintendo Directs for over a decade, the largest companies in gaming have figured out their own unique ways to engage with the media. We're not even going to dive into the fact that E3 opened to the public instead of being media-only to survive back in 2017.
One of those ways of engaging is during the Summer Game Fest event, which first began in 2020 with the pandemic cancelling E3 and Gamescom. Organized by the Dew and Doritos king himself, Geoff Keighley, Summer Game Fest has taken what E3 once was, and transformed it into an arguably better event. While there isn't a massive in-person convention, the largely digital event incorporates the vast majority of the industry, with several companies running their own shows, and it has become more accessible than ever to see all the upcoming releases in gaming.
Stanley Pierre-Louis, President and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, had this to say via Washington Post.
Quote From Stanley Pierre-Louis 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. 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.
How do you feel about the loss of E3?
Comments
I'm so sad we didn't have an E3 this year. We were robbed of Twenty Twent-E3!
Sad times. Although E3 fell off pretty hard in its last few years, it's still sad to see it go. Summer Game Fest isn't perfect, but at least it feels a bit more organized instead of everyone making their announcements all at the same time on a show floor.
I remember first hearing about E3 in Nintendo Power, Nintendo's magazine, many moons ago. It became a dream to go to E3 but when later in life I was given the chance, the show just didn't feel interesting enough anymore.