E3 is officially dead.....
- Thread starter The Predaking
- Start date
Hardly surprising. It was nice having a single event each year where the big companies would do their big reveals and the fans would fight debate over who "won." But the big 3 have been becoming increasingly independent from E3 thanks to being able to do their own reveals both on YouTube as well as their own platforms.
It was nice while it lasted, but it has long since become irrelevant and I can't think of too many people actually missing it that much.
It was nice while it lasted, but it has long since become irrelevant and I can't think of too many people actually missing it that much.
People were calling E3 an irrelevant relic over a decade ago. And by "people" I mean the very same journalists and critics who nonetheless devoted the whole week to covering every single thing that was said and done there. (Looking at you, Yahtzee.) I'm just glad game studios are no longer under pressure to have demos and trailers ready for a specific time of year every single year regardless of how far along their games actually are. Assuming the tradition of dumping all the big reveals in the week E3 would have been doesn't drag on for another decade and change.
It won't be missed.
Now the pressure is to make sure everything gets pushed for the "Video Game Awards" instead, provided you're one of the companies attending.
I thought E3 already got declared dead like a year or so ago?? I even remember Keighley trying to talk up doing his own thing (that wasn't the Game Awards), with blackjack and hookers that never panned out.
For years it's been the kind of dead where no body cares or watches it and big companies had been withdrawing from it to the point where last year IIRC the only companies presenting were 3rd party creators. Now it's the kind of dead where the people behind it are calling it dead and they aren't even going to hold the event any more.
Pretty much this.
Pretty much this.
Looking around, I guess I was thinking about the 2020 cancellation and subsequent announcement of Keighley's Summer Games Fest that is apparently a lot more more spread-out than E3, and that's why it seemed like it never really happened in my mind.
You got things mixed up a bit.
There was no E3 last year, the most recent E3 was the online-only E3 2021, which still had Nintendo and Microsoft participating in it, so it wasn't just third party companies participating.
E3 2022 was cancelled (although it was doubted they'd even planned it at all since they had never announced dates for it like they had for the also-cancelled E3 2020) and then E3 2023, which would have been this year's E3, was cancelled after 'lack of sustained interest' (among other companies, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft had all said they wouldn't be participating in it).
Honestly I stopped paying attention to E3 after E3 2015, I think that was the one where they announced stuff like Shenmue 3 and Final Fantasy VII Remake.
That was also the only E3 I ever actually paid attention to to the point where I watched a bunch of the conferences being livestreamed on Twitch lol.
I think I watched Nintendo's digital event in 2014 though, I remember the debut trailer for Splatoon and that was E3 2014.
Kinda funny how I remember people mocking Nintendo for having abandoned having a physical presence at E3 back in 2013 and now look at where we are now.
That was also the only E3 I ever actually paid attention to to the point where I watched a bunch of the conferences being livestreamed on Twitch lol.
I think I watched Nintendo's digital event in 2014 though, I remember the debut trailer for Splatoon and that was E3 2014.
Kinda funny how I remember people mocking Nintendo for having abandoned having a physical presence at E3 back in 2013 and now look at where we are now.
I mean, I'll kind of miss E3. Mostly out of misplaced nostalgia for what it used to be rather than what it's actually been for the past decade or so, but still.
I have some fond memories of watching some of G4 and X-Play's coverage of the event. And watching highlights from the shows on youtube.
But, yeah, from everything we heard about what the owner's wanted to turn E3 into, it's probably for the best that it just fade away, I guess. And there's really no need for it nowadays, anyway.
Although, I DO still think there's room in the world for some sort of general video game convention. A San Diego Comic Con for video games, basically. I don't know, I think it's a idea that could lead to something decent.
But, I doubt E3 is gone forever. Even Toys R Us eventually found a way to make a limited comeback. E3 as a name has value. I'm sure someone will eventually use it for something down the line.
I have some fond memories of watching some of G4 and X-Play's coverage of the event. And watching highlights from the shows on youtube.
But, yeah, from everything we heard about what the owner's wanted to turn E3 into, it's probably for the best that it just fade away, I guess. And there's really no need for it nowadays, anyway.
Although, I DO still think there's room in the world for some sort of general video game convention. A San Diego Comic Con for video games, basically. I don't know, I think it's a idea that could lead to something decent.
But, I doubt E3 is gone forever. Even Toys R Us eventually found a way to make a limited comeback. E3 as a name has value. I'm sure someone will eventually use it for something down the line.
I feel nothing. E3 did its job, but we just don't need it anymore.
My favorite all-time E3 moment is when they accidentally doxxed over 2000 people.
My second favorite moment is when Sega literally shot themselves in the foot and basically killed the Saturn then and there at the first ever E3 (which I wasn't alive for but even still like who the hug at Sega thought any of that was a good idea? And then Sony basically was right there to make sure they were dead).
My second favorite moment is when Sega literally shot themselves in the foot and basically killed the Saturn then and there at the first ever E3 (which I wasn't alive for but even still like who the hug at Sega thought any of that was a good idea? And then Sony basically was right there to make sure they were dead).
I think the ultimate problem with E3 was it could never decide what kind of show it wanted to be, especially when you have the rise of things like Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) largely taking the show’s role from a fan angle. I think there was a chance to skew it closer to a “Toy Fair” type industry show, but then you have stuff like the GDC which covers that angle a bit better.
I recall Marcus Beer (industry professional who had a show on Gametrailers WAY back when) remarked going to one E3 where, even as the show tried to present itself as an “industry” event, you had “gaming press” walking around in character onesies and random “VIP” children getting first access to stations.
E3 has been “dead” for a long time. They just finally declared it.
I mean, I think there was SOME merit to the idea. The just executed it so poorly.
And then, a couple years later, Bernie Stolar’s infamous “the Saturn isn’t our future” comment firmly killed all support for platform in a single sentence.
Oh yeah, a surprise launch can be done well.
Maybe if it had happened in an alternate timeline where Sega wasn't basically fighting itself or something, they would've been able to do it better by not keeping the surprise launch a secret from third party devs and maybe including all major retail chains as well? Cause I mean I dunno about y'all but only having two games released between your surprise launch date and the original planned launch date AND having some of the retailers who weren't part surprise launch (like KB Toys) refusing to stock the Saturn or its games as a result of this seems like you completely screwed up your brilliant idea to give yourself a headstart in the marketplace over Sony.
And hey Stolar's comment about the Saturn not being Sega's future didn't immediately kill all support for the Saturn in the US, Magic Knight Rayearth still came out lol
He's still doing his thing on YouTube and Twitch, though I admit I haven't really gotten to check it out in some time.
The only thing they lost is the chance to win the "Who won E3?" discussions. But not having to share the day with anyone else has its own advantages.