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Thoughts on canceling E3 in 2023?
On the night of March 30-31, it became known that the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or simply E3, was canceled in 2023. And frankly, it was to be expected, anyway. Therefore, let’s reflect today on what this means, why it happened, and what we have lost. And, unfortunately, this is not an April Fool joke.
background
The gaming exhibition E3 originates in 1995 (my age, cake). From May of that year, it was held annually until 2020, when the well-known virus prevented everything. The essence of the exhibition itself was that all major and not only publishers and developers came to one place. They held presentations of their future projects, both for ordinary gamers and for the press. It was a grand show that we looked forward to every year.
Pandemic
But now 2020 has arrived. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the world, and all public events around the world have also begun to be massively canceled. And E3 was no exception. As a result, all companies, developers, and publishers, had to follow the example of Sony, which left E3 a couple of years before and felt great. All of these companies started doing their presentations on the internet, and… it worked.
Trying to get back
And then a year passed and 2021 came. As it has become fashionable in the current circumstances, many of these events have begun to move to an online format. The Game Awards, Oscars, and so on. Including E3. And indeed, the transfer of all these events to this format under the circumstances is quite a logical step. But there is one problem. All of them were just built on the fact that these are live events. That people go to them. And when translating them into an online format, this feeling is lost. As a result, they all turned out to be very, very boring. Of course, there were many factors for this, and the online format is far from the only reason. But still one of the key ones. Personally, I watched them all, and I was wildly bored. I don’t know about you.
vain expectations
Then another year passed. In 2022, all restrictions have already been more or less lifted. And then I was waiting for this exhibition again. But here’s the thing, they decided to cancel it. I devoted an entire post to this last year. Then, the organizers said that in 2023 they would return. Moreover, they want to redesign the format of their exhibition. Make it online and offline at the same time. Come up with something new. Then I anticipated it. I was wondering how they get out, and what they come up with. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to demonstrate it.
What we have lost
And here we are. The 2023 year. Gradually, one after another, the news is pouring in that various studios are refusing to participate in the event. The result is natural – cancellation. But what does this mean? At least the fact that the gaming industry has lost some unity, so to speak. But this is speaking poetically. If all this is down to earth, now we are waiting for a mountain of presentations from different companies with a lot of water and only a small fraction of really interesting content. No holiday feeling. Just more boredom. Routines.
Outcome
Of course, the organizers say that the cancellation of the exhibition this year (for the second year in a row, by the way) does not mean its final death. They express the hope that in 2024 they will be able to return. But we all understand perfectly well that these are only hopes. Hopes for a future that is unlikely to come true. Now, E3 has gone from a unifying and mutually beneficial event that brings joy to fans, has turned into an extra line of expense that everyone wants to get rid of. And that’s normal in the business world. Especially in the current crisis. The only problem is that we, the players, are not as soulless as all these corporations. Here.
