Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has been the most notable congregation in gaming since its formation in 1995.
However, the ongoing struggles caused by the pandemic has led to the event being cancelled again this year.
And with the digital replacements becoming more common, it has been suggested that the popular show may never return.
But would the death of E3 would be a significant loss? How would it affect the future of gaming?
What Made E3 So Special?
For decades E3 has been the biggest event on the gaming calendar.
People across the world wait for the event in anticipation every time June rolls around. It’s like Christmas for Gamers!
The annual event gathers the biggest gaming companies together to reveal their latest gaming projects.
It’s schedule is filled with announcements, trailers, exclusive gameplay, and game releases.
These announcements are separated into individual presentations from a variety of the biggest companies within the gaming industry.
Separate showcases allow each company to showcase their catalogue of upcoming projects to a live audience, as well as fans watching at home.
Example of an E3 schedule in 2019.
With each passing year, E3 presentations have continued to grow in spectacle.
Competition for the most iconic E3 reveal has created many memorable moments for fans.
Every news and entertainment outlet tunes in to E3 to relay the biggest scoops, so making presentations stand out is an essential way to receive more coverage and build up hype for the announced projects.
Big reveals are often met with roars of approval from the live crowd, but some can be rather cringey.
Either way, these highlights are considered iconic moments within the gaming community for years to come.
E3 has also been a significant component to the gradual growth of gaming’s reputation within the entertainment industry.
The strong partnerships and notoriety of the event makes the world pay attention to gaming, even if it may only last a few days.
After gradually gaining popularity in the 2000’s, the event established itself as the world’s biggest celebration of gaming.
In its peak years, millions dreamt of attending the event to learn about a new game release for their favourite franchise or to be in the room when a new console was announced.
And for developers, they wanted to reserve their big announcements for them few days in June so that their projects received as much traction as they could.
But in recent years, E3 has slowly been losing its power.
Big companies like Nintendo and Sony have been slowly backing away from the event in favour of their own digital alternatives.
Then the pandemic hit.
Lockdown made it impossible to host a physical event in 2020, causing E3 to be cancelled.
The past few years have also been halted by the pandemic and replaced with online events.
These digital showcases have provided a lot of benefits whilst capturing the magic of previous events.
Because of the success of digital alternatives, the future of E3 has been put into jeopardy.
Introducing Digital Showcases
Like any other form of entertainment, the past decade has seen a rise in digital content and streaming.
One of the many ways the online revolution has changed gaming is the way in which companies communicate with fans.
Before social media, game developers would need to conduct interviews with magazines or even send out demo discs to let fans catch a glimpse of their next project.
But now, it’s as simple as streaming some gameplay or sending out a tweet.
Nintendo began the digital showcase trend in 2011 when they released their first Nintendo Direct.
These presentations began as small updates from the likes of Reggie Fils-Aime on the goings on at the Nintendo studios.
However, as these updates gained a larger audience, Directs became a well-constructed show that acted as an advertisement for the future of the company.
After seeing the potential, other gaming giants latched onto the concept and began developing their own online presentations.
In addition, a lot of the live shows began offering a digital livestream of presentations so that fans at home could watch as the latest news was unveiled on stage.
However, it was the cancellation of E3 in 2019 that caused digital showcases to contend with their in-person counterparts.
With the covid-19 pandemic shutting down any hopes of conventions like E3 or Gamescom, companies were forced to create digital versions of their stage presentations.
Though some aspects such as a live audience were missing, switching the stage for the screen also provided benefits.
Companies were not restricted to the time limits or dates of E3 and could release their showcases when it suited them.
With that being said, a lot of companies decided to stick to a similar routine as part of Summer Game Fest.
Geoff Keighly’s Summer Game Fest debuted in 2019 as a digital replacement for E3.
Similarly to its predecessor, it was a multi-day event that included a collection of presentations and reveals from a wide range of gaming companies.
For many, the event succeeded in offering a similar magical few days for the gaming community that conventions like E3 were adored for.
After all, a lot of people that had enjoyed E3 for years never even stepped foot into the building.
Better still, the digital platform was more convenient for most companies as they had complete control over the presentations.
They could choose what to show and when to show as well as how long they showed off their newest projects for.
Also, the show could be pre-recorded, meaning that any mistakes or weird moments could be taken out and shot again, removing a lot of the cringe in the process.
These benefits along with the ongoing effects of the pandemic has persuaded lots of gaming companies to continue producing digital showcases.
Many companies have also ditched the big annual presentations in June for more frequent events at whatever date suits them.
The introduction of digital showcases has without doubt changed the standards for communication in the gaming industry.
But with larger scaled in-person events gradually returning, it is time for those in the industry to pick a side.
Pros and Cons of E3
As things stand, the lack of gaming conferences and events in the past couple of years has swayed the industry towards purely digital presentations.
However, E3 has vowed to return as soon as possible with in-person shows and demonstrations.
If conventions were to return, what would be the benefits and limitations for those looking to revert back to the traditional format?
One of the obvious elements missing from digital events is the physical atmosphere.
Crowd at the Xbox showcase at E3 2018. Credit: Glenn Chapman
Having a live audience provides instant feedback to announcements in a way that digital events could only dream of.
Huge reveals are met with roars of crowd approval and cheers from fans who are interested in the project.
And whilst most companies can predict the announcements that will receive the best reception, some reactions take them by surprise, for better or worse.
These reactions can then be used to gauge the interest of certain titles and adjust development strategy accordingly.
Another benefit to live shows is the ability to accompany presentations with gameplay demonstrations and exclusive first looks.
Though this could be done virtually, offering these opportunities to fans at a live event creates more authentic interactions.
Talking to potential customers about the game as they experience it for the first time gives developers genuine feedback that isn’t going to be disrupted by external factors.
In addition, live events offer these companies the chance to connect with fans and use their marketing strategy to convince them to invest in their project.
Finally, streaming live events offers the best of both worlds.
People can choose if they want to attend the in-person event or stay at home and watch the live broadcast.
Lots of the benefits of a physical show centres around a greater atmosphere.
However, this enhanced experience comes with plenty of complications in comparison to digital shows.
Digital shows are a lot easier to put together because there are less elements required.
For a physical event, there needs to be plans for what’s happening on stage, at home, and on the show floor.
Whereas for digital events, the only aspect that needs to be considered is what appears on screen.
This removes a lot of the time and money expenditure of the physical shows.
Instead of splashing cash on a big stage production, companies can just record some footage from HQ and then roll the trailers.
Also, the lack of a physical show means that the companies have more control over the way in which their projects are revealed.
When a company is involved in a live stage show, they are restricted to the schedule constraints and allotted a specific time and date.
But opting for a digital showcase lifts these restrictions and companies have the freedom to release their event whenever they want.
It also removes the pressure to make the showcase run for a specific amount of time as fans and media are not going out of their way to attend the event.
Greater control of these events means that the footage can be edited and refined, removing the awkward pauses and getting straight into the action.
It’s debateable as to whether avoiding the cringe moments is a benefit to digital showcases or not, but it does make the presentations run a lot smoother and seem more professional.
Overall, there are plenty of pros and cons to both options and a company’s preference is likely to depend upon their promotional strategy.
The Future of E3 and Announcements Season
After the last few years of digital showcases, the reputation and notoriety of conventions like E3 has certainly taken a hefty blow.
With shows like Summer Game Fest and Nintendo Directs serving fans their news fix, the digital format is slowly becoming the norm.
For now, it looks like digital showcases are the favoured approach for companies and fans.
However, there has been an underlying desire for E3 to return within the gaming community.
It seems very unlikely that physical shows would not return at some point.
In fact, Geoff Keighley announced yesterday that Summer Game Fest would be an online and in-person event next year.
E3 has also claimed they are attempting to return in 2023 so it will be interesting to see which event comes out on top.
This suggests that the magic of E3 is not completely lost and that fans of the event can hold onto hope of a return to form.
But as things stand, the power is still fading and needs to be restored before it is too late.
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