After more than two decades, the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) has officially come to an end.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the video game lobbying group that organized the annual trade show, first confirmed the news to The Washington Post.
— E3 (@E3) December 12, 2023
“After more than two decades of serving as a central showcase for the video game industry, ESA has decided to end E3,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, ESA president and CEO, in a statement. “ESA remains focused on advocating for ESA member companies and the industry workforce who fuel positive cultural and economic impact every day.”
First held in 1995, the Los Angeles-based E3 quickly became a major gaming industry event at which game makers around the world would gather to showcase their upcoming titles. Every year, companies like PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and Ubisoft would hold glossy press conferences featuring everyone from legendary designers like Shigeru Miyamoto and Hideo Kojima to celebrities like Usher and Canada’s Keanu Reeves.
However, questions surrounding E3’s relevance began to surface in recent years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. In what would be the last-ever in-person E3 in 2019, PlayStation pulled out entirely, stating the show had lost its “impact.” As former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden had mentioned, E3 began in the early days of the internet, so it was much more necessary as an event for companies to directly connect with the media who would cover the games for people back home.
Nowadays, though, companies can directly reach consumers through social media, streaming platforms like Twitch and more. Instead of investing heavily in booth space and conferences at a convention centre, companies can simply produce far less costly video presentations like Nintendo Directs that can be viewed by anyone at home. This emphasis on digital consumption has helped Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards continue to grow in popularity, and his nascent Summer Game Fest has even begun to fill the June void left by E3.
But PlayStation wasn’t the only company that pulled back from E3 in 2019. Other publishers, like EA, opted to hold separate adjacent events during the same time frame. Meanwhile, in an attempt to drive up interest in the show, the ESA opened the once-industry-only event to the public, but reports nonetheless still came out that overall attendance still seemed lower.
In 2020, ESA cancelled E3 amid the COVID-19 pandemic before attempting a digital-only event in 2021 that was poorly received. The show would then skip 2022 entirely. Naturally, all of this only increased discussions that the writing was on the wall for E3.
Some hope at a revival came last summer, though, when the ESA announced a partnership with ReedPop, an experienced organizer behind such big conventions as New York Comic Con and Star Wars Celebration. The two teased a big reimagining for the show, but in the months that followed, no publishers would confirm attendance, and ultimately, 2023’s show was cancelled in March. Now, we know that was the final nail in E3’s coffin.
Going forward, Keighley intends to continue to build out Summer Game Fest, which ostensibly fills the same role as E3 for consumers. It remains to be seen whether other organizations might attempt to build out their own E3-like show.
What are some of your favourite E3 memories? Let us know in the comments.
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