A recent report indicates that the three major gaming giants are skipping this year’s E3, the first in-person event in nearly four years.
E3 2023 will take place June 13-16 in Los Angeles.
A recent report suggests that Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox won’t be participating in this year’s E3. The event has had a turbulent past few years, partly because the COVID-19 pandemic has made mass gatherings less safe, leading to E3 being canceled in 2020 and 2022. .
E3 is perhaps the most widely known gaming trade event with gamers around the world gathering around their screens every summer to see what they can expect from publishers and teams. large production team. However, the event and its organizers, ESA, have faced some significant difficulties in recent years, the prime example being Sony’s abandonment of E3 starting in 2019. Problems This was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in E3 2020 being canceled just months before it started. E3 would return as an online-only event in 2021 but was canceled again next year, leaving the future of E3 precarious in the eyes of many.
The future of the event seems to be looking brighter with the announcement that E3 will return in 2023 with ESA partnering with the company ReedPop, formerly known for hosting PAX. However, a recent report from IGN suggests that Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox will not be participating in E3 2023. Sources cited in the report cited “ongoing frustrations” with ESA as well as disagreements. with the way ReedPop holds the event, especially compared to how previous PAX iterations have played out.
Whether E3 continues to be held in person or becomes an entirely online event, it is unlikely to be completely forgotten, at least it is still too early.
Another source cited by IGN asserts that ReedPop contacted these publishers last fall but has not been able to reach a consensus since then. Although Nintendo, Sony, Xbox and ESA have all been silent, ReedPop has responded by asserting that it has “worked hard with ESA members” and acknowledging the lack of transparency on its part. It added that they hadn’t sent out any contracts to the studios so far this month but did not confirm or deny whether Nintendo, PlayStation or Xbox will return to E3 this year.
Some of E3’s dwindling popularity in recent years has been attributed to the growing popularity of online events and showcases. Nintendo kicked off this form of introduction with the Nintendo Direct, and PlayStation and Microsoft followed suit with the PlayStation State of Play and Xbox Developer Direct recently. However, the continued popularity of digital events does not necessarily mean that E3 is no longer relevant for these companies. Both Nintendo and Microsoft continue to appear at the event, and the upcoming Xbox Summer Showcase is tipped to take place alongside E3 2023.
