Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft will Miss E3 this year.
With COVID restrictions easing, and everyone returning to a more-or-less normal life, in-person events are starting to spawn all over the world. After 4 years, E3 is finally returning to its familiar format, opening its door to both the media and the public. It was expected that the ‘Big 3’ (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft) would be back to the event, after a few years of divided fronts. Sadly, according to IGN’s report, Sony and Nintendo will not have a physical presence on the Los Angeles Convention Center show floor.
Xbox will have its own event right around the corner at the Microsoft Theater, which in a way, is what we have been getting for quite a few years now. Nintendo, on the other hand, has opted for their pre-recorded Nintendo Direct, but always had their booth at the convention center; this time, looks like we are going to have to settle with just the Nintendo Direct, instead of the live presentation they used to do. We’ll probably see a short one, since Nintendo has said their presence on E3 is not justified because of the lack of things to announce; I guess we won’t be seeing that Switch Pro any time soon.
Sony seems to be adopting Nintendo’s strategy. Instead of the expected live presentation and booth, they will probably do a pre-recorded presentation and stream it on their social platforms. The reason for their bailing on E3 since 2019 seems to be disagreements with the ESA (Entertainment Software Association), which organizes E3.
A pattern that I have noticed is that these companies’ presentations are just a bunch of pre-rendered, in-game engine trailers with very little gameplay. Release dates are for a couple of years down the road, with the occasional logo, teasing a major franchise revival, with no expected launch date.
Perhaps the companies have realized that it is not worth the cost of having to present themselves physically at the convention center and prepare a live conference, with all the logistics that entails.
Having a 30 to 40 minutes video, showcasing what is to come in a couple of years, with the occasional surprise seems to be the safest way to let the consumers know what is coming. With the proliferation of social media, it also seems a bit redundant to wait for a specific date to announce something, when you can do it on your own terms in all your social media platforms.
Don’t get me wrong, E3 will still be worth watching, with the presence of companies like Ubisoft, Devolver Digital, EA, and Bethesda there are plenty of games to be announced. Microsoft will have its own thing at the Microsoft Theater, with their own show floor, and the live presentation.
E3 will somewhat feel what we have been getting lately. Perhaps we all yearn for yesteryear, the old days of glory, when social media was in its diapers, and physical magazines like Nintendo Power and Game Informer were all the hype! A time when cellphones were made for calls and took a handful of crappy pictures before running out of space. We needed events like E3 to know where the industry was heading. Companies and media looked forward to these conferences to further cultivate their symbiotic relationships.
The future is now the present; the way these events are being done is changing right before our eyes, perhaps we have not taken the time to realize it. Let that sink in.
What are your thoughts on the current state of E3? Were you expecting more from the ‘Big 3’ considering E3 is returning to its in-person format? Let me know in the comments below.
[Source: IGN]
