E3 is officially dead, ESA says, ending years of efforts to revive it

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The Electronic Entertainment Expo, once the largest gathering of the gaming and media industry, has officially closed.

“After more than two decades of hosting an event that has become a central event for the US and the world of the video game industry,” the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) decided to end E3, said Stanley Pierre-Louis, president. and CEO of the nonprofit trade association representing sports industry interests in the United States.

The mix of new competitors, the dissolution of partners, the general change of the audience and the tragic events caused the decline of E3, ending years of efforts to revive the event, which began in 1995.

“We know that the entire industry, gamers and creators alike have a lot of passion for E3. We share that passion,” said Pierre-Louis. “We know it’s hard to say goodbye to a events like this, but this is the right thing to do given the new opportunities our business has to reach fans and partners.”

The beginning and development of E3

Those new opportunities include online video news conferences feed information directly to audiences – without the costs associated with attending a trade show, including hosting fees, expenses and time limits for presentations. In 2011, Nintendo paved the way by creating the “Direct” format, a video news conference to announce new games and products.

In 2018, Sony PlayStation’s decision to leave the incident it started a domino effect of other consumers and companies pulling their participation. Just over a year later, Geoff Keighley, a former E3 reporter, announced that he was no longer helping ESA with the show, and has since successfully held his own events, various shows for shows like the Summer Game Fest. He also created the presentation during the year’s Sports Awards, including the one that took place on Thursday.

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Recent E3 shows, including the last in-person show, in 2019, allowed public participation as an effort to increase buzz. The disease further worsened the negative impact of E3, as the quarantines forced many game publishers to use online broadcasting, with varying degrees of success.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Pierre-Louis seemed to be well aware of the circumstances that affected participation.

“There were fans who were invited to participate years later, but the truth is about a market and business model for the industry and being able to give the world information about new products,” he said. this. “Companies are now able to gain access to customers and trade businesses through a variety of channels, including their own shows.”

Before E3, video games were shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but the industry was pushed aside. ESA created E3 as a trade show for vendors to meet game publishers and creators.

“At that time, as an industry, we understood the power of sports,” said Pierre-Louis, “but many others did not appreciate the great importance that the sun was playing our business in the new sector, in creating serious artistic expressions. and contributing to the growth of the economy.”

It grew into a major media-creator. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft introduced the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, respectively, during the 2005 show.

Sometimes the show showed the public the most important games, making household names of developers and company directors. In 2000, game creator Hideo Kojima created a teaser for “Metal Gear Solid 2” to represent the blockbuster movie. His talent for expression contributed to his legend as an enigmatic artist.

In 2004, a new manager of Nintendo of America named Reggie Fils-Aimé invaded the stage of the show and brought brand and fire to the history-specialized media.

The effort to replace E3 is still ongoing. The Game Awards ceremony captured much of E3’s cultural energy, but has been criticized for focus on advertising and marketing, which hampers the recognition of the industry’s work.

Pierre-Louis said the closure of E3 means the video game industry “is blossoming in different ways.”

“Any one of these big companies can create an individual show… (and) also partner with other industries to show the scope of sports,” he said. “It’s great for our business, and it means an opportunity for them to explore how to approach new people in different ways.”

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