More bad news for fans of E3 was slipped into a recent meeting packet by the Los Angeles City Tourism Board that was noticed by a user on ResetEra that mentions that both the 2024 and 2025 events have now been canceled. Next year would have been the first in-person E3 in five years, since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, the ESA refutes the claim of cancellation in a statement made to VGC, stating that “…no final decisions about the event have been made…” yet.
“ESA is currently having conversations about E3 2024 (and beyond), and no final decisions about the event have been made at this time.”
The future of the event grows ever dimmer with this news, for if the 2024 and 2025 events are indeed canceled, that would mark four years straight without E3 in any form, and six consecutive years without an in-person event taking place.
E3 Dies as Digital Events Rise
Ever since the rise of digital events such as Nintendo Directs and PlayStation’s own showcases, the need for in-person, on-stage events like E3 has rapidly diminished. Though the event maintained a steady and consistent track record from its inception in 1995 until 2019, the signs started to show that it was losing steam even as far back as 2013 when Nintendo first decided not to host its own presentation.
Once the pandemic hit, however, the ESA was forced to cancel the 2020 event, the first E3 cancellation in its history. At first, they had intended on replacing it with a digital event, but the plans for it eventually fell through. Geoff Keighley was unhappy with those plans and decided to split off from E3 and form Summer Games Fest, an event many claim is responsible for “killing” the classic event.
Keighley, however, denies this, stating instead that Summer Games Fest is itself a response to the slow death of the famed industry event rather than being responsible for its evident demise. In an interview he made with VGC last month, Keighley explained that he believes E3 “killed itself” through its refusal to evolve in the face of a much more digital world.
E3 would eventually make a return of sorts in 2021 in its first all-digital event; however, the reception was not as enthusiastic as the ESA had hoped. Plans for an in-person return were in place in both 2022 as well as a 2023 event originally scheduled for earlier this month, but both events wound up canceled, largely due to a lack of support from major industry players as well as greatly diminished interest from potential attendees.
Related: RUMOR: PlayStation and Sony Looking to Make Up Lost Ground with Second Showcase of the Year?
While E3’s 2023 event was canceled, many of the industry’s biggest players showed up instead for Summer Games Fest around the same time of year. PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo all hosted their own digital showcases within the past month, following a similar structure to E3 in its prime when all major console leaders would host on-stage showcases at the event. Many have argued that the ability to host direct digital events eliminates the need to partner with the ESA for an in-person event.
How do you feel about these potential cancelations? Do you still have hope that E3 will eventually make its big comeback, or are you happier with events like Summer Games Fest? Let us know in the comments and on our social feeds!
Source: VGC
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