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The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, is officially dead and buried. It will not return. Not next year, not the year after, not as a digital experience. E3 is gone for good.
This is according to a new report by The Washington Post. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the organization that was in charge of E3, issued a statement confirming that the show is over. President and CEO of the ESA, Stanley Pierre-Louis, says that bringing E3 to a close after two decades is "the right thing to do."
"We know the entire industry, players and creators alike have a lot of passion for E3. We share that passion," Pierre-Louis said. "We know it’s difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it’s the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners."
Speaking of summer, there is also the Geoff Keighley organized Summer Game Fest. Though not quite the same in format or scope as E3, the Summer Game Fest has come to somewhat fill the void left by an absent E3 over the past several years. Keighley is also responsible for The Game Awards, an annual show where new games are revealed and new trailers shown off, when not being bogged down by actually honoring the gaming industry.
The last in-person E3 event took place in 2019. In the years following, the COVID pandemic put that traditional E3 format on hold. The ESA attempted to adapt by hosting a digital event, but it was very much a miss with fans and studios.
Whatever attempts the ESA has tried to make to revitalize E3 in recent years just fell flat. None of their efforts ever really recaptured those experiences of past events that were chock full of amazing reveals from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Konami, Ubisoft, EA, and the like. Once these major studios started to pull away and do their own showcases, that was really the beginning of the end for E3 as it once existed.
The official E3 website was updated today to reflect the permanent end to the event.
After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye.
Thanks for the memories.
GGWP​
Thanks for the memories.
GGWP​
ESA: "Hey gaming publishers, we're going to revive the event for 2025, you back in baby? C'mon, we had great times back then, remember us? C'mon you know you love it! Large stage, large space at the LA Convention for your booths, booth babes, and you know it's affordable!"
Publishers: "Yeah uh... We're really busy this year, so we'll pass..."
ESA: "It's the online thing isn't it?! It's Summer Games Fest! It's the damn Geoff Awards isn't it?! HE TOOK IT ALL FROM US! LOOK WE'LL EVEN COVER 5% OF YOUR ****ING COSTS! JUST ****ING COME BACK! YOU KNOW YOU WANT US!"
Publishers: "I mean, we already got our year schedule booked. And Geoff covers everything from hosting duties to venue. We don't even need staff to be there. And our PR staff can focus on uploading videos to connect with our customers. We've saved so much money."
ESA: "WHAT ABOUT TOKYO GAME SHOW HUH?! WHAT ABOUT GAMESCOM HUH?!"
Publishers: "Those aren't for our American audiences... Look you're really nice, but we have the perfect way to connect to our potential and existing customer bases and we're saving money at the same time. I'm sorry, but we're really not interested for 2025. Maybe nex-..."
ESA: "BULL****! I SAW YOU AT PAX YOU LYING ****ER! I'LL ****ING KILL GEOFF! I'LL KILL MIKE AND JERRY! I'LL ****ING SHUT DOWN AND KILL EVERYONE!"
Publishers: "Look I got another call coming in and I got to be somewhere. It's been great catching up and I hope E3 Expo does well when it comes back."
ESA: "THE THIRD E ALREADY MEANS EXPO!.... HELLO?! HELLO?!"
Publishers: [Dead Line.]
And then...
ESA: "Hey electronics manufacturers, we kind of forgot about you, but we're here now! You got your LA Convention space and we need people at the event. How about we get the ol' band back together? You and me!"
Electronics Manufacturers: "Thanks for the invite, but we'll politely decl-."
ESA: "YOU'RE IN BED WITH CES AREN'T YOU?! YOU'RE CHEATING ON ME! I TOLD YOU CES IS A CHEATING *****! WHY THE **** WOULD YOU AGREE TO A HOTEL ROOM WITH THAT DIRTY ****ING *****?!"
Electronics Manufacturers: "Actually we got married. Didn't you get our invite?"
ESA: "I BURNED THE ****ING MAIL WHEN I SAW CES ON IT YOU USELESS ****ING *****! YOU CHEATED ON ME! I ****ING TRUSTED YOU!"
Electronics Manufacturers: "CES understands our needs and you ignored us for the gaming industry for years... Look I got to g-... (CES babe, don't worry about it. It's my ex calling and I removed her number, but forgot to block her so I'll do it now. Don't you worry a thing, and go back to sleep honey.) ESA, it's our turn to say no. Unless we're Samsung or Apple, we only need one event a year to show off our upcoming products. Best of luck promoting the games industry. I heard you got Ninja on boar... Hello?"
ESA: [Dead Line.]
Sigh, does anyone even remember that E3 refers to Electronics, where video games and consoles were only one aspect of the exposition? I also like how some people called it the E3 convention, so it's an exposition convention. At the same time, we didn't want an exposition, because then it's a trade show, and the public isn't really supposed to attend trade shows (unless you're GameStop, then for some reason you're important). There were fault lines to begin with, and 2007 is when ESA took every possible wrong step to address them. Events before 2007 looked nice, but nobody (including me) knew how to improve on that.
And then Geoff Keighley came along to come up with a way to provide both a venue and hosting duties, taking a huge workload off of publishers' hands while still offering the same marketing channel to existing and potential customer bases. And then PAX came along to allow a cheaper option for booth appearances, because it's not a trade show, but rather a focus on the public in general. And then the ESA crapped themselves upon this realization shortly before the coronavirus went from an epidemic to a pandemic... Years too late to recover from this realized damage.