What went wrong with E3? Can it come back?

As news spread of E3 2023’s cancellation on Thursday, Games Twitter went straight into obituary mode. Fans, developers, journalists and industry professionals shared their fond memories. erstwhile E3 presenter Geoff KeighleyIn a matter of one tweet, he went from posting a show-floor picture to making promotion for the rival Summer Game Fest. Despite assurances from organizers the Entertainment Software Association and events company ReedPop that they would “continue to work together on future E3 events,” the general assumption seems to be that there was no coming back from this. “RIP E3” is trending. E3 seems dead for good.

The telling detail is that so many reminiscences of great E3 moments hinge on events that weren’t, technically, part of the show at all. There are many stories about connections made in the noisy and loud show hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. this oneThis is an interview with Arthur Gies, former editor of Polygon. There were 10 other stories about the pompous showmanship, and the hilarious failures, of the publishers press conferences that gathered along it. Sony owning Microsoft in the games ownership scandal. Shigeru Miyamoto appearing with sword and shieldTo announce The Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess.

There’s no doubt that these indelible moments, and others like them, were born from the hubbub, the fan ardor, and the competitive energy of the E3 show itself. But they weren’t actually part of it. These events took place off the show floor at publishers’ and platform holders’ private events. These events were made possible by E3. But now those companies have realized they don’t need it for them to continue.

Was it a mistake? Is this it? Or can E3 come back?

E3 2023 was to make a return for an event which had stopped taking place in 2019. E3 2023 was supposed to be a return for an event that had not been held since 2019. In consultation with the exhibitors, ReedPop was recruited by ESA to organize PAX, New York Comic Con and Star Wars Celebration. The event would continue to take place at Los Angeles Convention Center but would also have an online component.

E3 2023 was announced earlier in the year. (Neither would Sony, but that was no surprise; it hadn’t attended in 2019 either.) This was an unfortunate turn for the show, which has always been very critical of console platform-holders. Microsoft did however state that it will still host a showcase event prior to the show.

IGN announced that Ubisoft had also pulled its support on Tuesday, and IGN said that several other publishers are declining to participate in the future event. IGN’s detailed reporting suggested that exhibitors had grown frustrated with ReedPop’s slow communication of its plans for the redesigned show, while ReedPop felt blindsided and even “betrayed” by clients that had initially seemed engaged, and had given strongly encouraging feedback early on.

Staging the rebirth and transformation of such a high-profile and large-scale event was never going to be easy, even for an outfit of ReedPop’s experience. The event was not smooth and it led to a breakdown of relationships. This is more likely a symptom of the problem than a cause. Many factors have led to the collapse of industry support for the most recognizable showcase.

Stanley Pierre-Louis, ESA president, spoke out in a interview to GamesIndustry.biz, a ReedPop-owned website. He explained, diplomatically but fairly openly, why publishers have abandoned E3. In short: The pandemic had played havoc with production schedules, which means that big games weren’t ready to be shown or announced, or their release dates were difficult to pin down. Also, “economic headwinds” made it difficult to commit the huge budgets necessary to exhibit at a show like E3 (not to mention the need for a company like Microsoft to be seen to be frugal after laying off thousands of staff).

Finally, publishers were still experimenting with how to “balance” in-person events with the digital marketing streams that had dominated during the pandemic, but had been gaining traction for a long time before it. The first Nintendo Direct was held in 2011 and the last E3 press conference took place the year after.

There’s no arguing with these points, as optimistic a spin as Pierre-Louis tried to put on them. To put it more bluntly, as GamesIndustry.biz’s Chris Dring did in an accompanying opinion piece that doubles as a semi-insider account of the collapse of E3 from ReedPop’s perspective: “In the end, the industry just didn’t want this E3.”

Pierre-Louis did not like to discuss a few more angles. First, the E3 brand is being tarnished, even though it is still very powerful with gamers. In the years before the pandemic, the ESA was very dispopular due to poorly planned efforts to make the event a public one. There had also been a data breach that made it vulnerable to harassment by both the press and the attendees. Sony had had enough and Microsoft was moving towards a parallel event at another venue as EA had done several years before.

Second, E3 simply started to look outdated and inefficient. Video game PR was changing fast, and E3 wasn’t keeping up. A series of scandalous controversies and culminating in GamerGate had caused press and publicists both to withdraw from closer association. Editors and influencers started to realize the value in connecting with their audiences once the game was out, and not during its hype cycle. There’s also the consideration of the carbon footprint of flying half the industry to California during an escalating climate emergency. Eurogamer’s editor-in-chief, I witnessed firsthand the staggering cost of sending sales reps and editorial staff to just a few websites and YouTube channels. Think about what this would look like for big publishers. It was it? Really worth it?

The industry has had this existential question in their minds for over ten years. This is more important than temporary concerns about production schedules and marketing plans. If E3 is ever to come back — and the chances look slim — the industry will have to conduct a brutally honest accounting of the event’s actual value.

E3 has been a venue I have covered since its inception. It was both a transactional and ugly show, but I loved it. It had a thrilling scale that could reach beyond the usual gaming constituency, it was an exciting focal point for fans, and it brought the global industry together in one place like no other event — not even Gamescom or the Game Developers Conference. It was unrivalled in access and generated a lot of energy for all involved. But were we all — attendees and fans alike — just addicted to the buzz?

We have been here before, though it wasn’t as dramatic. E3 restructured to be a more focused, quieter business conference, in response to both costs and audience concerns. The conference was relaxed and it was simple to accomplish work. But, no one really enjoyed it. The industry was willing to make a big bet again in 2009. In 2009 I witnessed Steven Spielberg and James Cameron as well as Jay Z, Eminem, Pete Sampras, Pele and Jay Z promoting videogames. Showbiz was back.

If E3 is going to stage another comeback in these more sober and serious times, it will need a much better reason than “Isn’t it just Fun?” E3 was an outsized event for a bullish young industry with imposter syndrome. Now, the gaming industry — and the gaming audience — needs to decide if it has outgrown it.