For nearly three decades, gaming developers and fans came together at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the Entertainment Software Association's annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3. Here, giants like Nintendo and Sony unveiled exciting new games and provided attendees the opportunity to try out all the new products for themselves. But the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a string of cancellations over the past few years, and the ESA concluded that there's no need for E3 anymore.
"After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories," a statement on social media read, along with the acronym "GGWP," or "good game, well played."
— E3 (@E3) December 12, 2023
After E3 in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic, it came back in digital form the following year as companies connected with audiences and investors virtually rather than in person. The 2022 showcase was canceled to focus on coming back stronger in 2023, though in March of this year, the ESA announced that the 2023 iteration was canceled as well.
ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis explained to The Washington Post that gaming companies have increasingly been relying on other ways to reach their consumers, especially after the pandemic forced them to adapt. While fan participation was still a part of the E3 experience, it became more of a business event in later years than anything else.
"There were fans who were invited to attend in the later years, but it really was about a marketing and business model for the industry and being able to provide the world with information about new products,” Pierre-Louis said. “Companies now have access to consumers and to business relations through a variety of means, including their own individual showcases."
Going forward, you can expect to hear updates on new games and other developments through Nintendo's Nintendo Direct and Sony's State of Play digital events as well as other in-person industry events like The Game Awards.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/Jt1DOjn
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