Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo reportedly drop out of E3
An internal source has reportedly told IGN that each of the three heavy-hitting hardware manufacturers will be missing this Summer's E3. That means that it'll be down to individual developers and indie games to shine at the event. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise- especially when you consider that Nintendo hasn't shied away from skipping the event (such as in 2013) and that Sony completely boycotted E3 back in 2019-where they haven't returned since. Xbox is a little bit more surprising but considering the power of Game Pass and the recent comeback for the brand, they can hold their own showcase (such as last week's great direct). It's an understatement to say that the absence of the big three will have a tremendous negative impact on E3- and may just spell its downfall.
Reactions are mixed- with a select few being glad that gaming is evolving from the seemingly stuck-in-the-past showcases from the early 2000s. However, others were eagerly awaiting the return of an in-person event after three years of absence- and all the cringe-worthy moments that came as a result. E3 was never the perfect, flawless show that we see now with the live directs. These were filmed and edited weeks before the event- meaning essentially nothing can go wrong. While certainly much smoother than in-person events, these do lack the charm of moments like Miyamoto's Wii Music disaster and the surprise reveal of Keanu Reeves for Cyberpunk 2077. These are moments that you just can't mimic with a pre-recorded show- and it takes away from some of the excitement for the upcoming reveals.
Of course. E3 is far from dead. It’s likely that studios like Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Ubisoft will have a big showing at the conference (not to mention giving indie games time to shine) and there will still definitely be some cringe moments that will live on for years to come. This being said, without the presence of the actual creators of the consoles we all play on, it bares the risk of feeling lackluster. It’s not clear yet if this will be the case for next year's E3 (if that's even still going ahead), but it certainly seems that the big three would rather have their screened pre-recorded directs where very little can go wrong. However, this streamlined approach lacks so much of the charm of E3 and is a sad road to go down considering the years of impact that the event has had on the industry.
This summer will still undoubtedly have reveals (with Xbox confirming that they will return to LA later this year) but the majority of those won't be at E3. Whether it’s Geoff Keighley's Summer Games Fest or in-house announcement streams, we'll still be getting our fair share of exciting announcements and games revealed. But without the dressing of E3 with all of its ups and downs, some of the magic is bound to be lost. It may be too early to say that E3 is already dead, but it’s definitely on its way.
