With Gamescom over and the Tokyo Games Show just around the corner, we are getting a steady release of gaming related news and content. The transition to a digital event was reasonably smooth for Gamescom, with a few minor hiccups, and showed that streamed presentations can still capture the excitement of large scale live shows. While some fans appreciate the spectacle of E3s past, the streamed presentation showed that a vocal portion of viewers just want announcements, new development updates, and less of the fanfare that tends to pad out the runtime.
While Gamescom was a success, it leaves us wondering what is going to happen to E3? The former titan of game shows has fallen by the wayside in past years, as more publishers took announcements into their own hands. Industry insiders started to take notice that many viewers did not care about spectacle, so it gave companies less of an incentive to keep shelling out cash to put on big performances at E3. The pandemic has only accelerated E3’s potential death and leaves the event with limited options for a return to glory.
Gamescom Does What E3 Don’t
Over four days, Gamescom already filled the void left by E3. The pre-show, hosted by Kyle Bosman, was perfect in addressing the elephant in the room that was having a streamed event. Kyle Bosman set the tone for a showcase that was not taking itself too seriously and about the love of gaming. Even the brief interview with Geoff Keighley and Kyle Bosman reflected how ONL was intended to capture some of the spectacle of past shows, with minor adjustments.
What followed was two hours of non-stop announcements, which is something many fans, we included, have asked for from these big shows. There was less fluff; we got trailers, developer commentary, and brief back and forth with the host. Something E3 has struggled with was focusing less on the spectacle aspect and more on what core audiences wanted. In trying to appeal to a broad audience, E3 eventually created a show that alienated everyone and made watching the event feel like a slog with only a few announcements in return.
The big announcements were not just kept to one day. ONL showed us that you could dedicate one stream to big-name reveals. ONL was the perfect solution for viewers that just want to tune in for new trailers and nothing else. The following days of Gamescom were meant for people that missed some of the spectacle of past shows, enjoy gameplay demos and more in-depth interviews with devs. Gamescom found a way to cater to nearly everyone, without alienating core audiences.
And what about indie games? Surely E3 can capitalize on rebranding as a home for indie devs, right? Wrong. Gamescom dedicated an entire day to indie games, showcasing various projects, new trailers, and showed that large companies know that promoting indie devs draw in a sizable dedicated following. Indie game developers don’t need E3 because another large event will come around to take them up on their offer happily. Even indie devs are creating their digital events online and taking matter into their own hands. Then there’s the matter of publishers creating their own digital events.
E3 Backed Into A Corner
The transition to digital events is not something pioneered by Gamescom. Still, Gamescom and other significant events embracing digital possibilities are a reflection of the direction the games industry is heading. Ubisoft has just announced a second digital event, likely seeing the success of its first Ubisoft Forward, and what’s stopping Microsoft and Sony from continuing their periodic digital updates? Nintendo has been doing Direct shows for a few years now, and has have no reason ever to go back to E3. Devolver was a big push for indie games to branch out of the shadow of E3, finding a way to give indie games a more prominent voice through satirizing the spectacle of E3 without overshadowing indie games.
E3 can undoubtedly come back and set up shop, but who is going to flock back to the event? As more big-name publishers and groups host their own events, the luster of E3 begins to fade away.
There are still other publishers that can certainly return to the next E3, taking advantage of other big-name companies leaving to get more time in the spotlight. A big issue with E3 was how overstuffed it could feel, with some companies feeling they had to compete with one another as their time slots overlapped. However, why spend money to go to E3 when a digital event is more under your control and easier on the budget?
The ESA Can’t Stop Fumbling The Bag
Publishers and large companies backing out is one problem for E3; another is the ESA itself. In recent years the ESA has just proven to be its own worst enemy. While losing Sony was embarrassing, the next misfire was leaking participant information to the public in 2019. Reminder, the leak included the names and private information of over 2,000 media figures that included well-known developers and YouTubers.
More recently, the ESA promoted an article formerly titled “The Games We Play! 25 Online Games That Women Enjoy,” which received swift backlash for its tone-deaf nature. Rather than the writer, the issue lay more with the SEO bylines and the ESA packaging of the article as some profound woke piece, which in reality was patronizing. Bella Blondeau goes into much greater depth here and reflects on how out of touch the ESA is with its core audience. Will these events sink the ESA? No. However, it does reflect an organization out of touch with the games industry and leaves little hope for E3 to ever return to its former glory.
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