E3 2020 Officially Cancelled, ESA Exploring Options to Organise "Online Experience"
7
Comments
7
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 @ 04:30 PM
"We are also exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020. Updates will be shared on E3Expo.com." This is a fantastic idea. Not the ideal situation for the industry, but it is better than nothing. For the 99.9% of us that don't actually go to the event, that is what E3 is for us -- waiting for news to drop and then watching the footage online. A coordinated E3 virtual experience available for fans, vs. getting the news secondhand, would be awesome.Wednesday, March 11, 2020 @ 04:40 PM
@1 I think this is a great idea on both reasons. It’s the smart move from a safety standpoint. And from a video game fan perspective, it’s 100% the way E3 should just move to going forward. With so many big names no longer participating in E3 even before this Coronavirus scare, E3 had started to just feel like a self-congratulatory circle jerk. No actual important news, just short rendered trailers not using actual gameplay footage. With the downturn in the industry as a whole anyways, why not make E3 an online fan event? Center it around actual news that matters. Have virtual queues and parts of sites to go to to find out what each person wants to know. If you want to know about a certain game or system or whatnot, just go to that section of the virtual experience at a certain time. I think it’s the way it needs to go to to move forward.Wednesday, March 11, 2020 @ 04:53 PM
@ #2 ... Agree with your assessment. There is something to be learned from this big time, and even when normalcy returns, it may make sense to retain a virtual experience in addition to in-person conferences. I'm sure it is fun for the gaming industry to be flown to LA; stay in hotels, eat, and drink on your company's dime; and screw people other than your spouses for a few days -- which is basically what happens for any big conference for pretty much any line of business. But these activities are not what makes E3 important for gaming. What is important is the flow of information, as you said. There are improvements to be made in any case that can be realized through virtual experiences aimed directly at the consumer demographic. They'll probably charge us something for it though! But you know, if it's something special, I think a lot of folks would be willing to pay it.Wednesday, March 11, 2020 @ 04:59 PM
@3 I wholeheartedly agree with every point you make there. Well said.Wednesday, March 11, 2020 @ 05:09 PM
@ #4 ... Can you imagine if they were able to develop a virtual experience at some point that ran through an app on your console, and included playable demos? Tell you what, I'd pay for that, and I'd take some days off work ...Wednesday, March 11, 2020 @ 05:40 PM
This coronavirus thing is the most elaborate viral campaign for The Last of Us 2. Sony wins E3 again.Wednesday, March 11, 2020 @ 05:55 PM
@ #6 ... Actually it is more like The Division.
You need to register before being able to post comments
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
It's official folks - E3 2020 is officially cancelled. After only last week announcing that the event would be moving full speed ahead, rumours persisted over the last 24 hours or so that the event would indeed be cancelled. Now E3 organisers the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) have announced that it will not be going ahead due to concerns surrounding coronavirus.
"After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors, and our longtime E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles."
"Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today. Our team will be reaching out directly to exhibitors and attendees with information about providing full refunds."
Something E3 shaped may still happen in June, however, with the ESA stating, "We are also exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020. Updates will be shared on E3Expo.com."
"We thank everyone who shared their views on reimagining E3 this year. We look forward to bringing you E3 2021 as a reimagined event that brings fans, media, and the industry together in a showcase that celebrates the global video game industry."