It’s official: E3 2023 is dead, and E3 as a trade show might be done for good. Obviously, we can’t know for sure that the Electronic Entertainment Expo, which served as gaming’s biggest annual event for the last several decades, won’t come back next year (or another time down the road), but it seems likely that we’ll have to move on from Video Game Christmas once and for all.
People seem to have mixed feelings about all this. On the one hand, so many lovely gaming-related memories and moments occurred at past E3s, from the most exciting console reveals to long-awaited gameplay showcases. On the other, E3’s relevance has progressively dwindled with each passing year, as big companies opt for their own digital events anyway. Plus, E3’s cancellation in 2020 amid the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic showed everyone how a world without the event would feel, and honestly? People didn’t miss it that much.
Either way, a major cultural touchstone in the world of gaming seems to have fizzled away, and the editorial team at The Punished Backlog certainly has some thoughts about it.
Q: How do you feel about E3 2023’s cancellation?
Sam Martinelli (me): Weirdly, I kind of feel nothing? Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely fall into the hype trap that is E3 every single year, breathlessly waiting to be disappointed at the lack of F-Zero announcements. Still, the fact that there will be no physical presence at all doesn’t really affect me, since I never went in person anyway, and everyone seems to do their own online presentations well enough that having a singular weeklong event now feels obsolete and pointless.
The one thing I’ll definitely miss, though: the theatrics of it all. Maybe I don’t need a big stage, celebrity appearances, or awkward skits to convince me to play Rage 2 or Ghost Recon Wildlands, but there’s something weirdly antiseptic about Sony or Nintendo just live-streaming a chain of announcements without much fanfare or pageantry. Obviously, it’s strange in the first place to care that much about a curated package of commercials (which, let’s be clear, is what E3 basically was), but it always felt like a fun way not just to try and make waves, but to acknowledge that we’re all in this for a good time. Otherwise, we may as well just wait for surprise announcements on Twitter.
Amanda Tien: My only surprise is that it was still being planned at all.
David Silbert: It’s easy to say “I’m indifferent” about E3’s cancellation. The show’s been on ice for years now, and I can’t imagine we’re ever going back to the good old days of sports blazers and Kevin Butler monologues.
That said… I am sad. E3 might have been an industry press junket slash glorified advertisement, but the spectacle brought me many summers of joy. From my watch parties with fellow Punished Backlog writers Kei and PJ, to my custom bingo boards, to screaming “Where the hell was The Last Guardian?!” at the TV, E3 offered my teenaged self a glimpse into the future (if only for a few days).
Q: What’s your favorite E3 memory/announcement?
Sam: I remember vividly watching the full unveiling of the Nintendo Wii in 2006 and being in complete and utter awe of the possibilities. Obviously, I was a Nintendo kid through and through, and I would have loved the Wii regardless, but I especially appreciated the idea that I’d be getting a new way to play, and not just new things to play. I was smitten with trailers for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the weird remote control and nunchuk combo.
Understandably, the Wii had its skeptics at the time, with detractors criticizing its poor graphics and lack of high-quality third-party content. None of that mattered to me at the time, as all I saw from the PlayStation 3 (highlighted during the same E3) was better-looking versions of the same kinds of experiences. With the Wii, the possibilities felt endless, and even if the Wii didn’t fully live up to that expectation, I’ll never forget the initial excitement it created. We might not have gotten that excitement without a stellar E3 presentation.
Amanda: E3 2019, Shinji Mikami revealed Tango Gameworks’ newest title Ghostwire: Tokyo. I was so inspired to see creative director Ikumi Nakamura, a badass femme, on that stage, and I love that I felt she was true to herself the whole time. She was passionate, not afraid to smile and show joy. She wasn’t wearing a dorky suit or trying to mimic male behavior just to be taken seriously. The game looked cool but she was even cooler.
David: E3 2015 (aka the “E3 of miracles”) is hard to top. That year, we saw Sony drop not one, not two, but three megaton announcements in the span of an hour and a half. From the long-awaited re-reveal of The Last Guardian, to the announcement of Final Fantasy VII Remake, to the Kickstarter launch of Shenmue III, E3 2015 reminded us that dreams do come true…
…even if two of those three games ended up being mid.
Q: What was the worst/most awkward E3 moment?
Sam: Just two years after that fateful coming out party for the Wii, Nintendo ended its E3 presentation in the most bizarre, inexplicable fashion: by showcasing Wii Music, a glorified Fisher-Price toy that barely worked and completely failed to ignite any interest among players.
To demonstrate just how cool Wii Music could be (lol), Nintendo brought out a number of musicians to play the Super Mario Bros. theme with Wii controllers and Wii Fit boards in what ended up being one of the most cringeworthy videogame performances I’ve ever seen. Some of the instruments were played off-beat, the guy playing the air drums looked completely ridiculous, and it wasn’t clear exactly what button inputs mattered on the Wiimotes. (As it turns out, the inputs didn’t matter at all!)
After all that, Wii Music was dead on arrival (and ended up just being bad to begin with), and it felt like, in that moment, the remaining salad days of the Wii were limited. Of course, we’d still get Super Mario Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Wii Sports Resort, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Still, the fact that Nintendo believed Wii Music would be a game-changer signaled to players everywhere that maybe… just maybe… Nintendo had overpromised on the potential on the Wii, and that it might be a good time to look elsewhere for future big releases.
(Fun fact: I finally purchased an Xbox 360 just a couple of months after E3 2008. Definitely a coincidence.)
Amanda: E3 2019 for Cyberpunk 2077. The whole Keanu Reeves “you’re breathtaking” thing makes me super uncomfortable. Keanu responded admirably in the moment but it made me annoyed on his behalf. Guess it wasn’t the last Cyberpunk moment to infuriate me.
David: What else can I go with, other than Konami’s infamous 2010 presser?
Q: What happens next? Does Summer Game Fest take over? Does something else happen? Do we even need something like E3?
Sam: Honestly, I don’t think we need anything new to take the reins from E3. All the big publishers and console makers will continue making announcements on their own terms and in their own ways, with Summer Game Fest filling in the gaps for the most part. E3 might be missed, but everyone will do just fine without it.
E3 mattered during an era when the internet was still relatively new and games media was still relatively small. It meant something to a younger me that I could pick up a summer issue of Game Informer and read previews of dozens of games showcased at E3, and that would largely be the only way I’d even know about most of these announcements. Now, Nintendo can drop a Direct on YouTube, Xbox can tweet out a JPEG with surprise Game Pass releases, and Ubisoft can live-stream gameplay of a future Tom Clancy game nobody wants whenever these companies please.
Before its official cancellation, E3 had basically become the Saturday Night Live of video game conferences: It was still fun and enjoyable to an extent, but its cultural relevance had largely passed, and the gaming world had adapted to live without it.
Amanda: I am sad to not have one epic week of game news. It was so fun to be able to share those moments with people. There are so many game announcements and releases nowadays that it’s hard to track them all or even get excited. An event like E3 is fun where you can really relish the waves of delight.
I think we all agree that the industry has been moving away from that model of E3 for quite a while, but I bet it’s going to swing back around in 10 years. People still love shared mass experiences and moments.
David: E3’s gone, and I doubt anything will fill in anytime soon. I’ve seen people coin the term “Keigh-three,” as if Geoff Keighley’s going to swoop in and recapture the magic. That seems unlikely to me: I’m a fan of the Game Awards, but I’d be lying if I said I’ve enjoyed past Summer Game Fests.
Instead, I reckon most publishers go the route of the “Direct”: Show off your games when they’re ready, in bite-sized marketing blitzes over Twitch and YouTube. As in-person trade shows lose steam, game makers will take to Steam. I love the idea of Steam Next Fest allowing people who can’t fly to PAX or Comic-Con the ability to try upcoming titles.
Whatever the future holds, it won’t be the same without E3. And yet, the prospect of an untethered future of games media and publicity is somewhat exciting! End of an era, E3. End of an era, indeed.
What are your thoughts on E3’s potential eternal demise? Let us know in the comments!
