Despite being the center for all things gaming and community related, E3 is certainly not the poster child of success it was in years past.
Things started to careen out of control over the course of 2019. Sony and Nintendo had traditionally been big keynotes of E3, that has all changed this year.
Nintendo will still be present but they are taking a much smaller footprint and mostly just showing off games.
Sony on the other hand, is not being present at E3 2020, full stop. While they do have their own launch events and press conferences, Sony has always had some sort of presence at E3.
With the announcement of the upcoming next-gen consoles like the PS5, this came as a shock to many.
Not helping the situation was a leak back in September concerning the changes we’d see in E3’s execution. It shows a renewed influence on influencers, celebrity endorsements and a heavier emphasis on consumers instead of business.
Normally a heavier emphasis on fans and consumers is a good thing. When the prelude is celebrities and influencers talking up things, well the waters get a bit muddied.
There’s also a few clauses in the ESA changes mentioned above, that state that certain members of the media are planned to be paid to show a more positive outcome.
In laymen terms; say that the crowd reacts negatively to a new Bethesda game. Well, there might be two hundred media members paid to try and swap that around.
A Kneightly In Shining Armor?
Things came to a head recently when Geoff Keighley, one of the biggest E3 supporters announced that he will not be attending.
He confirmed his suspicions about the leaks and was disturbed at how many he knew were confirmed to be true.
In a statement released to GamesIndustry.biz Keighly had this to say: “Given what has been publicly communicated about plans for E3 2020, I just don’t feel comfortable participating in the show at this time,” Keighley said. “I saw the E3 website leak this AM and said, ‘You know what, I really need to let people know what to expect from me, so no one is disappointed.’ This certainly wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I think it’s the right one for me – and I wanted fans to know before tickets go on sale.”
This is certainly one of the final blows for E3. Earlier last year when E3’s website leaked over 2000 journalists personal info, numbers were already dwindling.
This certainly is not the end for E3. When they’ve been able to afford people like Keanu Reeves and Jon Bernthal, odds are your bank account is okay. However, in terms of public perception and crowd control, E3 is stagnant.
