It's not yet this year that the Convention Center will resound with the sweet symphonies of the video game world.
The last time E3 Los Angeles really opened its doors was in 2019. There was indeed this half-hearted edition - exclusively online - from June 12 to 15, 2021, but the magic of the show was not really there. In fact, and while the one that is less and less called Electronic Entertainment Expo has been the rhythm of the video game world since 1995, its future seems more and more uncertain. Last year, theEntertainment Software Association (ESA), which organizes the event, preferred to cancel it due to a lack of participants. It will be the same this year.
Things were going well with a promoter who seemed to be fully committed to making the 2023 event a success. Unfortunately, the first clouds arrived at the beginning of the year with the cancellations - one after the other - of the three giants Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. Without these behemoths, E3 would have already had a special flavor, but ESA could still hope for the support of the main publishers. Unfortunately, first Ubisoft, then SEGA and Tencent made it clear that they did not want to participate in the event. Let's be clear, they will take advantage of this month of June to present new games, but will not be physically present in the aisles of the Convention Center in Los Angeles. A Convention Center that seemed more and more like a big joke.
News on #E32023 from the source. pic.twitter.com/BK7TUlb8mZ
- E3 (@E3) March 30, 2023
The ESA has therefore drawn the necessary conclusions and indicated last weekend that the 2023 edition of the E3 in Los Angeles is also cancelled. ESA President Stanley Pierre-Louis explained his decision to GamesIndustry: "First, several companies have reported that the game development schedule has changed since the COVID pandemic began. Second, economic headwinds have caused several companies to re-evaluate how they invest in major marketing events. Finally, companies are experimenting with the right balance between face-to-face events and digital marketing opportunities."
However, Stanley Pierre-Louis does not want to see the definitive end of the show, which was once the major event on the video game planet. He even seems ready to gather all this little world for a possible edition in 2024. We are ready to believe in it too, but it will be a matter of finding a very different way to organize an event whose concept seems quite anachronistic today.
