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Ever since its first outing in 1995, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (better known as E3 worldwide) was THE yearly event that saw many gamers eagerly awaiting for the summer time to have news and updates on their favourites franchises and titles. Since then, each year the E3 was quite the occasion and the event to watch new trailers, and of course, weird and quirky interactions alike, which were the life of the event each year.

However, after more than 2 decades of being held each year, on December 12th, 2023, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that the Electronic Entertainment Expo will be indefinitely closed down, marking the once-titan of gaming events worldwide as officially dead. This was confirmed by Stanley Pierre-Louis, the CEO and president of the nonprofit trade association that represents the games industry’s interests in the US.

We know the entire industry, players and creators alike have a lot of passion for E3. We share that passion. We know it’s difficult to say goodbye to such a beloved event, but it’s the right thing to do given the new opportunities our industry has to reach fans and partners.

There were fans who were invited to attend in the later years, but it really was about a marketing and business model for the industry and being able to provide the world with information about new products. Companies now have access to consumers and to business relations through a variety of means, including their own individual showcases.

The last time the E3 got a show in its original format was back in 2019, and in 2020, due to the pandemic, E3 was cancelled for the year, with the event only seeing a return in an online-only format for 2021, effectively making this its last iteration throughout its 26 years run. After 2021, there were still several attempts to revive the event, with attempts in both 2022 and 2023 being made, but each one getting cancelled after initial news of that the events would indeed be held in said years.

Since the several attempts at revivals of the E3, other gaming events have been brought up to the forefront, with such events like the Game Awards taking in a similar format to that of E3. However, to many people, the abundance of ads and formality of it all (not to mention that only a small percentage of it are actual awards), makes many feel like most of the recent gaming events don't pair up or capture the essence of what the E3 was back in its golden days.

Gamers worldwide can only remember back to those past E3s fondly, with the memories from the epic trailers and announcements like the Twilight Princess reveal back in 2004, to all those weird and cringe-inducing meme materials that made the E3 special.

Source

 

[Jayinem]

I used to love E3, but it kept getting worse and worse and then Sony stopped going and then Nintendo. No point in it without those two.

 

[ShadowOne333]

I used to love E3, but it kept getting worse and worse and then Sony stopped going and then Nintendo. No point in it without those two.

Nintendo was just "there" ever since around 2012.
The fact that they opted to move to their "Direct" format for said events really took away the charm of what made their presence there important at all.
It just felt like a corporate sanitized video without a soul.

 

[Chary]

It's really sad. The ESA just couldn't figure it out, and mismanaged one of the biggest events in gaming to its death. Actually pathetic.

Summer Games Fest is a mess of its own, and now we have only it to look forward to, which is tragic. It only exists to be a boring, bloated, less interesting E3.

 

[Jayro]

E3's been dead since even before COVID happened... it just declined worse and worse until we got to this point.

 

[kidcharlemagne]

It's really sad. The ESA just couldn't figure it out, and mismanaged one of the biggest events in gaming to its death. Actually pathetic.

Summer Games Fest is a mess of its own, and now we have only it to look forward to, which is tragic. It only exists to be a boring, bloated, less interesting E3.

I thought PAX was the popular alternative games expo, but I may be wrong.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Good. It's been shit for years.

E3's been dead since even before COVID happened... it just declined worse and worse until we got to this point.

Yep, it didn't get worse during the Covid Era, it was already awful way before that.

 

[Something whatever]

I remembre staying awake till 5 AM through finals just to catch the big game announcements in E3 ( because of my time zone)
One of my dreams was always to go to LA one day to attend an E3.
That dream will never come true now, I guess.
Thanks for the memories.

 

[Naster]

The latest E3s was nothing but a train of cringe moments. 2019, 2018... The last good thing I remember about E3 was Final Fantasy VII Remake teaser (and the game turned out to be crap but whatever).

 

[husky3g]

The last GOOD E3 was 2018. The Elder Scrolls VI teaser was revealed and then we've heard nothing since. They also announced Starfield and we all saw how that game turned out.

 

[CoolMe]

Sad to see it go but, i think one of the reasons of its decline is that devs/ publishers now have many ways to share info about their games (online), it's not the 2000's anymore.. with social media platforms/YT etc. why would they wait for E3 year round to show something, when they can release a trailer (or gameplay footage) whenever they want and without any date restrictions (E3 dates)? Only makes sense. However though, the experience of being in a gaming convention (E3) with like-minded people/ gamers, even interacting with devs and inquiring about their games, playable game/console demos etc. would certainly be lost..

 

[Lazyt]

I still dont understand e3 could work even without live presentations. Nintendo was always there microsoft too. People would buy tickets for entry done.

 

[MaxiBash]

I think the magic of E3 was already gone once companies opted to have digital showcases instead of an actual stage presentation. still sucks to see to see this come to a closure. hope something will come along to serve as a replacement, but the future for in-person events for big companies to show off their stuff (aside from PAX) is looking a little dry.

 

[tommasi]

If people get a collectable item with each purchase. The gaming sales will go back and probably even stronger than before. Computer data shows idiots in management numbers of costs of these gifts and the cancel it right away. They don’t know that dollar figure is what drives a lot of sales. They did it right in the 80s

 

[Chary]

I thought PAX was the popular alternative games expo, but I may be wrong.

In terms of something that fans can look forward to and attend, for sure PAX. But SGF is definitely the E3 successor in terms of where all the game announcements happen.

 

[TJHeartnote]

Well as for something close to E3. you're going to need a passport. Gamecom and TGS are still going strong.

 

[Lostbhoy]

Coulda linked to my post 30 mims before you @ShadowOne333 but as yours is so much informative and elegant, I'll let you off

Edit... Tagged the wrong shadow person... Sorry!

 

[AdenTheThird]

Damn. That super sucks. I mean, years of decline still had this coming, but still... seeing that article was a gut-punch.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

E3 is just like Electronic Arts, It was amazing on 90's and more and more awful after that.

 

[ShadowOne333]

Coulda linked to my post 30 mims before you @ShadowOne333 but as yours is so much informative and elegant, I'll let you off

Edit... Tagged the wrong shadow person... Sorry!

I didn't see yours tbh.
I saw the Washington Post article and started doing it, left it open for a while on editing since I'm at work right now so it took me a bit of time until I wrapped up the article's writing. Sorry