PixlBit

As someone who has gone to E3s off and on since 1997, I really hate this news.  I know people say videos and such are replacing this sort of show, but trust me, nothing will replace actually being there to try the games, speaking to the developers and PR folks in person, and so on.  

E3 was hugely expensive, and that was a long-standing criticism of it that predated the rise of Nintendo Directs and Sony's State of Play. In 2007, they even tried to scale it down to a "strictly business" form, the E3 Media and Business Summit, which was basically like a business seminar. Nobody cared about that, so they tried to go back to the glitz. The other problem is that inevitably, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo would drown everyone else out and suck the oxygen out of the room. Mostly, it was Sony doing that, not because they intended to, at least with regards to their third party partners, but simply because they are the largest single presence in the gaming world. 

Companies just decided it was more cost-effective to do their own presentations on their own schedules. And frankly, I like the Nintendo Directs approach better. I think part of why Nintendo prefers them is because Nintendo now seems to prefer making its major launches in spring and summer rather than Christmas, strategies that worked well for the 3DS and Switch.  Most of what E3 showcased was for holiday announcements.

I think E3 was also undone by the fact that it was an exclusive club for business and media, and that's really kind of a wasteful for what amounts to an echo chamber. If E3 had been open to the public from the beginning, it might have survived. Instead, shows like PAX filled that niche with both press events and public events. Tokyo Game Show likewise is open to the public.

Having never really followed E3 myself, I have no feelings either way. I know that a lot of you realy liked it, though, so I'm sorry it's DOA.

I think the last one I really paid attention to was E3 2013. That was the one where the PS4 and Xbox One were showcased, and Sony absolutely roasted Microsoft over their policies on Xbox One used games, "always on" Internet, mandatory connect, and "TV TV TV." I think E3 2015 was where they had all those Kickstarter games. The Wikipedia edits were pretty funny, too.

Well, my friend and I are doing several different conventions this Summer. I'm calling Summer the convention season now.

I guess there will just be special presentations online from the big three in gaming here and there from now on. 

I want to go to PAX Prime and Tokyo Game Show. If things are settled down, I may make serious arrangements to go to TGS. I've always wanted to visit Japan anyway.

Going to TGS would be amazing. I hope you go and report what you find. 

I always get DWI and DUI confused but I'm sad to see this go, especially because giant corporations spent so much money on it unnecessarily.