It is the end of an institution dear to many players. Indeed, E3, the legendary video game show in Los Angeles, has just closed its doors for good. The event has never really been able to recover from Covid-9, but also from the successive departures of publishers.
For more than 20 years, E3 has made millions of gamers around the world dream with these slightly crazy conferences, these more or less failed happenings (we remember the memorable Wii Music sequence), and its crowded aisles. in which we could discover the new games to come. For any somewhat passionate player, going to E3 was a sweet dream.
However, we have just learned sad news from the ESA, the organizer of the legendary video game show in Los Angeles. Indeed, E3 has just closed its doors permanently: “After more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories,” writes the organization on X (Twitter).
Stanley Pierre-Louis, president and CEO of the ESA, confirmed the bad news to the Washington Post. “We know that the entire industry, gamers and creators, have a great passion for E3. We share this 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,” he told the American media.
E3 killed by the pandemic and online conferences
As a reminder, from year to year, E3 began to lose popularity, particularly with publishers and major manufacturers. While the show was until now an essential showcase for video game players, the big names in the industry gradually shunned the event. First of all for financial reasons (reserving a stand at E3 cost millions of dollars), but also in a concern to control their communication.
This disenchantment with E3 began in 2011 with Nintendo and its online conferencesthe famous Nintendo Direct. In the years that followed, Sony, Microsoft and other industry players adopted this format, which was more direct and significantly less expensive to implement. As a reminder, E3 had already struggled to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. And while 2023 was supposed to mark its big return, the ESA finally decided to cancel the 2023 edition of E3, particularly after the defection of the main publishers in the market, such as Ubisoft, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. Regardless, we will remember with nostalgia the great moments offered by E3… And you, what is your most memorable memory of E3? Tell us in the comments.