E3 2021 as live event cancelled - Going forward as digital, working on broadcast options at LA Live/LACC

[Rösti]

Today, February 27, 2021, a Special Meeting Package for the Board of Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Development special meeting scheduled for March 3, 2021 was published on https://www.lacity.org/. The 84 page document contains updates on developments, negotiations etc. concerning convention and tourism related matters in Los Angeles. On page 18 is an update on citywide conventions 2021, with E3 2021 included:

Source: https://ens.lacity.org/lacc/laccdcagendas/lacclaccdcagendas250148287_03032021.pdf

Now, E3 2021 was recently communicated as a digital event, but the definitive decision on its form was made sometime in February. And now it has been announced to the public. E3 2021 will, unless something drastic occurs (as a majority of involved member companies don't want involvement), happen digitally June 15-17.

Now, as the LATCB/ESA are going forward with plans on broadcast options at LA Live/LACC, perhaps what can be expected is some kind of press conferences in empty (i.e. without physical audiences) meeting spaces (theatre, meeting rooms) at LACC or in some studio at LA Live.

More information on the topic ought to come directly from the Entertainment Software Association before long.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I'm shocked. SHOCKED.

well, not that shocked

 

[tapedeck]

I'll take it, better than E3 being completely forgotten.

 

[Neoxon]

I'm pretty sure this is what most of us expected, the question is how many companies will participate as opposed to just doing their own thing.

 

[Mad_Rhetoric]

Damn that sucks. But glad E3 is still around at all .

 

[Lord Azrael]

I doubt E3 even goes forward at all this year. What are publishers paying for exactly? No showfloor, no networking, nothing. They can just do their own digital presentation for free and probably get better exposure to boot

 

[MoosGoMoo]

Please have some good conferences this year.

Keighley's stuff was terrible last year.

 

[EarlGreyHot]

I really doubt if this will work as a digital event. Publishers will just do their own thing. E3 is nothing without the showfloor and all the press being there.

 

[Yog-Sothoth]

For the vast majority of people who watch e3, it's exactly the same.

 

[T0kenAussie]

No live events is smart for this year but this probably is a final nail in the e3 live show coffin

 

[wwm0nkey]

I doubt E3 even goes forward at all this year. What are publishers paying for exactly? No showfloor, no networking, nothing. They can just do their own digital presentation for free and probably get better exposure to boot

Click to shrink...

This

 

[SilverX]

Question is, what companies will be onboard for this digital event? E3 has been losing support for years, the biggest loss was Sony.

 

[darkside]

Thread is burying the real lede, Anime Expo confirmed through 2030!

 

[Starphanluke]

I honestly think it'll just fall apart like last year. Individual publishers will just do their own thing, and it will become Summer Games Mess all over again.

 

[AndyMc1888]

Question is, what companies will be onboard for this digital event? E3 has been losing support for years, the biggest loss was Sony.

Click to shrink...

Microsoft are well involved in the esa so them and a few others I'd imagine

 

[HououinKyouma]

Very much expected, but hoping we still get some "traditional" E3 presentations and conferences.

The whole summer event last year was incredibly underwhelming. My assumption though is that key publishers will just continue to host their own events, which is kinda sad, but the writing has been on the wall.

 

[Ojli]

I wonder if the big publishers still need to pay six digit sums to be part of the shebang

 

[CRIMSON-XIII]

I hope we still get the digital reveals and shows. I know folks are against E3, but it would be nice to have it overlap with Summer Game Fest. I love events and reveals. Even if things need to change and make it digital , we could still get some awesome shows.

Just so i am clear, this is simply a cancellation of a show where folks walk and sit to watch right? We will still get reveals that week ?

 

[TaleSpun]

Damn that sucks. But glad E3 is still around at all .

Click to shrink...

As someone that lives here, where not enough people take Covid seriously and the government response has been almost completely inadequate, it very much rocks actually.

 

[DanteSparda504]

Down with E3. Love live more frequent Directs!

I can't stand the one time a year media blow out. I'd much rather have smaller Direct events throughout the year. A revolving hype train.

 

[Fiery Phoenix]

It's the right call.

 

[AshenOne]

No live events is smart for this year but this probably is a final nail in the e3 live show coffin

Click to shrink...

I doubt it. They would still want that viewership if this one is successful in terms of numbers.

 

[Blayde]

Oh darn

 

[Masagiwa]

I doubt they even get enough interest from publishers to do a digital event. Especially if that six-figure entry fee thing is real.

 

[bastardly]

i can only hope the ESA can work with everyone to get a set schedule for 1-2 weeks, dont let it drag out like last year please

 

[Lord Azrael]

Down with E3. Love live more frequent Directs!

I can't stand the one time a year media blow out. I'd much rather have smaller Direct events throughout the year. A revolving hype train.

Click to shrink...

They're not mutually exclusive.

 

[Izanagi89]

I know everyone says E3 is dead, but fuck do I miss it. Always used to take a few days of from work and just indulge in non-stop games.

 

[SilverX]

Microsoft are well involved in the esa so them and a few others I'd imagine

Click to shrink...

That is how its been for years, but I'd imagine even less returning "few others".

 

[nightstalker962]

I never got a chance to attend E3. If it comes back I definitely want to visit LA during that week.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

E3 show floor SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED last few years.

 

[IDontBeatGames]

I know everyone says E3 is dead, but fuck do I miss it. Always used to take a few days of from work and just indulge in non-stop games.

Click to shrink...

Yep, it was always super exciting to have a couple of days of nonstop gaming news/rumors leading up to these exciting conferences. On top of that, as someone who got to go to multiple "Playstation E3 Experiences" in NY (basically we got free stuff and got to see the E3 showcase for Playstation in theaters with a large crowd), it was always a super fun time. Don't know if we'll ever get to have it again but man do I miss it.

 

[Mercador]

Not really surprising considering the pandemic. I still think there will be E3s in the future but it will probably going for a regular tradeshow as it was before, not a public event.

 

[DanteSparda504]

They're not mutually exclusive.

Click to shrink...

It shouldn't be, but that's how the industry handles it. Why would Microsoft, for example, hold a few Direct style events when they can just wait and blow their wad at the BIG event? Most of the industry waits for that big event to show everything they have, and it sucks.

I'd rather have the announcements broken up and spread out over the year with smaller and more focused events, rather than one big event. Nintendos had great success with this, and the industry should follow.

 

[UnderTheKillingSun]

As someone who went to E3 multiple times - - - -

It's both the most wonderful thing you can imagine, and also the worst thing of all time.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

I'll take whatever they can come up with over that bland crap Keighley gave us last year.

As long as these are going to be few days of laser-focused announcements, reveals and demonstrations it will beat three months of sporadic trailers dropping randomly.

 

[RedHeat]

It shouldn't be, but that's how the industry handles it. Why would Microsoft, for example, hold a few Direct style events when they can just wait and blow their wad at the BIG event? Most of the industry waits for that big event to show everything they have, and it sucks.

I'd rather have the announcements broken up and spread out over the year with smaller and more focused events, rather than one big event. Nintendos had great success with this, and the industry should follow.

Click to shrink...

I honestly would prefer load-blowing events than piecemeal ones, because otherwise you get something like State of Play which mainly deals with things everyone knows a great deal about already and pointless showcases like how they showed of Crash 4 just to talk about the new enhancements.

 

[Aether]

Didn't we know that?
Wasntit obvious?
And didnt all declare them dead when they wanted six
figure pay for participating in their online event?

 

[Irene]

I'm one of those people that always held E3 as a special time, a big event and opportunity to gather around and celebrate games.

I was bummed to see it absent last year, though it was understandable. Going digital is, again, understandable and not very surprising and I'm curious to see what will happen now.

 

[DanteSparda504]

I honestly would prefer load-blowing events than piecemeal ones, because otherwise you get something like State of Play which mainly deals with things everyone knows a great deal about already and pointless showcases like how they showed of Crash 4 just to talk about the new enhancements.

Click to shrink...

That benefits games a ton though. At E3 you deal with all the announcements being crammed into, lets say a 2 hour presentation. Everything moves so fast, and there's never enough time to really give each game its proper focus.

More piecemeal ones really give every game, big or small, a chance to make an impression and shine. Small games are not banished to a quick montage video like they are at E3.

 

[Thera]

It's dead Jim.

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

2021 Devolverland Expo please

 

[xtib81]

I will miss E3, that was one hell of a week.

 

[Deleted member 80102]

 

[Musubi]

Oh man I'm so shocked.

 

[fiendcode]

E3 really needs at least 2 of 3 console makers onboard or it won't survive. PlayStation's already out so we'll have to see if Xbox and Nintendo come back. I wouldn't put money on it.

 

[Deleted member 1839]

How can some of you get excited for E3 when you don't even know if the publishers will be there? Like if the combination of them paying of lump sum to be there is true and the fact they could host their own digital event like last year with nothing lost, I don't see a need for most, if any to attend.

 

[Deleted member 17184]

It's important to remember that E3 isn't the press conferences, but what used to happen between Wednesday and Friday. The conferences were pre-E3 events and they can all still happen as they used to - just not with a live audience.

 

[ZeoVGM]

Expected.

Interested to see how the digital event works out but more looking forward to a more standard E3 in 2022.

 

[Ravelle]

I like the straight forward video presentations like the Nintendo Direct and State of Play's but I'm gonna miss the goofyness of the live stage presentations a lot, even when an E3 had a weak year it was still a lot of fun following the publishers stage presentations and indie devs showing off theirs games. And hanging around in the Giant Bomb live coverage chat was always super fun.

 

[KayonXaikyre]

This is a good thing really. It'll still be mostly E3 and I'm sure they'll figure out some neat stuff, but having a big conference with a lot of content pushed into one event would be awesome to have again. Whatever that shit last year was with the sprinkling of information was annoying and Id've rather waited months and just had one big thing that had all those content pieces in a single showing.

Let's hope the pacing and the event is done well.