This week, Sony confirmed that it would be skipping E3 for the second year running despite the fact that it is launching a new console in 2020 – an occasion you'd normally assume would be reason enough to attend the world's most influential gaming event.
Amid speculation that Sony and the organisers of E3 have fallen out, Microsoft was quick to proclaim that it would be throwing its full weight behind E3, so it would be fair to assume that the company will be holding its traditional press conference and doing everything it can to hype up the forthcoming Xbox Series X console, which will be going head-to-head with Sony's PlayStation 5 at the close of 2020.
It's hard to deny the fact that E3's importance in the gaming calendar has diminished over the past few years
Caught in the middle of all of this is Nintendo, which was ironically the first of the big three to abandon the traditional live E3 press conference format in favour of a pre-recorded 'Digital Event' broadcast around the world on YouTube. Despite this change, Nintendo has remained committed to E3 and has made the most of its time on the show floor via a series of live demonstrations of new games, as well as some amazingly-designed stands over the past few years.
However, with so many other gaming shows popping up all over the globe, it's hard to deny the fact that E3's importance in the gaming calendar has diminished over the past few years – and having the market-leading company abandon it entirely isn't good news. Sure, games which are coming to PS5 will still be on display thanks to Sony's strong connection with the industry's most prominent third-party publishers, but for Sony itself to shun the event entirely and not even have a stand speaks volumes.
While Microsoft has predictably used this news to draw focus on its own preparations for E3, Nintendo has yet to comment, but there's no reason to expect the company won't be attending – and we'd imagine that it will be a very similar setup as the past few years. But for how much longer will this be the case?
E3 is a tremendous event, but also one that is costly to attend, and with the big three moving towards more controlled (and cheaper) alternatives like scheduled 'Direct' video events – which arguably have a much larger reach – is a glitzy, expensive show like E3 really necessary in 2020, especially when there are multiple alternatives available, such as the Tokyo Games Show, PAX, Gamescom (the latter of which, in terms of footfall, is actually bigger than E3) and many more? Most of these rival shows, it should be noted, are focused on gamers rather than those in the games business – an important distinction to make when you remember that E3 is a trade event that has, in recent years, opened its doors to the general public.
Nintendo has hastened the demise of the event as the biggest week in the industry's calendar, but whether or not that means the company will walk away from it entirely remains to be seen
Ironically, you could argue that by turning its back on the tried-and-tested E3 press conference format (a move that even third-parties, like EA, have since followed suit on), Nintendo has hastened the demise of the event as the biggest week in the industry's calendar, but whether or not that means the company will walk away from it entirely remains to be seen. Microsoft, keen to claw back as much ground as possible, clearly feels that supporting E3 as much as possible allows it to set itself apart from Sony, which could, in some corners, be seen as the 'bad guy' which has abandoned the traditional high point of the year for many players.
Where does Nintendo fit in this picture? Could the company benefit more from focusing on gamer-led events and avoiding the hustle and bustle of E3? Is E3 even still relevant, given the rise of shows like The Game Awards, which are now used by publishers to make exclusive announcements "on the cheap" that would ordinarily have been saved exclusively for E3? Has the emergence of YouTube changed the way companies connect with their audiences, or could E3's evolution into a more public-focused show mean that it becomes an even bigger deal in future years?
Vote in the poll below and leave a comment to let us know what you think.
Comments 96
why shouldnt it be relevant...it gathers everyone, it's fun, grand, yadda yadda...it's that time of the year when we KNOW we are getting something...please dont end E3
Where's the ''No, I don't think it's a big deal'' option? I wouldn't say I don't care at all, but all I really care about are the announcements, and they can do those at any time of the year really.
E3 is awesome. It is a part of our culture, we should embrace it.
I personally don't care much for E3 these days
Most of ther type its all just hype for a game 2 -3 years down the line
Cause a hype trailer for a game 2 years in the future, is something i really care about.
No. And while for sentimental reasons, it's a fun time to look forward to, I like the idea of the Big 3 taking how to showcase their vision into their own time and hands.
I think they should just keep doing what they've been doing. The pre-recorded presentations are much, much better than the stage shows of old and the Treehouse stuff is a bit of fun and is good for a bit more exposure. No need to change things for now, current balance is good.
I like Nintendo's approach to E3.
I like that Nintendo does the Direct's to avoid awkward live moments and can make them as entertaining as they want.
I like when the Treehouse talks about the game with a live demo. However, after a while of seeing the same thing, it becomes overkill. Plus, I feel it hit spoiler territory.
When Breath of the Wild was covered, I absorbed everything - it was so glorious. Sadly, when it came time to play the game, the entire Plateau was pretty much walked through already due to E3 Treehouse coverage.
Nintendo could really cover everything in a day and then leave the rest of the time for interviews and breaking news for those interested.
For me personally, it is just another Direct, but I understand why it is more important since there is a greater focus on covering the gaming industry during E3 so it is important to make some waves
Of course E3 should stay. It is still an industry standard event, and reveals there almost count as double, because of the emphasis on time and place. That's marketing gold right there. Any other show just doesn't have the weight or name that E3 has, even if it has diminished over the years.
As for Nintendo: they don't necessarily have to go back to stage presences again, because the E3 Directs are fine, but I do love the Treehouse segments, and I usually watch most if not all of them, so I'd be really sad to see those come to an end for whatever reason.
But I don't think Nintendo is going to pull a Sony, so I'm pretty sure we'll see the E3 presence from Nintendo that we're used to this year as well.
I think Nintendo has the right balance with regards to E3. An extended direct so everyone gets to see everything you would in a stage show like MS does but in about a third of the time.
You then get a whole host of treehouse streams to go in depth on games peaking your interest.
@Octane Personal opinions aside, I'm pretty sure you'll get why it is more important to have (and keep having) big events to make these reveals, especially for new hardware, as opposed to just silently dumping them in a regular quarterly Direct video...
And that would obviously also greatly diminish the presence of the brand and the buzz and excitement that will be co-created by press and media that are always present at such events.
Sony basically followed Nintendo’s lead.. Nintendo has somewhat of a presence there so it is only moderately relevant to them. But not much more since they have Directs.
I find the stage presentations hard to watch so I like Nintendo’s Directs and treehouse presentations
It’s not as relevant as it was, but it is still the biggest advertisement for the industry of the year. It definitely had people from all over the world watching in 2019. It’s “irrelevancy” has been exaggerated for sure. The two weeks prior and after E3 everyone is still talking about it and giving their hot or cold takes.
I think Sony just doesn't have enough new stuff to show for both the console reveal and E3 to be strong so they cut out E3 so the console reveal isn't diluted.
Not really, they don't have much to show off.
I like E3. It’s sorta like Christmas, except you don’t get anything but announcements, haha. I hope it sticks around a little longer, but yeah, it’s influence is starting to wane.
Nintendo’s approach has been good, just an online presentation that gets to the point, then they have booths and games afterwords. It works for them. I wouldn’t care if Xbox and Sony did the same thing. Most of the live shows have awkward transitions and moments that break the mood/flow. Like Sony making people move to another venue in the middle of their own presentation...
As for Sony, I’m not really sure what’s going on with them. I don’t think it would be wise to skip E3 again with the PS5 coming this holiday. Last year made sense to the fact that they didn’t really have much to talk about, but this year, there certainly is.
As someone who does not own a Xbox or Playstation, Sony and Microsoft not taking full advantage of E3 does not impact me at all.
Nintendo has this way of taking this event that is most certainly fun, but always having a reputation for being awful, and squeezing as much out of it as they can it about 30 or so minutes. I would never want that to end. Nintendo will always have their place at E3.
I'll never forget how hyped and excited I was at the E3 when Nintendo announce both Super Mario Galaxy 2 and New Super Mario Brothers Wii (I think it was 2009 although I could be mistaken)
For that reason alone I always get a warm fuzzy feeling indie whenever I think of E3
I feel like E3 is only important to me because Nintendo is there. If they weren't there I wouldn't have any reason to care about it.
As long Nintendo is there I still think it's important. Idk but I think the others just stall with their reveals
I've been to every E3 since 1952, i became a Magician because of E3
As great as what Nintendo does now is, it's hard not to be nostalgic for the live shows and the things that really show the people behind Nintendo. They had such character.
For me E3 is and always will be a big thing. I really hope it stays and Nintendo, sony, microsoft (and others) will go all out.
I think the importance of E3 has been hurt quite badly by all the internet leaks and companies pulling out. But it's still kind of a time of year for major reveals and such.
I don't so much care about the event itself as having that like, week long period of major reveals and announcements from several companies.
Sony is a really a cancer. They focus so much on identitary marketing and brand loyalty that they made millions of gamers not interested in anything videogame related if Sony isn't here. They're the only company doing this in that proportion.
E3 is when Nintendo reveals their biggest hype, is when they do the biggest announcements! So i strongly believe that E3 is most definitely still very relevant to Nintendo, specifically since unlike Sony, Nintendo has far far more they can offer with its own IPs.
@ThanosReXXX I don't know. I mean, the Switch wasn't revealed at E3, but sometime in autumn of 2016. Xbox Series X was at TGA, and Sony will probably announce the PS5 before E3 as well. You don't need E3. Sure; trading shows are a big thing, I get that. But Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show are bigger than E3. And I personally think that in recent years their effectiveness has diminished with online presentations like Nintendo Directs, because even Nintendo's E3 presentation is just a 40 minute Direct these days; just as big as their famous January/February Directs.
So all I'm saying is that the alternatives are just as effective these days, if not more. And even then, there are bigger expos than E3.
For the record, Nintendo Direct doesn't have a much bigger reach. There is nothing that comes close to E3 in terms of online viewership. The Top Ten most popular games on YouTube during E3 last year generated 420m views... Gamescom, the nearest competitor, managed 55m.... that week remains the biggest, noisest week in the calendar.
And I'd argue doing lots of smaller events is worse for the environment.
@MoonKnight7 When they reveal the PS5, it makes sense to reveal the software as well. Because revealing a black box isn't the most interesting thing. And having the same software at E3 isn't exciting either. So I understand why they would skip it this year as well.
@Octane Consoles rarely get announced at E3, to be honest. E3 is just the first time they put it in front of the press.
@glaemay no company can force anyone to feel like that. I dislike Microsoft because they offer me absolutely nothing of interest whereas I like Nintendo and Sony because they do. It has nothing to do with being brainwashed by a company to dislike a competitor.
I still feel that E3, as a whole, is pretty relevant. I primarily watch Nintendo content but do watch (live or after the fact) the press conferences of some of the third-party publishers who own franchises I like. Plus, I like Nintendo's current approach to the event; the digital events are entertaining, and I like a lot of the Treehouse coverage.
It's very possible that E3 will eventually lose its relevance. Currently, I feel that it's too important to be ignored.
Trade shows are important to the community. Gamescom, PAX, E3... They are things to look forward to and be celebrated.
E3 is my favorite time of year. I set alarms for presentations. Watch directs. Enjoy treehouse events. Drink beer. My wife thinks I'm nuts getting up at silly o'clock in the morning (UK) but I've come to just really enjoy it as an annual routine. I message friends during as well. I hate spoilers pre E3 so go on media lock down before. Love the guys over at Easy Allies for betting specials and reactions.
My fear this year is the "Tailoring to influencers and YouTubers" quote given last year. It gave me chills. As long as Nintendo give us directs I've at least got that...
@ThanosReXXX always refreshing to see someone with a marketing background putting things in perspective! To add to what you said, and to correct a misconception some might have, Nintendo never "abandoned" E3 per se, just the live presentation part of it. Their booth space is actually bigger than it used to be (and one of the biggest anyway) and the company as a whole has a massive presence, incl. the Treehouse presentations. It's no accident people still remember specific E3 moments or whole presentations but almost never for any other show, and there's a reason for that.
Nintendo’s last two E3’s have been shoddy. Too much focus on Smash, not enough new games.
I don't know about everyone else here, but I miss the Nintendo E3 press conferences of old. I loved hearing the reactions of the audience in attendance. It was a big part of the fun.
The glitches were there, yes, but I can remember actually feeling more excited about upcoming games and systems due to the audience reactions.
For example, there's no way The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess reveal would have been that good without hearing the excessively loud cheering from fans. Look up the video on YouTube. It's amazing.
I know I'm probably a dinosaur in this regard, but I do miss it and hope we can have a combo press conference / Direct format at some point to allow the full hype to be felt by the audience both there and at home.
@Dringo I know. I'm just replying to Thanos.
Nintendo still does live Treehouse events which, while streamed, really benefit from taking place on the show floor. I think Nintendo will continue to appear at E3
Nintendo is THE attraction at E3 and that’s likely to continue as they are the biggest name in gaming.
Like others have said, it's the only guaranteed Direct we get
@Octane I still feel very strongly that part of the reason for that earlier reveal was all the annoying and incessant leaks concerning the device. In order for that to not let it take too much wind out of their sails, they moved the reveal forward, instead of doing it at their intended pace. Of course, that's just a personal sentiment, but still...
Either way, events like E3 still create more than enough buzz and hype, so it's still good for the video gaming industry in general to have it being continued, in whatever (diminished) form that may be.
If you look at other shows, such as TGS or GamesCom, then you see that they just don't carry as much international weight as the E3, on several levels, especially the Tokyo Game Show, since that's such a decidedly Asian-focused show, even though they have slightly Westernized it over the years.
And GamesCom is still very European, so I also don't expect a lot of international media and press, especially from American outlets, to go there. At least not yet. Both shows may grow and/or become more international, but it's still not the same as E3.
And for those who just care about the announcements, I'd say it's simple: no one is forcing you to watch/follow any of these events, so just keep an eye on your favorite game sites, to stay up to date with reveals and/or announcements, if you don't feel like watching them live, as they happen.
For me personally, that's the exact part that makes it so interesting and exciting to watch: like a fly on the wall, almost as if you're there. Pre-recorded stuff just doesn't do that for me, so it would just feel like any other announcement that they'd do during the year, instead of a special one that's followed by three days of Treehouse events...
I enjoy e3 and look forward to it, but the writing has been on the wall for it’s inevitable death unfortunately
As a consumer I personally enjoy E3 and the slew of new announcements it brings. It's a matter of whether things stack up commercially for the companies involved though. Companies in other industries seem to be questioning the value of events that were once considered mandatory. I've worked in photography for years, and the bi-annual Photokina show was once absolutely essential. This year key brands like Nikon, Leica and Olympus are all staying away. Companies are simply questioning the return on investment that they get from these big events. Are people going to buy more PS5s if Sony attend E3? Probably not. Nintendo have shown that you can create just as much media attention and excitement from the fans with a YouTube video.
@gortsi Thanks! And you're welcome.
@ThanosReXXX The Switch or Series X?
Anyway, I'm not saying I'm against it. The question was whether E3 is relevant to Nintendo. And I think they can do without it if they wanted to. It's true that it generates a lot of hype and interest, but the question is whether that's because it is E3, or because it's when all the reveals happen. So if they moved to Gamescom for example, would it shift over to Gamescom? I think it would. Or if gaming companies decided to host their own event because of ESA's ridiculous pricing, I think the hype will move over there. And again, not saying expos are a thing of the past, I'm saying that E3, as an individual event, isn't that important. It could all move over to Gamescom of TGS for all I care. To me it's just another time of year.
E3 is a huge event, it’s more than Microsoft and Nintendo, everyone in the gaming industry goes to showcase what they have in hand. If Sony doesn’t go again, it’s because they don’t have nothing to show, even with their new console coming up.
E3 should become more of a "come try out new software and hardware"... things you can't do with an internet video.
The big press conferences where they just show the hardware and software trailers/gameplay have become pointless in today's internet era.
To be honest, I don´t like the shows the other companies do (and Nintendo used to do), it´s a very... american thing lol, we can say, with concerts, interviews, big applauses, and so. It´s boring, and out of place. I prefer it to be much more focused on the games than on the shows.
Imo, E3 should focus on holding stands with games to play, and let the companies do what Nintendo does: release a Direct kind of video to announce several hits that will create the hype only the E3 period can create. And then we see all the videos with the gameplays. That´s perfect.
I always look forward to E3. I hope it keeps going as long as it can. Bringing everything together and having almost a whole week of game coverage is awesome and some of the big reveals are really worth the wait
E3 is like Christmas: you know when it's coming so you can excited about the presents we might get.
Nintendo directs are great but they are difficult to predict and therefore build hope for.
Does anyone remember the E3 direct which spent far too long talking about far too many details about Smash. I don't know how anyone could remember that and say Nintendos approach has been perfect.
@Octane If you're talking about what I said about reveals being moved forward, then I was of course talking about the Switch.
And granted, you answered the question of the article as it was asked, but my reply to it stands. One is from a personal point of view, also because you're not really that invested in it personally, and I tried to detach myself from my personal views, and give my two cents from a business point of view, to see if the E3 still has enough merit for it to continue for some time to come.
And importance in this case isn't really measured in size, but in name, reputation and coverage, and the E3 still wins out in that respect, for reasons mentioned earlier, such as most mainstream and/or industry-related media from the States not always or completely being present at TGS or GamesCom, and that's a BIG deal for the industry in general.
All that aside, though, I'd hope that you'd logically be able to understand and/or see the difference between a normal Direct and one that carries far more weight, because it's only done once a year. And that is also because it's tied to the event, and vice versa.
The North American market is a rather big piece of the pie, so replacing that with either of the two other shows wouldn't really have the same impact or importance. Needless to say, this is all personal opinions aside.
I can understand that some people just want the reveals, or are just fine with videos for any and all related stuff, but for the business in general, creating and hosting these kinds of events is still essential in the larger scale of things.
They may probably, or more than likely have to change their approach and how it's all presented, but big events still have their place and purpose, even in this increasingly more digital age...
I couldn't care less about E3 presentation-wise. In this day and age, when game companies can just make announcements over social media any day of the year, I believe it's an outdated concept. I usually skip out on the cringy presentations (especially for the major publishers I've already stopped giving money to) and read the headlines afterward. Then again, I'm an old curmudgeon with a huge backlog and announcements for new games very rarely get me excited anymore.
I honestly don't think E3 is all that important any more and is on its last legs. Maybe 5 years (including this year) left before it's a nonentity. I loved it in the early days and was one of my favorite times of the year. But, it is the long, slow walk to death at this point
Nintendo should keep doing it own thing at e3 ,but please stop making one game be the focus point of the tree house segments at e3
“Market leading company”? Isn’t Nintendo outselling Sony?
@Octane That's how I feel. I'm not inherently against E3. I still do watch some of the press conferences. But does Nintendo need E3? No. And like you mentioned, the Switch was announced before E3 and it's a bonafide hit.
I'm of the mind that it doesn't matter to me if a game or product is announced January or June. We are at a point in the ability to effectively disseminate information through other means, that if you can properly market your product and emphatically state what the message is behind that product, the announcement doesn't necessarily need to be tied down to one event or one time of the year.
Now, that doesn't E3 needs to go away or that Nintendo shouldn't participate in some way. But if they decided it wasn't necessary to do so tomorrow, it doesn't affect my enthusiasm for their brand or product. Same goes with Microsoft or Sony nor do I think they'll be negatively affected by it in anyway
I think they’re very close to getting the balance right. As long as the Direct is very good (like it was last year, but wasn’t in 2018) they have a good E3. The Treehouse stuff goes over well and they still have very impressive sets on the show floor itself. They’ve used it to reach out beyond the Press and it works.
It’s also a plus they don’t have a painful, cringeworthy press conference.
When Sony announced that they were skipping e3 in 2019, Nintendo and Xbox both confirmed they were going to e3 immediately. When Sony announced that they were skipping e3 in 2020, only Xbox confirmed it would be at e3. Nintendo has yet to confirm, does this mean Nintendo may not be at e3?
I think there is less importance with Nintendo releasing information throughout the year with direct presentations.
I like E3 its the closest thing to a gaming holiday, sure the news can be underwhelming or not come to pass for years but it's the one time of the year when gamers are "looking" at the one place and all talking about it.
Nintendo direct lol
E3 is a relic of another time. It was the one time a year every company could be guaranteed some media coverage. Their big chance to share with the fans. Nintendo was the first to figure out, "Hey. We can do that with the Internet whenever we want! Why spend money on a huge party when we can set up a webcam in a green room and announce things to our fans that way.
Like what Sony and Microsoft do is relevant to Nintendo.
E3 is still a massive presence. It generates the hype, not only for gamers, but those outside the gaming sphere as well. It's the one time of year guaranteed to be a massive hit with a massive amount of coverage - even through the fans - generated a week or more before and after the event.
Even if E3 as a trade show was to disappear (and that's very unlikely), it would be interesting for the companies to keep it going in spirit with a week of announcements and events, because the second week of June still commands such a presence in the gaming industry.
I'm shocked that Sony is skipping E3 again, and to be honest, I think whatever little arrogant "if we can't have the whole industry we'll take our ball and go home!" charade is about to backfire in a biiiiig way. They've isolated themselves from the industry because they've identified themselves as the industry. They'll do their own shows, on their own time, in their own way and bocott the events the rest of the industry arrives at. Regardless of Nintendo, EA week comes and Microsoft, Ubisoft, Activision, EA (they have a booth they just don't do a press conference), Bethesda, WB, EVERYONE will be there. The loyal customers will be watching. The retailers will be offering tie-in promotions.
E3 is when the early adopters - early influencers in the generation make their decisions on consoles. Sony should know this well, they've effectively used their premium E3 timeslot in all previous generations to upstage their competition. This time they are handing the entire mic to their competitors, where they will be promoting other platforms including PC and streaming. MS will be there with new hardware, new games, partners, and promises of not replacing the past generation. Nintendo will be there with games including a sequel to one of the most talked about games of the last 4 years. And Sony will be in the corner with nary a peep waiting quietly do do their own thing later on when all the balloons have fallen?
I get their angle. They're Sony. They don't need to be a part of everyone else because they draw the crowd to them! They can go later and watch what everyone else does like they do at E3 and tune a message to weave around all that. But I do wonder how effective that is. In a way, Sony is the new Nintendo. They're not competing in the industry they do their own thing. But mainstream gaming is partially about who's "in" and who's "not". If the industry is all in one place with one message and Sony wants to be apart from that, I wonder how much "out of sight out of mind" plays in. People will be talking about Series X - they already are. People will be talking about BotW2. Hype for these things will be in the media along with Assassin's Creed and COD, and memes. And Sony just sits outside it in their arrogant superiority cage.
Personally, in the past year, with PS out of the limelight for all the shows, I've mostly forgotten PS exists. I'm Nintendo centric. MS keeps interesting messages going with a bombastic E3 and XO19. Sony couldn't even be bothered to show up for their own 2019 conference. They lost my engagement, which they've religiously had, which only further turned 100% of my attention to Nintendo and MS/3rd party. I check specific Sony game release dates on occasion. Mostly I hear about things in the forums here that were apparently announced and I had no idea about. Meanwhile I save the date for the MS and Nintendo shows. Sony removed themselves from my "radar" but expects me to go seek them. And their chance to pull me in with an E3 presentation, they are forfeiting. Because apparently their marketing budget can't afford it? No...because they have some sort of too smart for themselves strategy revolving around being absent.
As a customer of all 3 platforms, I find it disappointing. MS tries to engage me and excite me. Nintendo tries to engage me and excite me. Ubisoft and Bethesda try to engage me. Sony over the past year or so has lost almost all excitement I had with them. They stopped engaging. I like some of their games and will continue seeking them. But they've become afterthoughts I check up on when I occasionally remember them.
This feels very much like PS3 all over again.....
Meanwhile, Nintendo has no reason to skip E3. They don't spend too much on it (Year of Dreams...), and gain tons of attention from it. AND Sony continues to hand the market #2 and #3 a massive microphone with which to shout them down. Who wouldn't maximize that opportunity to continue helping the show be the year's biggest show, without Sony even appearing to be part of it?
I thought I had Sony figured out, and figured they'd swoop in big with PS5. This news.....it feels like it will be a stealth drop and a conventional media advertising blitz to push it. Which will work on the mainstream. But in that sense it makes PS feel more like a system for COD & FIFA players and less of a system for gamers. A bigger, more profitable market, but a different market all the same.
I don't really care about E3. I watch the Nintendo Direct and that's really it. Nintendo does other Directs and could do their E3 Direct outside of E3 also, so either way, I don't care.
That being said....I haven't like Nintendo focusing on one single game for a whole Direct. I don't want to see the entire game before it even comes out, thanks.
As for Sony not going....they're in their arrogant mode currently. Leading the market and think they're better than anyone else. I may not care, but other people do, especially their fans. It's like a middle finger to even their fans to not even bother to show up to one of the biggest game shows.
Nintendo doesn't do a 'conference', but they are there and do a Direct and live show and gameplay for their fans.
@Pak-Man E3 has morphed, but isn't a relic. It was originally a trade show largely around the retail holiday inventory scheduling. But it's morphed into a media event, hype generator, and scheduled captive audience in the industry, and is one of the very few times these companies can reach out to new audiences. The Directs mostly only reach out to Nintendo's existing loyal base. "State of Play" only reaches out to Sony's existing loyal base. "Inside XBox " only reaches out to MS's loyal base. The only time Nintendo can reliably communicate to Sony and XBox customers is E3, when the loyal of those platforms will tune in to see what's up with the other two, and that's a chance to pull them in and make them interested to join. Same for the other two. MS can reach out to Sony's audience and Nintendo's audience and make them interested.
Sony's angle here seems to be that they can isolate themselves. If they can cut themselves off from all the other company's messages, they can prevent their loyal from seeing competing messages, and they're big enough they don't need to try to get their message to the loyal customers of the other two, they can effectively be their own industry.
But in an industry that's increasingly co-dependent, and in a time when new launches reset the rules, I'm not sure how well that works. As long as much of the industry is gathered there, it's not a relic. It's still one week of the year the most loyal customers gather to intentionally listen to the messages from the vendors, even the ones they don't currently buy from. That doesn't really happen any other time.
Nintendo understands that. They did figure out the press conference wasn't necessary, and particularly awkward with their required translators, and decided to polish a presentation. But that's not the same as skipping E3. They have consistently devoted many resources to E3, a huge floor booth, media events, demos, and countless hours of live Treehouse presentation streaming from the floor. They traded a 1 hour press conference for 3 full days of live presentation PLUS a slick presentation. MS does the big presentation PLUS the huge floor and days of live presentation. The big publishers go huge. The indies go huge. Even EA has a big booth. They just dropped the conference which hasn't been at the actual E3 event for years. Only Sony's entirely absent here. It's not a good look.
I love E3 and I look forward to it every year. I would hate for it to disappear. E3, to me, is an event like a minor holiday where, for about three days, I sit in front of a computer and watch the Treehouse livestreams and watch trailers from day 1's Direct over and over. Plus all the videos that my favorite content creators on YouTube make. I especially look forward to GameXplain's discussions about Nintendo's E3 announcements. I hope E3 can come back into popularity and continue on for the foreseeable future. Plus, it is the only time of the year we KNOW there will be a Direct.
I don't think there's enough definites for nintendo to show up this year. They are looking a little thin from here on out...at least this year.
I do still feel that E3 is important to the mainstream gamer. Many people that don't follow a company get most of their news at E3. That being said just because Sony isn't going doesn't mean playstation games won't be there. I still think Nintendo has the best approach. Booths to play the games, a streamlined prerecorded presentation and then treehouse to show the demos that the public can't play.
oof welp nintendo made kinda mistake alot welp..
Nintendo has nailed how to do E3. Still show up, but don't hold some big conference that usually just ends up with fluff and/or awkward moments.
Even though E3 isn't as big as it used to be, I still think it's a mistake on Sony's part to completely no-show. Another thing too, I think Sony's absence at E3 wouldn't matter as much if their State of Play presentations were actually good. They've done several now and they're still struggling to pull off a decent show.
Unless Nintendo brings back Space World and expands it to a location in America, I don't see Nintendo leaving E3 behind any time soon.
@NEStalgia
I think Sony skipped E3 again to prepare their PS5.
Who know if Sony will make PS5 with Hybrid feature like Switch and they keep hide the secrets from public just like Nintendo keep the secret of NX.
But since Sony's new HQ at California, i wonder if Sony still want to provide some Casual / Cartoonish games doesn't matter multi console games or Sony Exclusives. I admitted PS4 games library for Casual gamers until this year already better than PS4 1st -3rd year and slightly better than horrible PS3 games library.
@Anti-Matter PS5 is supposed to launch by November. If they're skipping E3 to announce it much later than that, when are they waiting for? Unless it's a matter of having a conference in October and dropping "available starting today!" without a preorder period. An ode to the Sega Saturn perhaps?
We know for certain it's not a hybrid though. The specs Mark Cerny has already revealed tell us it's not that, so Switch remains the only hybrid (short of expensive PC devices like the Dell/Alienware that looks a lot like a Switch NL had an article about last week.)
As for casual/cute type games, I think Sony does have some amount of overall interest in the "family" segment, so I think they'll continue having some content there, but I also think it's not going to be their focus, and it'll probably be a bit slow going over years to get the library where you'll want it to be.
@xpownz Yeah I want a "It's been fine, but they could do more."
E3 is at least as important as Gamescom, and much more important than The Game Awards, but nothing is more important than new Nintendo Directs.
Remember the good ol' days when Nintendo was "out of touch" for no longer hosting live E3 press conferences?
I’ve been to E3 several times for work. Back in the early 2000s it was incredible, but it was really pathetic the year before they opened to the public. What Nintendo is doing with Treehouse and MS with their Inside XBox show are great, but I don’t think the rest of E3 is very valuable. Long lines to get a glimpse of an unreleased game isn’t worth it.
I put it down as quite important as I'm (pretty) sure we'll get a direct during the week (as well as some fab eshop discounts!) Happy with Ninty's approach.
@UmbreonsPapa Yeah, pretty much my thoughts as well.
@NEStalgia They surely want to reveal the PS5 before E3, so companies can freely talk about it and announce games for it. So sometime between now and June it will be revealed. However, revealing a console alone isn't that exciting, and it makes sense if they announce the launch window games alongside it. So doing E3 as well means you get a repeat of the same games.
Either way they can't win in that case. Host a presentation for revealing the box alone, and they're 'arrogant' because they think they can get away with a boring presentation like that, or show the same games at E3 and they're 'arrogant' for thinking they can do an E3 conference with repeated content. Or they're 'arrogant' for not going to E3. Can't please everyone I guess
For me, E3 was only ever a time for reveals. I dont mind where the mid June reveals come from, only that they come. Also I'm Nintendo only; so don't care what, when or where the others do what they do.
I actually really like Nintendo's approach to E3 because they cater to both fans at home and fans in attendance. If you are able to attend, Nintendo builds a lavish display for their games and creates an interactive environment for fans to enjoy. If you can't attend, they have a pre-recorded, high quality video presentation (Direct) that's available on YouTube so you can get all the latest announcements. They also have Treehouse Live for people to learn about games. It's a nice balance. I think E3 still has a place in the gaming community.
I watched it for the first time last year. Before that I just waited for a video showing all the reveals. From now on Im going to watch a video of all the reveals and go back to skipping the actual event programming. It wasn't interesting listening to cringy hip people tell me how great stuff is going to be. I just want to see the games. That's all I want to see.
Nintendo has ruled the past 3 e3
@Joe-b it’s hard to tell how thin on the ground they are considering it’s only mid-January and Nintendo are notoriously tight lipped about their plans and always have been. They do have this knack of just dropping things out of the blue that nobody expected, which is why I never get my hopes up for anything and just let the cards fall as they fall.
@WiltonRoots true. I guess we'll see what happens.
I look forward to E3 all year! Even take vacation days from work sometimes to binge watch the event. Have really loved the fact that Microsoft has increased their presence even as Sony decreases theirs. To me at least, all of the effort and hype speaks volumes to their focus on their fans.
I think Nintendo does a great job with their E3 presence as well. I do wish they had a traditional press conference rather than a Direct ridiculously early in the morning (where I live) but I absolutely LOVE watching the lengthy Treehouse coverage. It actually impacted my purchase of a Switch this past summer so it must be doing its job lol.
As a disclaimer, I have attended E3 twice in the past as an industry insider so part of me just doesn't want to see it fade away into the night. But I do think it has a big impact on the gaming world as a whole even in 2020.
@Octane In 2013 they showed "repeat content" at E3 and "won the show." People watched the Feb reveal sleepily. It showed the console, showed the games, was a big huge show. I watched, it was fun. Then I went back to my 3DS, Vita, PS3, X360 and forgot about most of what I saw. E3 brought the hype of all the news, all the happenings, and more importantly the corporate reactions to each's offerings. I waited until Monday night, the Sony show, having watched the MS show earlier - that was going to be my decision maker. "This is how you share..." and other gems, along with the big game repeat, doubling down on what it offered sealed the deal. I was going to pre-order 2 consoles that night. I pre-ordered PS4s.
I'm not everyone, but I'm also not the only one that was waiting through the presentations for decision making. Leaving E3 to MS & Nintendo gives them the last word. Sure, Sony will have their own message in similar timing, or after...but I think a lot of minds will be made up by then. This removes their ability to "react" to MS and win the mindshare - which is most important for Sony since that's the very strategy they've used since the PS1 to win every time. That's how they buried Sega. So they've closed the door on their own proven winning strategy.
Of course, if they have their own presentations during E3 (they didn't last year) then they're "kind of doing E3"....though it's going to create additional friction with ESA, and put publishers on edge for dealing with a rogue Sony. Sure they'll do business with the leader, but business won't be cozy, and that means business with MS could become cozy. Good for Sony today, bad for Sony tomorrow.
@NEStalgia Eh, we shall see. I'm sure they'll be fine. Maybe it's a good strategy, maybe it isn't. But I can see why they wouldn't want to go. I personally wouldn't watch a console reveal without games, and I think repeat content at E3 isn't all that exciting. But maybe that's just me. And if Microsoft ''wins'' with E3 and garners the most sales at launch, then it's only a good thing for us, because that means Sony will try even harder.
@Octane Unless Sony blows it, or MS stomps it....which I haven't ruled out another "$699!" disaster from Sony, I'm sure the market leader will maintain it's position regardless, and win a good percentage of early adopters. I don't think the danger is a launch disaster unless they blow something about the product launch itself (either specifically or in relation to something MS is offering that they aren't.)
That's the short term win, which is, these days, all companies are obsessed with. What I would be, if I were them, more focused on is that slow but lethal long term erosion. You're fine at launch, you win. You're fine year 1, you win. But quietly, the data hid a slow shift in mindshare away from your brand while you were absent from their daily routine. You wake up mid-way through the gen and the brand may be financially healthy, it may be selling well, but the brand no longer draws its own crowd or seems dominant, and other companies/services/products have pulled that attention away in such a way that you're now vulnerable in a way you can't actively fix, because the damage started years ago and made its way subtlely into (or in this case out of) the consciousness.
Basically no big effect or now, PS5 launch would be a big success simply based on the past carrying over, and E3 not being "that" important. But it's the generation-long erosion that the combination of decreased Sony involvement and increased competitor visibility harms their dominance. IMO that's actually a GOOD thing, the first half of this gen was a disaster with Nintendo and MS basically invisible and Sony dictating industry policy. But I'm still very surprised they'd risk that on a console launch. You can see Spencer positively gleeful to have basically free reign over the entirety of the E3 show.
From high upon Sony tower it may seem you don't need the association and you can bring your own market - and you can! But your show still doesn't draw inside & outside attention all at once as a simple stand alone press event - you're powerful, but you're not Apple. But think of being the guys that get to launch a console at the world's biggest games show all by yourselves, without any direct competing influence. For an entire week.
Sony does their thing alone and says "see, for everyone looking and wondering what WE were doing next, here it is!" The other gets to say "you came to see what's the next thing in the games industry and here it is!" Apple does that, but Apple's their own industry. Sony often mistakes themselves for having the same status (Sony Style ) but doesn't.
If I were to guess, of course there's going to be no immediate effect. And if they return to E3 the following year they can correct any damage with a big "we're back!" show. But otherwise, I do see them ceding some mindshare and momentum not just to MS but to the upstart streaming competitors now also vying for that attention and space.
If Nintendo attends E3 this year, they will face a similar situation to E3 2013 (unless they, well... hastily announce new hardware), the focus will be on Xbox Series X and even some PS5 games, Switch will only impress if compelling games are playable, especially if we're talking about some ambitious current-gen ports...
I honestly hope they know what they will be doing this year, and also keep the same over-ambitious mentality they had last year. Always be a high-achiever, Nintendo!
No Sony means more spotlight for Nintendo...unless Sony doesn't pull a big PS5 revealing show right before E3. That might be possible.
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