E3 2020

Update [Fri 6th Mar, 2020 17:25 GMT]: The Entertainment Software Association has issued us with the following statement:

We can confirm that iam8bit is no longer part of the inter-agency group working on E3 2020. We greatly value their passion for the video game industry and the contributions they brought toward our vision for this year’s show. We have an innovative and experienced team in place including Endeavor’s creative agency 160over90, event innovators Mat+Lo and longtime E3 partners, GES, Dolaher Events and Double Forte—all collaborating to bring to life an exciting and authentic experience for fans, the media and the industry.


Original Story [Fri 6th Mar, 2020 12:50 GMT]: E3's status as the gaming world's premier expo has been rocked recently by a series of unfortunate events. Last year, the personal details of over 2,000 journalists were leaked by the ESA, the organisation which organises E3, predictably denting confidence in the show.

More recently, Sony confirmed that it would be shunning the event for the second year on the bounce, while video game celebrity and Game Awards host Geoff Keighley also stated publically that he would not be attending in 2020 – the first time he hasn't gone in 25 years.

To make matters worse, the state of California – which includes the city of Los Angeles, where the show takes place – recently confirmed a state of emergency over the recent coronavirus outbreak, which, in turn, has forced the ESA to scale back its ambitions for the show.

That scaling-back could well be responsible for the latest blow to E3 2020's prestige – iam8bit, the company responsible for its 'creative direction', has resigned its position:

It's with mixed emotions that iam8bit has decided to resign as creative directors of what was to be an evolutionary E3 2020 floor experience. We've produced hundreds of gaming and community events and it was a dream to be involved with E3. We wish the organisers the best of luck.

While Nintendo and other companies have pledged their support to E3, there's still a chance the event could well end up being cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus infection.

Should it go ahead as planned, E3 2020 will take place between June 9th and June 11th.

[source kotaku.co.uk, via twitter.com]