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The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced the cancellation of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), according to reports by IGN and Nintendolife. The event was scheduled to take place from June 13th through June 16th at the Los Angeles Convention Center and was meant to be the first in-person E3 event since 2019. However, the ESA stated in an email to its members that the event “simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry.”
The decision to cancel the event came after multiple big names in the gaming industry, including Xbox, Nintendo, PlayStation, Ubisoft, Sega, and Tencent, announced that they would not be attending E3 in any capacity. Most of these companies opted to host their own digital showcases instead. The ESA’s Global VP of Gaming, ReedPop, Kyle Marsden-Kish, acknowledged that the decision to cancel was difficult, but necessary. He stated that interested companies would not have playable demos ready, and resourcing challenges made being at E3 this summer an obstacle they could not overcome.
The cancellation of E3 2023 marks the second year in a row that the event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, a digital version of the event was held, but the ESA decided to cancel E3 2022 in an effort to focus on a “revitalized showcase” that would set a new standard for hybrid industry events. However, it seems that this plan has not come to fruition, and the ESA has decided to cancel the event once again.
While the cancellation of E3 2023 is undoubtedly disappointing for fans of the event, it is not the end of the road for gaming industry events this year. The Summer Game Fest, organized by Geoff Keighley, is set to kick off on June 8th and promises to feature a range of game announcements and reveals. It remains to be seen whether other industry events will step in to fill the gap left by the cancellation of E3.
Is this the end of E3? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
[Source IGN & Nintendolife]
