After a COVID-influenced hiatus, E3 is finally making a virtual return this month. That’s right, the gaming event that’s added fuel to the ever-burning fires of console wars and caused the gaming community to lose their minds over new game announcements is back.
There have been plenty of historic moments like the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter announcement going on to break Kickstarter, Keanu Reeves showing up in breathtaking fashion to talk about Cyberpunk 2077, Smash Bros. Ultimate proclaiming it would be bringing every character back, and PlayStation dominating the last generation before it even started with their 2013 conference. Even personally, moments like the Kingdom Hearts 3 announcement trailer making me jump up and down with glee as a high school senior and the entirety of Sony’s flawless 2016 conference make me regain hype for E3 every time June rolls around.
However, over the last few years, E3 has been in a decline with new digital competitors springing up and big companies leaving the event all together for their own events. It’s made many questions if E3’s dominance has come to an end and how long the event really has left. Thus, with the event right around the corner, it’s a good time to delve into how E3 became in jeopardy of falling out and if this year’s event can bring it back to prominence.
The early nails in E3’s coffin came in the form of big names like Nintendo and Sony opting for their own digital events rather than a big stage. The entire idea of pulling together a traditional, on-stage E3 press conference just sounds expensive with all the bells and whistles attached. Sure, the idea of bringing together a live orchestra, having celebrities and big-name developers on-stage, or even having a full-on dance number for Just Dance if you’re Ubisoft is cool and all, but it comes at an expensive risk. Throughout the years, we’ve seen plenty of live demos go awry and a lot of celebrity appearances lead to some cringeworthy moments. Even just the sheer idea of a company having to outdo themselves from the previous year is sometimes too tough of an obstacle to overcome and it certainly must be annoying to have an internet peanut gallery that doesn’t like to let anything go and point out every flaw or disappointment.
So, the idea of just having a digital conference became much more appealing and Nintendo was the first to move their E3 conference to a digital platform. Back in 2011, they created Nintendo Directs that allowed them much more control and consistency in delivering big announcements. They even extended this format past just E3 and have continued to deliver big announcements and even spotlight certain games before their impending release for nearly a decade. This idea was so well received that Sony basically copied it and started doing their own digital events called PlayStation’s State of Play and eventually cut E3 out entirely.
Honestly, with COVID making physical events impossible last year, we actually saw a lot of major publishers transition to producing more digital events. Ubisoft hosted two Ubisoft Forward events last year to deliver announcements on Watch Dogs: Legion and the upcoming Far Cry 6. In lieu of last year’s E3 being cancelled, Electronic Arts (EA) had their own digital event in the form of EA Play. Square Enix had some big announcements littered throughout their Square Enix Presents event just a few months back with another soon on the way. We even saw Capcom do big digital events for Resident Evil: Village prior to its release and as I’m writing this, SEGA is doing a big digital event for Sonic the Hedgehog’s anniversary. Both Sony and Microsoft even proved that you don’t need a big event like E3 to help launch new consoles. So, it’s obvious that big publishers and studios have come to realize that they don’t need to create a big stage spectacle to elevate their announcements.
A more devastating nail though, has been Geoff Keighley and the Game Awards gaining more prominence and making E3 no longer the sole premier gaming event. For those who don’t know Keighley, he was a games journalist that’s been an incredibly pivotal and growing figure in the industry that once hosted E3’s big livestream event, E3 Coliseum. He was also known for creating and hosting the Game Awards – a yearly awards event that recognizes the year’s best in gaming and even delivers exciting new game announcements. In recent years, the Game Awards has been seen on the same level as E3 and is even an event that, personally, the Academy Awards could learn a thing or two from.
However, prior to last year’s E3 being cancelled, Keighley had announced that he would be skipping the event all together and it doesn’t seem like he’s returning for the digital event this year given that he’s teamed up with major developers and publishers across the industry for another iteration of his Summer Game Fest literally a few days before E3. So, with him distancing himself from E3 and events like Summer Game Fest and Game Awards being seen on the same level, E3 is no longer in a league of its own. Even other big conferences and events like Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and PAX have continued to grow in popularity making E3 not as unique as it used to be.
E3 was THE premier gaming event for the longest time, but that’s no longer the case. Its inability to stave off competition or be more beneficial than hosting your own digital event have shown it’s in some trouble. Even now, there are big announcements being made like Dragon Quest XII, the debut of Far Cry 6 gameplay, and the rumors of the new version of Switch being announced prior to the event that make E3 have less and less surprises. So, the big question is – is there still any reason that this year’s E3 can be special? The answer – absolutely.
Microsoft is on the verge of making their E3 showing one of the strongest in company history with them having a combined conference with the newly acquired Bethesda. This collaboration could easily deliver, hopefully, the definitive release date for Halo: Infinite, a possible shadow-drop of the long-waited Psychonauts 2, Bethesda’s new RPG adventure game Starfield being shown and introduced as an XBox exclusive, the possibility of Machine Games’ Indiana Jones game being revealed, and other surprises that will undoubtedly blow the collective minds of the X-Box fanbase. There have been so many rumors floating around Nintendo possibly revealing the Breath of the Wild 2 release date, new Pokémon Legends: Arceus gameplay, the next iteration in the Mario Kart and Mario Party franchise, and maybe more information on Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3.
E3 2021 is also a great place for Square Enix to unveil new details on when the Battle for Wakanda expansion for Avengers is coming or say when fans will be able to play Final Fantasy XVI. There are even rumors about there being a new spin-off Final Fantasy game in works to be revealed specifically at E3 2021. It also seems like EA is going to have a big reveal for the next Battlefield game and maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally get a deep dive into the long-awaited and highly anticipated Beyond Good and Evil 2 at the Ubisoft Forward. Not to mention, Devolver Digital is going to return to E3 to showcase some unique indie delights.
There’s no doubt that E3 2021 definitely isn’t the “premier” gaming event anymore and more than likely will never be able to reclaim that title as the industry continues towards a digital future. However, the ingredients are there for a hyped-filled feast of announcements that could satisfy the hunger of a gaming community and maybe make fans fall in love with E3 all over again.
