Yeah, those commercial but consumer oriented events are relics of the past…
Certainly. After streaming events like Nintendo Direct and Sony’s State of Play became commonplace, the trajectory of E3 was downwards. The COVID pandemic was a tipping point, as the importance of livestreams and remote events rose to new heights. E3 and similar industry events started to feel like glorified Zoom calls for both gamers and industry executives. Why have all the hassle to organize a stage, rehearse for the presentation and pay large sums of money every year when there’s livestreams? Why have the gaming press as a middle-man and hassle with E3’s organizers, when gaming companies can take their messaging into their own hands?
For me, E3 was regardless an event I followed every summer. Gathering drinks and snacks, watching all the presentations and livestreams from the show floor, staying up all night… None of that anymore, feels somewhat sad. But the times have changed!
I wonder if future generations will look at these giant congress centers all over the world as industrial relics that warrant preservations, similar to how we see some of the stuff from the 19th century today 😀
“Daddy, you really went to Los Angeles for a few days just to see gaming companies announce things? Like, thousands of people huddled in together, possibly spreading viruses alongside, with no masks? What was that like, a Zoom call but on stage with no Zoom?”
Certainly. After streaming events like Nintendo Direct and Sony’s State of Play became commonplace, the trajectory of E3 was downwards. The COVID pandemic was a tipping point, as the importance of livestreams and remote events rose to new heights. E3 and similar industry events started to feel like glorified Zoom calls for both gamers and industry executives. Why have all the hassle to organize a stage, rehearse for the presentation and pay large sums of money every year when there’s livestreams? Why have the gaming press as a middle-man and hassle with E3’s organizers, when gaming companies can take their messaging into their own hands?
For me, E3 was regardless an event I followed every summer. Gathering drinks and snacks, watching all the presentations and livestreams from the show floor, staying up all night… None of that anymore, feels somewhat sad. But the times have changed!
“Daddy, you really went to Los Angeles for a few days just to see gaming companies announce things? Like, thousands of people huddled in together, possibly spreading viruses alongside, with no masks? What was that like, a Zoom call but on stage with no Zoom?”