E3 Announced to Return in 2023
Image: E3 Home Site
On Thursday, July 7th, the Entertainment Software Association announced that the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 for short, will be returning to Los Angeles in 2023. While historically the ESA has outsourced certain showcases and special items of the event, in 2023 the organization will partner with tenured pop culture event organizer ReedPop. ReedPop builds and maintains several well-known fan events such as the PAX Conventions in various areas around the United States. In an article from GamesIndustry.Biz, the president of ReedPop, Lance Fensterman, stated that partnering with the ESA on E3 will allow the company to “build a world-class event to serve the global gaming industry.” While public registration has not been addressed yet, media registration will open later this year.
Over the past five years, E3 suffered several blows to its overall conference even after opening up for public registration in 2017. Starting as a departure from the Consumer Electronics Show normally held in Las Vegas, E3 became the premier convention for media and industry professionals to come together and unveil new hardware and software for gamers of all types. Major game companies such as Sony, Electronic Arts, and Nintendo offered lavish booths and conferences inside the Los Angeles Convention Center. Showcases from these companies would even be aired online for millions to watch.
Image: Engadget
However, as far back as 2013, certain companies would begin to see diminishing returns on the exorbitant costs incurred for renting space within the LACC, as an article in The Washington Post outlines. Nintendo was at the forefront of creating pre-taped updates and announcement shows that would air in place of a physical conference. In 2019, Sony departed from the conference show floor entirely, a practice Electronic Arts started in 2016 with its off-site events also held in LA days before E3 would begin.
Cost comparison woes and decisions were not the only hits the expo took. In 2019, an information security error exposed the names and physical addresses of every registered media participant during that year’s event. Games media members were outraged and extremely vocal about their disinterest in returning for any future events. Also, E3 was not safe from Covid lockdown practices as their 2020 event was canceled for participants’ safety and health. This hiatus most likely aided in viewership of the all-digital 2021 event, bringing in over 2 million hours watched on E3’s Twitch page alone, according to an article in StreamsCharts. Yet the ESA decided to cancel the event in 2022 in order to reshape its vision and create a more sustainable and entertaining event for the future. 2023 will mark the first in-person E3 event in almost four years.
Image: Trendjackers via Medium
On the other hand, PAX events continue to be proven conventions built around fans and game developers of all sizes. Historically, PAX Conventions (currently held as an East event in Boston, a West event in Seattle, an Australian event in Melbourne, and an Unplugged event in Philadelphia) have had a lower cost for both participants as well as companies aiming to show their newest projects. Also, the events cultivate fandom in many forms, including cosplay, tabletop gaming, fan meetups, and more. Offering this level of fan expertise could prove to highly improve E3’s reputation from a participant's perspective.
PAX | Image: Rock Paper Shotgun
NIS has teased four new games to be revealed at an upcoming online event called the NIS Showcase.