In what could be filed under "Who Honestly Cares?", the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has announced that this year's E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) has been officially cancelled. Earlier in the year, they had already decided to cancel the physical show in lieu of a digital only showcase, but it seems they've decided to scrap the whole thing altogether. "But wait! Don't worry!" they'd say, "We'll be back again with a kickass show next year in 2023!!!"
I could go into the number of reasons/excuses to why the show is going dark this year; COVID, lack of interest, etc. Instead, I'll do something a little different. I'd like to share a few memories I have of E3 over the years. Times I can remember- some from recognized in/famous moments to others obscure and more personal. Consider this a retrospective of sorts, good or bad, of what the show had once been and what it has become now.
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The earliest I can think back to was in 2007. Me and my brother were just starting to discover the bigger gaming communities on the internet. At that time, our first resource for new games came from GameTrailers.com. Over time, not only would we find about new games coming out there, it also introduced us to a number of gaming inspired series like The Angry Video Game Nerd (James Rolfe/Cinemassacre) or the Gmod Idiot Box. Some of these introductions came in the way of fan reuploads (bootlegs) or community posts which the site allowed. This also introduced me to some of the more... softer age-restricted stuff.
But I digress.
It was our first year watching coverage of E3. We didn't watch the conferences that year, instead focusing on individual coverage of games we had interest in playing. The biggest game I was looking forward to at that time was The Simpsons Game. I was really into the show back then and I kept rewatching trailers and constantly looked for any new scraps of gameplay footage I could find.
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| My copy of the game for 360. I originally had a PS2 and DS copies of the game. Wonder what happened to that DS copy? |
Most anticipated game of that year, amirite?
The only universal part of that year's show we did watch came from GT's E3 awards. Best of Show, Best Console Game, Most Disappointing, you know. The most nostalgic part I have from these videos were the announcers. One guy would introduce the videos and the titles for each category and another gave off a brief explanation after him. The one who introduced the videos had a weighty voice that put importance on each game and the other had a rapid fire softer tone.
It was good stuff- visually with footage of the game presented and narration gave each of them their proper due in the spotlight with a balance between the two I found perfect. Even thinking about those videos now, I can almost hear the intro guy perfectly in my head.
Sadly, GameTrailers has since shut down a few years back. Only remnants on YouTube are either an archive channel or, ironically, fan reuploads. GT is still around however, but only on YouTube posting... game trailers.
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The following year we did start to watch some of the conferences, mainly Sony and Nintendo because we had their platforms. This was still when their E3 conferences were oriented more on the business side of things. In between game demos of Fallout or a Call of Duty trailer, they had these segments that went into sales figures and what they expected from their hardware/software going into the future. These were always the most boring parts. I didn't care about numbers or graphs, just show me some damn games!
We weren't the only ones. With more and more people beginning to watch these conferences online (and even on TV at one point!), E3 found itself in an awkward transition. Eventually the sales portions were phased out by the beginning of the 2010s with an emphasis on entertaining and hyping up the mainstream audiences at home. Some had celebrities brought in to host or present during the show- whether they actually played games or not is another question- to garner attention and make headlines.
Bet you lost your shit when Keanu Reeves came on stage during the CyberPunk 2077 segment of Xbox's showcase in 2019.
It's ok, I did too. He can be breathtaking.
This didn't work all of the time. Namely in the case with Ubisoft's conferences, it led to some disastrously spectacular results. Perhaps the most infamous of theirs came in 2011 with this guy... everyone say it with me!
MR. CAFFEINE.
On initial impressions, I honestly LIKED him. As his nickname described, he brought in a lot of energy and I remember actually laughing at a couple of his jokes. But like everyone else, he eventually outstayed his welcome and wished he would go away and get plowed by a bus outside. He's like that one obnoxious friend whose had one too many energy drinks and will not for the love of God SHUT THE HELL UP!
Nowadays, I don't even bother with Ubisoft's presentations. It also helps that they're snobby rich assholes that like to bully their studios with toxic work cultures and sexually harass others. Soooo...fuck 'em!
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Speaking of assholes- EA!
I never cared about their EA Sports segments during their showcases. Not about whatever they were "adding" to that year's Madden or what this game meant to some athlete they brought in to promote it. Much like the sales segments, I wanted them to get on with it and bring on games I would actually give a shit about.
But there is one thing looking back now however, I feel stupid complaining about during their FIFA portion. Every time they brought the games up, they had kept calling it football. This would have me and bro constantly say back at the screen-
"IT'S SOCCER! NOT FOOTBALL!"
Announcing the latest football game, online football clubs, whoever was up on stage called it football, football football football- Why the hell did they keep calling it that? We already have a sport called football here, call it Soccer! It was something we kept complaining about every year they presented the next FIFA game.
Of course I know NOW why they called it football (or futbol) because that's what the sport is called internationally. I think at that time, being American, the presentation in America, it should've been addressed by its American name. It feels like this one clip I found online of some jackass screaming out "ENGLISH ONLY! USA!" because some woman on stage spoke Spanish at a KIDNERGARTEN RECITAL. I was being a jackass and at my young age, unintentionally culturally insensitive (possibly racist) too.
I've gotten over it since then and don't make those complaints now. It's something I've not officially opened up about in the past and if I never brought it up, it's probably something nobody would really care about. "You got up in arms because it wasn't called Soccer. Who cares?" But I felt it was worth sharing and worth reflecting on here and what I felt was really stupid thinking that way on my part.
Now if they could only make the games worth playing without having to spend ungodly amounts of money for crap that won't mean anything the following year.
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E3 was one of my first major gateways into the gaming world. Checking out at all the new stuff that was coming out used to be pretty exciting. Now I'm just not as hyped up for things as I used to be and I've become somewhat jaded at the industry at large. E3 means something different now than it did back then and I probably won't miss it when it eventually dies.
It's been rough for the expo the past few years. Sony and EA both dropped out to do their own thing. If E3 does come back next year, I liken it to EA's NBA Live games. It might be a good show, maybe better than previous years, but it won't have as much of that presence or attention it once had. Might not even stay consistent either. Who knows when Xbox or Nintendo decide to fully check out too?
I don't see E3 making it past the 2020s. It's crippled and either needs to do something to make it more relevant again or get taken out back and end its misery. Once it's gone, something else will always come in its place to fill its shoes.
With Directs and State of Plays and The Game Premieres Awards... maybe it's already happened.
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