La Ron S. Readus
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E3 Getting Cancelled is a Good Thing (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2020-03-16 20:00:02 +0000 UTC
I’m gonna spare you all the bad Dad jokes involving a specific beer company, and just say...wash your hands, stay safe if you still have to work, and maybe E3 getting cancelled because of everything happening isn’t necessarily a BAD thing...
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Readers, I know a lot of things some of us were looking forward to were pushed back recently. If not flat-out cancelled.
Movies, concerts, conventions; anything major that would cause people to gather in a crowd of over 100 people has pretty much been put on hold for the sake of the health and safety of individuals
Some of us expected as much, considering the circumstances. Others like artists and freelancers found that one of their main sources of income has been jeopardized because of it, in which case we all should do our part to help support them where we can.
And then you have the things you don’t really think of that are affected by the pushback, like one of the biggest video game conventions in North America, E3
/Which despite its June 2020 date, was cancelled on March 11, 2020 for the previously mentioned health and safety of said individuals, and will look into coordinating -- and I quote -- an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news instead./
Like I said before, Readers; some of us expected this, and some of us were shocked. There were also some of us -- who usually keep an eye and an ear out for all things involving video games and the gaming industry -- who didn’t care.
And that’s mainly due to the overall dissociation that comes between the target demographic and the not only presentations, but the very expo itself, year after year after year
So much, that even companies and developers -- both big and small -- are starting to no longer see the point of the expo.
Not to say that E3 deciding to cancel their main event in 2020 due to the crisis that’s causing them to is the final nail in the coffin for it overall, but some people -- me included -- see this situation not as an obstacle, but an opportunity.
An opportunity for the Entertainment Software Association to really look at E3 and get to the root of what’s wrong and hopefully fix it; an opportunity they wouldn’t have had if they didn’t cancel the event.
Thankfully, some of those situations have been put to the forefront for, let’s say...the past six years?
Only for more and more of them to reveal themselves up to the point we’re currently at.
And it’s all thanks to everyone’s favorite family friendly Japanese playing card turned video game company, Nintendo.
Y’see, ever since Nintendo decided to do direct announcements online as opposed to E3 presentations, the whole feel of E3 in general from a consumers point of view felt different.
Definitely good different, but different nonetheless
And once they found out that people were digging their online presentations as opposed to the traditional ones E3 was known for, they began to do them more frequently for various games.
/The directs for Pokemon Sun and Moon, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and Animal Crossing New Horizons are pretty much perfect examples./
It’s gotten to the point that Nintendo Directs -- whether its for E3 or other times not necessarily associated with the trade show -- are pretty much the new normal for Nintendo and are highly anticipated since they started doing them six years ago.
So much that it’s caused other companies and competitors to consider if physically participating in E3 is even worth it anymore; if other methods outside of what we’ve come to anticipate from E3 might be the better alternative.
Outside of Nintendo, the best example we have with a company that kinda sees the writing on the wall for E3 is Sony
/Not only did they pull out of E3 back in 2019 -- both in its usual massively streamed presentation and its presence on the showroom floor because of its continuation to, and I quote, look for inventive opportunities to engage the community -- but even before it was cancelled outright, Sony wasn’t even planning on showing up for E3 2020 either/
More than likely, with the PS5 on its way, they’re going to be launching their OWN event to officially announce it, which has been the talk of the town ever since the beginning of the year
As far as other developers that aren't Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, they’re ALSO taking other opportunities to get their work out there in various ways.
/Other means that have gained as much notoriety as E3 itself such as the Video Game Awards, notable podcasts with huge followings like Kinda Funny Gaming for indie developers that don’t have that huge of a following. Even going the Nintendo Direct route and making the announcements themselves./
And then we have to take into consideration that E3 isn’t the main convention to get your work out there nowadays.
/The PAX conventions and conferences and others like them have been proving year after year that they can be just as big as E3 when it comes to not only developer and brand exposure, but also prove to be events worthy of both investors, influencers, and consumers alike./
Because let’s be honest. One of E3’s biggest flaws as of late, is that it’s not made for us
One of the main things the ESA should focus on now that they have a whole year to think about how the expo is gonna survive in a world where there are now more avenues than ever for developers to get their products into not just the attention of those that can fund them, but the hands of the people that are eventually going to buy them
Is how to find the proper balance of the expo being a company shareholder pleaser and an event that we the consumers don’t have to resort to being a bucket list destination because of how hard it is to get to.
For context: A 4-day pass to Pax West -- which is both the original and one of 6 conventions they host per year -- is about $222 and has been open to the general public since jump-street.
/E3 didn’t start general admission to the expo until 2017 -- 22 years since the first E3 in 1995 -- and the tickets were just under $250 for three days if you weren’t lucky enough to get one of the first thousand tickets to go on sale at $100 off. And because it was just an industry-only event for the longest time, even getting THAT was a struggle./
Honestly, if it weren’t for the Jesse Cox’s and Jirard Khalils out there, it probably still would be.
Readers, despite the event that caused it, the ESA cancelling E3 can be a blessing in disguise if they properly take advantage of the situation to reflect on what they need to do in order to make it better.
If they take this time to see why their big hitters are experimenting with different platforms as far as presentation is concerned, take a look at other avenues said hitters are utilizing, and just...make the overall conference better accessible for consumers as it has been for investors and people in the industry
They can regroup, utilize what they’ve learned and better execute it in 2021 in order to come back not only stronger, but as a more prominent figure in the gaming industry.
But they won’t be able to do that unless they’re willing to open themselves up to that type of change in the first place.
I personally wanna hope that they get to that point now that they have an entire year to reflect on what they can do differently
Whether or not they’ll actually DO it? That remains to be seen.
But, I digress, Readers; your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below what YOU think E3 as a whole could do differently now that they have a year to reevaluate things!
Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, whether or not you believe E3 is still prominent and/or necessary in this day and age.
Regardless of which one you answer, I’d LOVE to know your thoughts.
