E3 2020

[Moonface]

Another year, and once again Sony gets to be the cause for a 5 month early E3 thread for announcing that they will not be attending E3 2020:

After thorough evaluation SIE has decided not to participate in E3 2020. We have great respect for the ESA as an organization, but we do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year.

We will build upon our global events strategy in 2020 by participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe. Our focus is on making sure fans feel part of the PlayStation family and have access to play their favorite content. We have a fantastic line up of titles coming to PlayStation 4, and with the upcoming launch of PlayStation 5, we are truly looking forward to a year of celebration with our fans.

E3 is a signature event celebrating the video game industry and showcasing the people, brands, and innovations redefining entertainment loved by billions of people around the world. E3 2020 will be an exciting, high-energy show featuring new experiences, partners, exhibitor spaces, activations, and programming that will entertain new and veteran attendees alike. Exhibitor interest in our new activations is gaining the attention of brands that view E3 as a key opportunity to connect with video game fans worldwide.

[Dragon Lord]

Not a big loss on Sony's part. E3 has become complete shit over the last few years. Any of the good announcements are leaked well ahead of the conference, making the conference itself completely pointless. I'm happy to see more and more companies deciding to just announce things throughout the year at their own pace rather than hold things back, or announce things too soon, just to try and make the biggest splash at E3.

Let Microsoft have E3 so the Xbox fanboys can feel relevant for a day.

[Raz]

I completely agree with Dragon Lord. The E3 is becoming less and less fun and more like a rock concert without surprises. I don’t even watch it on tv when it’s aired on cable. My personal belief is that’s more of a joke much anymore.

[ShiraNoMai]

Can we all just look at the ESA's response to this? Like, just take the L and roll with it. Your irrelevancy really shows when you not once but TWICE mention that god-awful word "activations", which for those that aren't aware, are tl;dr "hey take a photo with our Sony man and don't forget to hashtag Sony@E3 on Instagram!" or "drink Monster Energy drinks and get a prize!". They're really trying to make this into a PAX-style show, and the publishers really aren't having it.

Sony is attending many other venues like Gamescom (where Sony has a massive presence in EU) to showcase some of the stuff they'd probably show at E3.

[queenzelda]

E3 is just a sh*t show anymore. When every gaming company showed up it was fun.. But any more it just feels like they're trying too hard to stay relevant & they've just turned into the old guy who shows up trying to act like the cool kid & a lot of them just got sick of it & stopped showing up to just do their own thing.

[Moonface]

I doubt Microsoft would do E3 if they didn't have their own venue right next to it. Nintendo doesn't hold a show, EA do their whole thing off-site, and Sony is clearly done with E3 if a new console launch can't even get them to want a stage there. It's just Microsoft (who I think wouldn't do this if not for the venue they own), Bethesda, Square Enix and Ubisoft who actually hold a show, and for me only Microsoft is really worth going out of my way to watch.

The ESA trying to make E3 like an event that is not E3 is going to kill it. Granted, I expect it would be killed eventually by companies opting to do their own streams and shows when they want and at a cheaper cost, but the ESA's actions and responses seem to just be ushering that fate along quicker than it would have done otherwise.

[Dragon Lord]

I think with where they are sitting at, Microsoft would do E3 even if they were literally the only company there just because with how badly they are being slaughtered by Sony and Nintendo right now, they will take any chance at all to still feel relevant in the gaming world.

I'm sure MS is extremely happy to know that they get another year of not getting slapped around by Sony at E3.

[ShiraNoMai]

Well, it's also a great opportunity to really flex on their Series X, where Sony will not be there to show them up directly after (see: E3 2013).

[Moonface]

Although not a big publisher pull out, it doesn't give a good appearance for notable personalities to pull out of E3, especially when they never have before:

For the past 25 years, I have attended every Electronic Entertainment Expo. Covering, hosting, and sharing E3 has been a highlight of my year, not to mention a defining part of my career.I’ve debated what to say about E3 2020. While I want to support the developers who will showcase their work, I also need to be open and honest with you, the fans, about precisely what to expect from me.

I have made the difficult decision to decline to produce E3 Coliseum. For the first time in 25 years, I will not be participating in E3. I look forward to supporting the industry in other ways and at other events in the future.

Further statements from him say it's due to E3 having a crisis identity of sorts and because of the leaks that happened last year.

[Dragon Lord]

Can't really blame him. I got tired of watching E3 as well once it became about who could have the most dazzling showing rather than who announced the better games.

It'd be great to see E3 get back to being about the games and less about who gets x celebrity to show up for them or who has the better orchestra playing during their reveals. Which is why I'm happy Sony is no longer going to attend E3. Once E3 starts to die, things should go back to being able the games.

That and also about the issue I mentioned before where we no longer have to worry about games being announced to soon because companies are pressured to make a "splash" on the E3 stage.

[Moonface]

Considering a few companies have been pulling out of events citing coronavirus concerns, I wonder if anyone will pull out of E3 because of that if it's still a concern by the time the event rolls around.

That aside, I hope Tunic makes an appearance this year. It's been in radio silence since 2018 and would really benefit being shown again on Microsoft's conference, otherwise I doubt anywhere else it could show up would make a notable enough impact for a lot of people to remember or take notice of it again.

[Moonface]

So the rumor going around right now is the ESA will announce E3 isn't being held this year due to the coronavirus. Devolver Digital seems to have kicked it off by telling people to cancel their hotels and flights, although they are also a company who make mock statements on a regular basis so it's hard to tell how legit this is.

[Moonface]

E3 2020 is Officially Cancelled
The ESA has officially announced the cancellation of this year's E3 event:

After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry--our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners--we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles.

Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today.

We are exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.

[Mr EliteL]

Found out E3's cancelled after finding out Tekken World Tour two events are being cancelled/changed and another to be decided upon. Then saw Katsuhiro Harada's tweet on him not being able to be at E3 in June now.

My immediate thought was the call is a bit too early, but realised it's better for them to get that decision out and prepare for their online show instead. Hope this includes people who have reserved E3 badges will get refunded, plus having enough time to cancelling their travel and accommodations.

Not a loss for me personally, might watch some or just check out what they'll do for the online experience. Unfortunate for those that were excited and raring to go the venue in person.

[Moonface]

I didn't think it would be a big deal overall, but no E3 is going to be bad for a lot of smaller companies and developers who use the show to make contacts or show off their work to a large number of people hands on. That being gone is going to impact them hard.