Swing and a miss.
You may recall that the ESA was planning on 2023 to be the big comeback for E3. The Pandemic of Completely Unknown Origin™© saw to it that E3 was consigned to an online event, before being skipped last year. Well, it’s a repeat of 2022 this time, as the ESA has called off their 2023 convention.
The ESA put out a statement on the matter through ReedPop’s Kyle Marsden-Kish (via IGN):
This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what’s right for the industry and what’s right for E3. We appreciate and understand that interested companies wouldn’t have playable demos ready and that resourcing challenges made being at E3 this summer an obstacle they couldn’t overcome. For those who did commit to E3 2023, we’re sorry we can’t put on the showcase you deserve and that you’ve come to expect from ReedPop’s event experiences.
Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming, ReedPop
It does come as a bit of a disappointment, considering they were claiming that it definitely, totally, absolutely was going to happen this year. Then again, it’s not much of a surprise, considering that almost every major player decided that they wouldn’t be there this year, for likely various reasons.
That said, they seem optimistic 2024 will be the big comeback year for them. Others on social media are less optimistic.
More than a few seem to be of the opinion that it’s totally dead, as well. At which point I’d remind you, dear reader, that the ESA has members from all of the big companies. Moreover, like I’ve said before, the real E3 isn’t the show floor, it’s all of the deals that happen when these people can meet face to face. And charisma’s way harder to work when you’re not present with someone.
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