The long-accumulated enthusiasm of the audience in the post-epidemic era was poured cold water by one company after another.
According to recent news obtained by IGN, following Nintendo, Xbox, Sony and Ubisoft, Sega and Tencent Level Infinite have also confirmed that they will not participate in the 2023 E3 Game Show. This is also the first time that Microsoft and Nintendo have decided to be absent, and the brand power of E3 is in jeopardy.
IGN interviewed many game publishers, and almost all of them expressed concern about this summer's gaming event. IGN put it this way: Many companies told us they felt there was a clear lack of communication between the event organizer, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), and the organizer's ReedPop; Some companies are still waiting, waiting for others to jump first, but no one wants to jump first, and when you look at it, there is not much time left.
Currently E3 2023 feels very "chaotic". At this point in March in previous years, exhibitors have detailed plans, and some even disclose some news in advance to attract popularity. But the situation in 2023 is very different from the past. IGN said: "Before we ask game manufacturers, many manufacturers will ask us questions about E3, and it seems that there is an urgent need for some news to help them decide, such as whether to allocate a large budget for the show in just two months, and how many people should be staffed; Should we skip the pre-show and focus on the exhibition area itself, and communicate with the media as much offline as possible...".
This phenomenon intuitively reflects the concerns of game manufacturers about the influence of E3.
In stark contrast to E3's situation is Geoff Keighley's Play Days (a two-day, media-only event held in conjunction with E3 in early June last year). This year, the campaign was confirmed again, with IGN revealing that a number of vendors have locked the release of games in Play Days, and some have said that they expect to increase the number of game appearances compared to previous years.
According to official data, the top five manufacturers with the most views on E3 2021 are Nintendo 3.1 million, Microsoft & Bethesda 2.3 million, Ubisoft 1.4 million, SE 1.3 million and Devolver 1.1 million, all of which have "withdrawn". On the other hand, Geoff Keighley's TGA Game of the Year awards reached a new record of 100 million views last year, and it is not surprising that other small and medium-sized manufacturers chose to participate in Play Days and Summer Game Fes.
E3 2023 will almost certainly become a very small edition under the spread of panic of "internal worries and external troubles". As we all know, some game manufacturers have already "started a new stove" and held a game conference with the E3 Game Exhibition. To put it bluntly, it is to let E3 make a wedding dress for himself, and when asked by a reporter about the recent situation of the exhibition, D even took out the anti-heavenly speech of "holding activities in the parking lot around the exhibition hall".
In 2020, the outbreak of the epidemic caused huge losses to events such as E3, TGS, Gamescom, and ChinaJoy. The pandemic forced companies to drastically cut funding for events and lay off staff for event planning teams. Many game publishers have yet to recover funding to pre-2020 levels. Even if they want to attend E3 or Play Days, or just go to Los Angeles to show their faces, many companies don't have the budget for that — or even if they do, they're more willing to spend money on more "stable" events like PAX and Gamescom.
However, today there are rumors that Konami will release a remake of "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" at E3, and with the current lineup, Konami has been away from the game circle for many years and may become the only big name.