The Entertainment Software Association announced last year that they will go digital for E3 2021, which will take place between June 15 and 17. Now, amid questions about the future of gaming conferences, they have discussed their plans for this year.
Every summer since 1995, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as “E3”, has been held in the United States. It is one of the largest gaming conventions in the world, in which the gaming press participates widely and is usually one of the main moments and places where new announcements, revelations and trailers can be seen for the first time.
Many of those years, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft shared the stage as presenters, but over time, various publishers withdrew from it. In 2013, Nintendo switched to pre-recorded, Direct-style video ads rather than stage press conferences; EA, Sony, Ubisoft, Activision and Bethesda followed suit in the following years, with some studios holding their own conferences instead of hosting them at E3.
Last year was the first time that E3 failed to materialize, due to the pandemic that reached critical mass in the planning stages. Despite initial plans to own a digital version, there was not enough time to make it work, which led to the cancellation of the whole thing.
Thanks to a report from VGC, we know that the three-day event will involve a live broadcast from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST, including two-hour main presentations from “gaming partners” – which probably means studios large development – and smaller flows from publishers, Indians and influencers. “Regional reruns” in Europe, China and the Middle East will ensure that no one loses the news.
Game demos will be made available to the public in the weeks before the event, and the media will be able to preview the games remotely. On June 14, the day before E3 starts, a “Preview Night” will take place, although there are currently no details on what that means.
Geoff Keighley – former E3 contributor and host of The Game Awards – plans to continue his Summer Game Fest, which he launched last year, with a cryptic tweet signaling several news items received:
VGC says it’s not yet clear which publishers signed up for this digital version of E3, but that “at least one major gaming company” is moving forward with their own showcase, rather than paying “six-figure amounts.” to appear at E3.
Do you think that a completely digital show is the way to go? Would you rather see this in the years to come, even after we hit the bottom of the pandemic? Tell us in the comments.