E3 is now officially dead.

I’ve never been to E3 when it was here in Los Angeles. But, I’m a little surprised this Con decided to shut down entirely. I know Cons are really expensive to put on. Was it a case that the pandemic just killed it financially or was this con already in decline and experiencing financial troubles? It seems like most big cons have already resumed to back to business post pandemic.

I’m not a hardcore gamer, but I would have been interested in attending one of these just to see what it’s like.

Isn't it officially only open to industry folks?

I figured the big names either opted out or saved their big reveals for their own events, which combined with the internet kind of lessened the need for the big reveals here.

Oh I have no idea. I thought it was a public event so it’s like a CES or Cinemacon event then?

Google is your friend

Yeah thanks Looks like E3 was indeed public since 2017.

It's a mix of both, but more the latter, I would say. The appeal of E3 for me as a gamer was a week or so of non-stop gaming news, but that's kind of what publishers want to avoid: a fixed window where they'd have to have stuff to show off, and their announcements getting drowned out in a deluge of other news/reveals/announcements. It was a megaphone that was necessary once upon a time, but nowadays, any publisher or developer can stage their own event themselves at a tiny percentage of the cost (an E3 presence is extremely expensive), have complete control over the experience and timing, and be the star of their own show. If a title isn't ready to show, they don't have to have a vertical slice prepared in time for June; they can do it whenever.

The pandemic accelerated the downward trend (in part because it decelerated game development!), but there wasn't any real pulling out of that nosedive. There were chants of "E3 is doomed!" pre-pandemic too, and publishers had already been jumping ship.

Thanks Adam. That makes sense. Bummer for the fans who enjoyed the convention. But it’s just the cutthroat realities of a really competitive industry.

I think another area where E3 was doomed was that in the past when Devs showed off a game, it usually came out within 6 months to a year...nowadays when you see a game announced it ends up with several delays lasting 1-2 years or even canceled. Add to layoffs to turnovers with Directors coming and going...then add the added pressure form...The Suits at the Top.....in the end Games today go thru a lot before getting released, way too much uncertainty. And I think that's another reason why the hesitation of not attending....

Not always, once upon a time it used to be open to all, for free that is. The last year I attended was in 2004, and I did not go every year but only when I could. I think it was either around 2006 or 2007 that it became "industry only", or if you have media credentials.

The fact that E3 elected to go back to being a public event completely escaped me. I just never bothered looking their way again since 2007. I guess the wiki somewhat explained the whole ebbs and flows of its existence.

E3 was open to the public 2017 through 2019 from what I've read. Again, I never attended.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/esa-ends-e3/

Last point, I did not pay to attend E3 many years ago. Even after they resumed public attendance, you would have to pay them for the privilege. Not knowing turned out to be blessing in disguise, as I would not have bothered. Apparently the badge would cost $250 per person in 2017 or 2018.

Yeah I guess they closed it off at some point then opened it back up to the public.

Went to E3 a few times in late '90s and early '00s (when it was closed to the public) - a pain in the ass, but mostly good times.