There's
an
interview on GamesIndustry.biz talking with ESA president and CEO Stanley
Pierre-Louis about
the news that E3 2023 has
been cancelled. The conversation covers how the changing industry landscape over
the years has affected the show and what led to this point. Discussing why this
year's show was cancelled leads to this assessment: "First, several companies
have reported that the timeline for game development has been altered since the
start of the COVID pandemic. Second, economic headwinds have caused several
companies to reassess how they invest in large marketing events. And third,
companies are starting to experiment with how to find the right balance between
in-person events and digital marketing opportunities." Pierre-Louis says the E3
does not economically impact the ESA's industry advocacy, which will continue as
before. Whether or not E3 will return in some form in the future is less
definitive. Several questions touch on this, but none generate a definitive
answer. Here's word for now on E3 2024:
We're committed to providing an
industry platform for marketing and convening but we want to make sure we find
that right balance that meets the needs of the industry. We're certainly going
to be listening and ensuring whatever we want to offer meets those needs and at
that time, we will have more news to share.