E3 2023: Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are apparently not participating
The world's biggest games fair will most likely have to do without well-known publishers this year. According to insider information, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft will not be taking part. The event is also struggling with other organisational difficulties.
Until a few years ago, the Electronic Entertainment Expo - E3 for short - was considered the most important industry event in the video games industry. Every summer, thousands of media professionals and gaming fans made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles to witness spectacular live press conferences and test the latest games on the exhibition grounds.
The gaming show has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and has had to be cancelled completely for the last three years - with the exception of an unspectacular online event in summer 2021.
This year, E3 is set to make its big offline comeback at the Los Angeles Convention Centre. However, the trade fair will apparently have to take place without three of the most important players.
Source: Shutterstock
The "Big Three" might not be there
According to insider information available to the news portal ign.com, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have decided against taking part in E3 2023. The "Big Three" will therefore not have an official stand presence at the exhibition centre.
Sony's absence was foreseeable. The company was already dissatisfied with the development of the trade fair before the coronavirus pandemic. The Playstation brand has therefore already not been officially present since 2019 and is instead focussing on its own live streams and announcements on the Playstation Blog.
Nintendo's absence could be explained by the Switch's advanced age. The hybrid console is now almost six years old and is slowly but surely reaching the end of its life cycle. Things are currently looking correspondingly thin on the software front. Nintendo only has two major games in the pipeline for the Switch this year: "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" and "Pikmin 4". The Japanese company is also keeping a low profile regarding the Switch successor. With this starting position, it makes little sense for Nintendo to take part in E3.
The alleged absence of Microsoft is somewhat more surprising. In the past, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has repeatedly spoken favourably about E3 . In addition, the Xbox Game Studios have some big games in their quiver with blockbusters such as "Starfield", "Forza Motorsport" and "Hellblade 2", which Microsoft could present at E3. After all, Spencer has confirmed that at least one major Xbox Online showcase is planned for June.
Great competition and organisational problems
The absence of Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft would be a major setback for the planned comeback of what used to be the world's biggest games fair. Hopes were high that E3 could regain its former strength - not least because a new organiser, Reedpop, was hired for this year. The event company is known for the smooth organisation of events such as the gaming festival PAX or the New York Comic Con.
According to industry analyst Pierce Harding-Rolls, other publishers are also seriously considering whether they want to take part in E3 2023. Reedpop has been accused of poor communication and a lack of transparency - publishers still don't know exactly what the big comeback in June will look like.
With the Summer Game Fest, E3 has also gained a serious rival event in recent years. The online show was first organised by Geoff Keighley during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The E3 replacement has seen an exponential increase in viewer numbers every year. In 2022, the online event was supplemented with an offline event for the first time, where the games on show could be tested on site.
Shortly after the apparent absence of Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft from E3 was announced, the Summer Game Fest announced an official date for its event on Twitter. It is not yet known whether there will be an additional presence event alongside the showcase. Particularly explosive: both Playstation and Xbox are listed as official partners on the event website.
Source: Summer Game Fest / Twitter
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