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[udivision]

People who pay attention to E3 every year still don't know what E3 actually is... it's kind of amazing.

 

[The Flash]

Two or three weeks I'd say

 

[Kudo]

After last year?
I think E3 will go on for very long time, I'm already looking forward to this year. Games are announced there so it stays relevant to me.

 

[RedNumberFive]

How long do game journalists need to be wined and dined?

 

[IncognitoPanda]

It's not that you don't have a point, but you seem to be forgetting that proactive measures can be taken to keep E3 relevant. It's still the biggest gaming event of the year, at least as far as advertising goes.

 

[Petrae]

E3 will only get bigger as the new age kids get older.

I'm not sold on this. As video streaming continues to explode in popularity, it makes sense for publishers to save that ESA money and broadcast their own events from company HQ or from a neutral site. They can cluster their presentations around a central time period (like early June, as we see now), but the reliance on ESA to provide a showcase for their products is rapidly dwindling.

E3 will evolve and change. It will still exist. But it's certainly fair to argue that the event's biggest years may soon be behind it. It will be interesting to see how successful EA's event is; if it's a big hit, other publishers (ATVI, Ubi, Microsoft, and Nintendo) could easily follow suit. PSX was big for Sony, but it didn't run parallel to ESA's big event; the litmus test is how EA's event fares.

How long do game journalists need to be wined and dined?

Not too much longer. The importance of gaming press in getting game info out to end users continues to diminish, thanks to publisher streams and social media. Press will still have a role, but not as vital.

 

[Lingitiz]

After last year?
I think E3 will go on for very long time, I'm already looking forward to this year. Games are announced there so it stays relevant to me.

Last year rejuvenated the E3 so much that on that power alone it can run for decades.

Sony can just hold their own event without the ESA and probably get more attention by allowing fans in and not having competition. Doesn't necessarily need to be tied to E3. And I think this is ultimately the real question. How long before either Sony or Microsoft decides to test this?

 

[AmuroChan]

E3 has never really been for the fans per say. It's always been more for shareholders and mainstream press (ie. Forbes, USA Today, NYT, etc). I don't think Sony or Microsoft will forgo E3 and move to a Nintendo Direct-type presentation anytime soon. In fact, I have a feeling Nintendo will do a traditional press conference at E3 this year to reveal the NX.

 

[JuanLatino]

you ask this question after on of the the greatest E3 Shows we have ever seen?

 

[kennyamr]

it's not really in decline or dying. I think it's transforming itself into something new, shaped by the new technology and the new ways of communication.
In my opinion E3 will be just fine, stuff will change but the core part that we all love will stay there for a very long time.

 

[mcz117chief]

Sony can just hold their own event without the ESA and probably get more attention by allowing fans in and not having competition. Doesn't necessarily need to be tied to E3. And I think this is ultimately the real question. How long before either Sony or Microsoft decides to test this?

I see, but E3 still has this air of prestige about it. So probably for tradition's sake they won't do it.

 

[SweetJohnnyCage]

Pre E-3 hype is still there, but once it comes around the show is not living up to the hype like the old days (though is still decent enough).

Uhhhhhh....

These two moments still make my hair stand on end. Not just because I'm a huge GameTrailers fan and love the folks in the videos/gifs, but because it showed that we have reason to be excited for video games.

Sony can just hold their own event without the ESA and probably get more attention by allowing fans in and not having competition. Doesn't necessarily need to be tied to E3. And I think this is ultimately the real question. How long before either Sony or Microsoft decides to test this?

They do, it's called PSX. It's held in December.

 

[Kudo]

Sony can just hold their own event without the ESA and probably get more attention by allowing fans in and not having competition. Doesn't necessarily need to be tied to E3. And I think this is ultimately the real question. How long before either Sony or Microsoft decides to test this?

This is true.
Playstation Experience was nuts last year too. Oh well, I'm fine as long as they have something for me to watch.

 

[Justified]

Uhhhhhh....

Those were outliers we have been waiting for those games for about a decade. Whats left to have announcements like that? Agent, Crash, Battletoads? Not much else

 

[mcz117chief]

Those were outliers we have been waiting for those games for about a decade. Whats left to have announcements like that? Agent, Crash, Battletoads? Not much else

Well the hype around the reveal of NieR 2 was brutal as hell despite the fact that nobody expected a sequel.

 

[Kobun Heat]

I always thought it was a video game trade show for companies to show off their new products....??

So if it's a trade show, why was your entire post about the press and consumers?

 

[Lingitiz]

They do, it's called PSX. It's held in December.

I went to PSX last year. It is a fundamentally different show than something like E3 because of the cycle of press announcements and the way demos are produced are reused for the rest of the year. PSX mostly had demos created for E3 reused, so the showfloor had little that was an actual debut. I can see in a few years Sony deciding to move PSX to LA in the summer and doing that instead where the public would have incentive to go and see brand new demos that they haven't already watched online or played at an earlier event like PAX.

 

[Justified]

So if it's a trade show, why was your entire post about the press and consumers?

Using E3 as a catalyst to make "big" announcements

 

[MogCakes]

E3 will always exist in some form. Maybe not as E3 but as some other unified gaming event. It's an important gathering for the industry and serves as a good mixer for both the gaming press and the companies.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Also, just because Sony's and Microsoft's announcements are performed live in a theater versus Nintendo's edited video, that doesn't make them "E3" versus "not E3." There's no difference in terms of content, the only difference is the method of production.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

E3 will remain relevant for the foreseeable future. Nintendo being weird and dropping out isn't going to change that.

 

[Newtype-001]

Pre E-3 hype is still there, but once it comes around the show is not living up to the hype like the old days (though is still decent enough).

Last year was the peak.

 

[Hydrus]

Last year was the peak.

This was awesome! lmao

 

[Kobun Heat]

Using E3 as a catalyst to make "big" announcements

So why are you asking about when E3 becomes a "waste of resources" and "redundant"?

Edit: You seem to be articulating this idea that the point of E3 is to merely convey information to consumers. This is a nice side effect of an industry trade show, but it is not the point.

If I bought a house for a million dollars and post a picture of it on Facebook, I didn't spend a million dollars to post a picture on Facebook, I spent a million dollars so I could have a house to live in, and then I just figured I'd take a picture of it since it was there.

 

[davepoobond]

they already tried killing it 10 years ago. it didnt seem to work.

the spectacle of it is more important than the information dissemination.

 

[Philippo]

Heh, last year proved how ras long as megaton drops, E3 can still be relevant.

 

[SweetJohnnyCage]

Those were outliers we have been waiting for those games for about a decade. Whats left to have announcements like that? Agent, Crash, Battletoads? Not much else

But can't you say that it's cyclical, in that regard? Every 4-5 years we get some insane media bomb that sets us up for a great time period of gaming. It doesn't always pan out, but that year's E3 serves its purpose of generating the hype.

 

[mrlion]

E3 is not there for your viewing pleasure. Its a trade show meant to do business amongst developers and publishers. We just were given the privilege to have live coverage of it. Even without it, the trade fair would still be going.

 

[BodiesWithoutOrgans]

E3 is my favourite time of year it's my 2nd Christmas

 

[Dynasty8]

Getting rid of E3 for gamers is like getting rid of Christmas for kids.

E3 is here to stay for as long as this industry is standing.

 

[Vilam]

But it's certainly fair to argue that the event's biggest years may soon be behind it.

The event's biggest years are already well behind it. It hasn't been the same since 2006.

 

[Septimus Prime]

On the industry side, E3 is one huge meeting/reunion*.

*/party at night.

 

[ffdgh]

E3 isn't dying anytime soon.

 

[WickedLaharl]

Someone remember to bump this thread in 2020 when e3 is still going strong

 

[Sacul64GC]

Last year was the peak.

And only one of those games is anywhere near being out. Another is only one third of a remake. UI guess I cant say anything since Zelda always moves me like that.

 

[flatearthpandas]

Did you skip the Sony show? Lol.

How many of those big announcements will be out before e3 2016? Or have release dates at all? Lol.

Really though, I think e3 will be sticking around for a long while. Having all these announcements at once builds a collective excitement that all publishers and platform holders benefit from moreso than having an exclusive event. And Nintendo is still very much present, they've just changed the format of their presentation (for the better imo).

 

[Justified]

I'm not saying E3 will not exist. Im saying irrelevant as in Publisher do not have to pay for floor space and setup huge booths,go through the ESA to fit in a schedule, and hold the big announced during those said keynotes

In the old days you had to go through E3 and CES to be seen

 

[GavinUK86]

E3 will continue as long as there is a games industry.

 

[RMI]

when did the major publishers and platform holders start streaming their stage shows for the general public? that's when the E3 show became irrelevant. I don't see why they need to fill a room with a bunch of journalists and industry people. Just stream out a Nintendo Direct style video directly to your customers.

 

[Vinc]

Whatever form it takes, E3 or something like it will always be relevant. The exposure is worth it. Viewership grows every year I think?

It's hard to attract this much attention on your own, so a massive event like this has its undeniable benefits.

 

[Akibared]

With how crazy the Sony show was I don't see how anyone can think E3 is going anywhere.

 

[unholyrevenger72]

E3 is for everyone who doesn't keep their ear to ground and listen to gaming news. It will never be irrelevant.

 

[phanphare]

you mean all the pre-E3 shenanigans? because the trade show aspect isn't going anywhere

 

[Love Deterrence]

That's that thing they do every year to show off what final products don't look like right

 

[Kobun Heat]

I don't see why they need to fill a room with a bunch of journalists and industry people.

At this point, it's purely for production value. Everyone should realize this. There's near-zero benefit as a writer to actually being in the room. If anything, the shitty wi-fi and cramped theater seating stops you from actually getting your work done - the news stories are posted by the home teams watching on live stream now, who can screencap images and rewind if necessary. (I'm so old that I remember when this was not the case.) The theatrical performances are for show.

 

[10k]

It'll go back to a small venue on a couple years and then completely die out by 2020.

 

[Prophane33]

I think E3 will remain relevant (and at least the largest Electronic Entertainment tradeshow) as long as Video games are a medium of entertainment. If it's replaced by anything it will just be E3 under a different name/different location.

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

Last year was the peak.

Man, that conference just can't be topped.

 

[CaviarMeths]

At this point, it's purely for production value. Everyone should realize this. There's near-zero benefit as a writer to actually being in the room. If anything, the shitty wi-fi and cramped theater seating stops you from actually getting your work done - the news stories are posted by the home teams watching on live stream now, who can screencap images and rewind if necessary. (I'm so old that I remember when this was not the case.) The theatrical performances are for show.

Off-topic, but I love that a word like "rewind" is still and may always been in the English lexicon, even though it's not a thing that happens anymore. Similar to "hanging up" a phone or "dialing" a number.

 

[Wagram]

E3 will remain or at least the idea of it will. Conferences will continue to be held during that week, but I don't foresee Publishers paying for the space to do them much longer. EA is making that move where they will be during the week, but not paying exorbitant prices to showcase a conference there. It'll only impact people who are actually at the shows, but for the rest of us it's business as usual.