You know the worst thing that can happen near the end of E3? It feels fake. It’s the equivalent of Steve Buscemi’s “how are you guys?” And participate in its “poggers” branding. The show is open to the public, but doesn’t really know what it wants to be: is it a mega-sized B2B corporate show that excels at meetings and secret handshakes behind closed doors? Or is this a trendy, young, cool gaming fest that Gen Z gamers are willing to pay big bucks to spend a few days in downtown Los Angeles and get a feel for the vibe?
In 2023, E3 will be replaced, at least in part, by the Summer Games Festival. A big show leading a string of events run by smaller publishers, it’s like a failed clone of E3: less impactful, less impressive, less prestigious. Sure, it’s getting there, but after talking to many small publishers, Summer Game Fest is seen as a walled garden; only a “few” know the right people (or have enough checkbooks on hand) to enter this place.
A few weeks ago, I was at the Summer Games Festival, and many people there—journalists, publishers, developers, creators—felt the specter of E3, an unexorcized specter. Its effects are still being felt, and with good reason; it’s Christmas for gamers, and it has been for years. No matter what happens in the future, E3 has a long tail that will continue to exert pressure in some form, life or death, for years to come.
How different it is to come to a big festival in Brazil. The massive event, set in a convention center in São Paulo, is the largest gaming festival in Latin America since 2012, and it has something I think other gaming events have been missing for a while. Walking through the showroom, you feel an appropriate level of excitement and enthusiasm, and an understanding of why games are great, fun, and social. It’s similar to Gamescom, but with an undeniable Latin American flavor.
“I don’t want to sound rude because E3 is an amazing event, but [it going away] Gustavo Steinberg, founder and executive director of BIG Festival, is affable and courteous, saying: “It was actually my pitch to some publishers. I said, ‘When do you publish Your trailer? At E3, no? So do it here! [laughter]”.
The authenticity of BIG may come from the makeup of the event: On the show floor, the vast majority of exhibitors were independent developers. An entire row of indie games from Brazil is proudly displayed in the center of the room. Avid gamers – from kids to seniors! – Line up demos of small, engaging games you’ve probably never heard of.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros., Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Konami… they all stood aside, confined to small booths with quiet space to promote themselves. Here, smaller creators get a bigger voice, which is fantastic. I’ll be doing a separate article on the site soon about the best small games I’ve played here, but this focus and enthusiasm for the more grassroots parts of the development scene is refreshing.
“We call this space ‘World Panorama’—we invite publishers to bring their latest releases to audiences. Sometimes, publishers want more space (right now Nintendo, Epic, and Warner Bros. are all out of this space) ), which they welcome,” explains Steinberg. “But the focus is really on indie games. It’s a breath of fresh air because the market in Brazil hasn’t really matured yet. It hasn’t been set yet — so when developers say ‘I want to do it, I want to do it’, You can see the passion in their eyes. It reminds me of my first few years of filming here; the developers are just so passionate. That’s why they are the center of attention.”
Steinberg notes that the number of game studios in Brazil has jumped from about 20 when he started out to more than 1,000 now. It’s safe to say that Brazil is a game development hub to watch.
That’s not to say there isn’t a place for splashy announcements, though. Atari had a strong presence at the 2023 show, showing three games; Mr. Run and Jump (think somewhere between Super Meat Boy and VVVVVV and you’ll know this What is it), Haunted House (a modern reboot of the 1982 survival horror experiment, modernized and modified by Brazilian developer Orbit Studios), Quantum: Recharged (a ninth modern arcade remake that looks similar to Arles’ Revenge” is as real as “Breakout”). That’s a pretty big deal (no pun intended) for a publisher that’s been dormant for a few years. This shows that Atari cares about Latin American talent as much as Latin American audiences.
Konami is in a similar but less extreme situation to Atari, also using BIG to continue to restore its image in the public eye. During the festivities in São Paulo, Konami was eager to showcase its third-party publishing business. This was mostly seen in the publisher’s proud presentation of the mesmerizing “cinematic shooter” CYGNI: All Guns Blazing, but also in Michael Rajna (Senior Director of Business Development and Licensing at Konami) speaking richly about how indie games can appeal. Insightful speech. Give this Japanese-American company a helping hand and be part of its aggressive third-party program to date.
“I don’t know how big we’re going to get, but we’re going to grow as needed,” explained Steinberg when I asked him how much room he had to grow the festival. “We don’t want to push things too far because we’re not European, right? But for an international audience, we have something to show – it’s surprising some people. I think it’s because we’re bringing B2B and consumer or shows combined, all on-site. It’s something different.”
Granted, the Konami indie and Atari announcements weren’t quite as big as Geoff Keighley’s, but the show attracted the right amount of attention. As it should; BIG has been in its 11th year, and with E3 wrapping up and the stage opening for other events, Brazil’s top gaming festival will truly be in the limelight for years to come.
Maybe the future of gaming events isn’t in one big place, like E3 or something like that. Maybe at a slightly smaller show like BIG or Gamescom (btw, they’ve teamed up and run some sort of swap program). These events don’t have the huge overhead costs of things like the Los Angeles Convention Center, so they’re more affordable. Attendance at BIG costs less than £10, and Gamescom is just as cheap. Because BIG attracted talent and attention from Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, and many other South American countries, the results felt more joyful and celebratory than at other similar events I’ve attended.
Glasco is a founding member of Infinity Ward, creator of Call of Duty, and head of indie studio Good Dog Studios, and launching a game here feels completely different than launching it elsewhere. “What better place in Brazil to launch a martial arts game than … Brazil?” he joked. “Culturally, Brazilians are very friendly and they are very, very grateful [I’m showing their country] in a positive way.There’s a terrific energy here that you can’t get [in other markets]”.
Sitting down to write this, listening to some São Paulo locals giggle and cheer as they finished a demo of Bloodless — the sleek, retro action-adventure game that won BIG’s Best Brazilian Game — — It’s hard not to be impressed by what’s going on here. The vibe here is a far cry from the heart-pounding dubstep bass and endlessly repetitive gameplay demos at E3, and a more celebratory, open-ended experience than the closed campus at the Summer Olympics festival.
disclaimer: iGamesNews got a free ticket to the BIG Music Festival, and the organizer provided transportation and accommodation during the event.
