That’s it: The Electronic Entertainment Expo has confirmed its final end.
What was slowly hinted at is now confirmed: E3, once the flagship of the video game industry and the most important meeting place for media and developers, is now officially history. After more than two decades, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has decided to end the show, ESA President and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis confirmed.
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E3 was created in 1995 in response to the gaming industry’s lack of attention at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Over the years, it developed into the most important annual gaming event, where not only legendary titles were presented to the public for the first time, but also new consoles such as the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 saw the light of day.
You can listen to the best memories of the trade fair by Gamestar veterans Petra, Markus and Micha again in our podcast:
Podcast
E3 means a state of emergency: lots of games, lots of appointments, lots of work – and lots of memorable moments. In the opening episode of our E3 2019 podcast series, Petra Schmitz, Markus Schwerdtel and Michael Graf talk about their most absurd E3 memories, about risky hot dogs, walks through slums, Rhianna against potato chips and of course about the games they played after E3. Presentation either underestimated or massively overestimated.
The reasons for the end of E3
The E3 had been struggling with difficult conditions for several years, with new competitors in particular causing problems for the former giant.
Nintendo initiated the change back in 2011 with its Direct format, a crisp online presentation. The trend intensified in 2018 when Sony PlayStation left the show and other companies followed suit. Geoff Keighley, a former E3 employee, has made his own mark with events such as the Summer Game Fest and the Game Awards.
This has been certain since the corona pandemic at the latest: A change is taking place in the industry. The trend is towards online events like the Xbox Games Showcase or Ubisoft Forward, where hundreds of thousands regularly watch at the same time and publishers don’t have to share the spotlight with others.
Now it’s your turn: The end of E3 marks the end of an important chapter in the history of the games industry. What do you think about the ending? Will you miss the trade fair feeling or do the publishers’ well-planned online events appeal to you more anyway? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
