A new report from IGN has revealed that Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will not be attending the E3 convention in June.
This is the first year we will see the convention back in-person after the pandemic. The event will be taking place in Los Angeles from June 13th through to the 16th.
However, fans are disappointed to hear that some of their favourite game companies will not be in attendance. This perhaps comes as no surprise though, especially for Sony, who has not been part of the convention since 2019.
What could this mean for Sony and Nintendo
Microsoft on the other hand did recently tease a “yearly Showcase” in LA this summer in a blog post, but didn’t explicitly state this would be E3. As for Nintendo, they are known for their Direct video presentations.
With the show taking place a month after the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom release, they may want to promote this at a later date. Although Nintendo and Microsoft did attend the event digitally throughout COVID-19, it’s a shame to see them missing this year.
Over the years, E3 has dwindled in size but other conventions and showcases have risen to the occasion. Both The Game Awards and the Summer Game Fest have been a yearly event that has given game developers a place to showcase their latest releases.
Geoff Keighley, the host of both these shows spoke to The Verge last year. He discusses the fact that E3 may fit into the gaming landscape in recent years. “I don’t know what E3 is,” he said. “I think we got to define what E3 is before we can say if it’s competitive or not.”
The Summer Game Fest may save the day
Although this news has dampened the hype of upcoming game events, the Summer Game Fest did announce that they will be returning this year, a few days before E3 on June 8th.
Until then, we will hopefully see a Nintendo Direct this summer. This news is unwelcome for fans, journalists and game developers but hopefully this will mean the companies will find other ways to showcase their games in 2023.
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