Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will not be attending the first physical E3 in four years, choosing to avoid the LA convention in favour of their own events.
E3 2023 will take place this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center in June, however organisers ReedPop have failed to lock in the so-called “big three”, according to IGN, who cites “multiple knowledgeable sources”.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer confirmed it will hold its own event at the same time as E3.
“E3 is just, to me, one of the seminal moments of gaming,” Spencer told IGN.
“I love the history of going down to LA, thousands of people there, getting to see great new things…getting to see people in the industry, the fan events that we’ve had. I definitely want that to continue.
“Xbox is on the board of the ESA [Entertainment Software Association], and I think a successful and healthy ESA is critical to what we’re trying to go do. So we place our showcase, like we always have done, at a time where hopefully it’s convenient for press and even consumers that are going to the E3 event, and that’s what we’re trying to do now.
“We will continue to work with ESA in terms of their plans. As I said, we’re on the board, and we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to help make the E3 successful.”
Sony fell out with the Entertainment Software Association in 2019, and won’t be showcasing PlayStation products at the event. Likewise, Nintendo will favour its own ‘Direct’ showcase of games over E3.
ReedPop, organisers of E3, issued a comment that wasn’t exactly a denial that gaming’s three biggest players would be absent.
“E3 is such a significant event for the game industry and being entrusted with an important cultural touchstone is not a responsibility ReedPop takes lightly. Since ReedPop took on the contract to run E3 six months ago, we’ve worked diligently with ESA members based on their feedback to create a new type of E3 that supports their goals and needs.
“This process has taken time due to the tremendous amount of stakeholders offering input, though we appreciate that we could have been more transparent to questions for which we were still finalising the answers. We continue to work tirelessly to create a show that brings together the global gaming industry. We believe we’ve created a new format for the event that serves the needs of both the industry and its fans, and are committed to building and growing it in the coming years.
“As we spent much of 2022 refining how E3 2023 would take shape, reflecting on the feedback we solicited, we did not send a single contract to an exhibitor until the start of this month.
“We have received a tremendous amount of interest and verbal commitments from many of the biggest companies in the industry, and when we are ready to announce the exhibitors we are confident it will be a lineup that will make the trip to Los Angeles well worth it for the industry and consumers alike.”
