E3 2021: Everything we know about the all-digital gaming convention
Finally, the wait is over – E3 expo has announced that they’ll be returning to our small screens by mid-2021! The E3 event is back, well, sort of. They’re kick starting their annual gaming expo with a four-day video stream including all your favorite exhibitors like Nintendo, Xbox and more!
Thanks to COVID-19, the E3 2020 three-day event, in Los Angeles, was canceled for the expo’s “fans, employees, exhibitors, and longtime E3 partners” health & safety. Since then, we’ve seen many tech expos like CES have found ways to share their products in a safe & easy way.
What are E3 events?
If you were part of the 66,100 thousand gamers that attended the Los Angeles Convention Center for the E3 2019 expo, then you’ll know that this annual event (except 2020), has been around for twenty years and is bigger than any tech expo you’ll find. In fact, the E3 was the platform used to showcase gaming consoles like the PlayStation 4!
E3 is “the world’s premier event for computer and videogames and related products” operated by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) who acts as a mediator between gamers & developers. They not only provide a space for innovators, creators, publishers and business leaders, but they provide a place for gaming culture.
The talk for the E3 event to become a virtual expo has been in the works for quite some time – back in February, ESA stated: “We can confirm that we are transforming the E3 experience for 2021 and will soon share exact details on how we’re bringing the global video game community together.”
Now, by promoting E3 through a digital platform, gamers from across the world will be able to share a greater digital experience instead of their usual limited locations. Here’s what we can expect.
E3 2021
According to BBC News, gaming developers like Nintendo, Xbox, Konami, Ubisoft, Capcom, Warner Bros. Games, Take-Two Interactive, and Koch Media are ready for the virtual expo, however, EA, Activision, and Sony won’t be participating nor showcasing any new games.
On the other hand E3’s collaborator Geoff Kieghley won’t be working with the developers this year as he quit the expo in 2020 over a disagreement, as Video Games Chronicle reported. Luckily, the show’s former collaborator sent a message to confirm that the show will continue, but he’s currently focusing on his own online event that he started last year – the Summer Game Fest.
Though the ESA hasn’t given us any sneak peeks to what we can expect, we know that there won’t be any VIP packages or paywall features available, alongside a few demos that will definitely be sent on consumer platforms. E3 2021 will provide these demos over approximately “thousands” of meetings with some assistance from a number of game developers.
“Evolving” E3 2021
It’s to be noted that E3 2012 has been under a lot of pressure from big publishers like EA & Ubisoft due to creating their own highly successful digital events in recent years. Unfortunately, Video Games Chronicle reported the E3 event still desperately needs “the approval of ESA’s membership, which is made of the industry’s biggest game companies” as these massive corporations actually have an enormous influence on the outcome of the show.
The ESA announced: “For more than two decades, E3 has been the premier venue to showcase the best that the video game industry has to offer, while uniting the world through games.”
“We are evolving this year’s E3 into a more inclusive event, but will still look to excite the fans with major reveals and insider opportunities that make this event the indispensable centre stage for video games”, the association stated.
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Are you going to attend the E3 Expo? Which developers are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments below.
