Is E3 video game show kaput? Sure looks like it

E3, short for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, used to be the premiere video game conference. But this year’s planned E3 show in Los Angeles, the first since 2019, already is missing some major exhibitors from years past.
IGN reported Jan. 30 that all three of gaming’s first-party console manufacturers plan to skip E3 2023. Microsoft’s Xbox, Nintendo and Sony will not have a presence on the Los Angeles Convention Center show floor. E3 2023 currently is scheduled to take place June 13-16.
E3 was struggling before the Covid pandemic caused the cancellation of the last three in-person shows. Sony pulled out of the 2019 show, joining publishers Activision and Electronic Arts in leaving the show.
Conflicts with the show’s owner, the Entertainment Software Association, and changing market dynamics have caused exhibitors to bail on E3.
The big game publishers get more bang for the buck by holding online events and their own game reveals. And the decline of retail sales and rise of online gaming and e-commerce have pushed E3 into obsolescence.
The conference website has little information. The homepage just says “E3 2023 Coming Soon!” But it does offer media registration and exhibitor info.
On Monday Feb. 6, I spoke with Strauss Zelnick, chief executive of game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software. He noted that the company is cutting back on spending, including events, citing a difficult macroeconomic climate.
As a follow-up question, I asked if Take-Two planned to participate in E3 this year. After a pause, he said no decisions on that have been made yet.
On Feb. 7, I spoke with David Cole, principal analyst for DFC Intelligence, a research firm focused on tracking digital entertainment.
“E3 is pretty much dead,” he said. Cole said vendors have more cost-effective ways to reach their audiences than an in-person show.
Meanwhile, Comic Con International: San Diego is likely to see a big influx of game properties, thanks to their adaptions into movies and TV series. Comic-Con is set to run July 20-23.
“The Last of Us” series on HBO Max, based on the Sony game property, has been renewed for a second season. Other Sony game franchises getting adapted into movies and TV series include “Gran Turismo,” “God of War” and “Twisted Metal.” They follow the 2022 movie “Uncharted.”
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” based on Nintendo’s long-running game series, opens in theaters on April 7.
Elsewhere, Netflix is making movies based on Ubisoft game “The Division,” Microsoft’s “Gears of War” and Take-Two’s “BioShock.”
Not to be outdone, Amazon Prime Video is planning TV series based on the game series “Fallout” and “Tomb Raider.”