Do you remember where you were when Kennedy was assassinated? When the Challenger disintegrated? When the twin towers fell? Remember this day: news of the demise of the Electronic Entertainment Expo has reached the world.
The game industry’s major news website, Next-Generation revealed exclusive information about the demise of the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
On Friday, European trade paper MCV has noted that “the wildest rumours should be discounted, but MCV has had it confirmed today that serious discussions are taking place about the future shape and associated costs of E3.”
On Sunday, the 30th of July, 2006, Next-Generation’s Editor-in-Chief, Colin Campbell, revealed in two-hundred eighteen words the news, from senior industry sources, that “the E3 industry event, in its present form, has been cancelled for next year and the foreseeable future.”
E3, which began as a spin-off from the Consumer Electronics Show, was run by the ESA. According to Next-gen’s understanding, “the larger exhibitors have jointly decided that the costs of the event do not justify the returns, generally measured in media exposure.”
Next-gen’s well placed sources say the that larger exhibitors were pulling out, which prompted urgent meetings among publishing executives. They decided that, without the support of the larger software publishers and hardware manufacturers, there would be no point in continuing.
ESA president Doug Lowenstein is expected to make a statement on Monday. “It’s likely that the ESA will seek to limit the damage by organizing some form of lesser event in May, possibly even with the E3 brand, but this will be no more than a fig-leaf,” concludes Next-Gen’s Campbell. “The days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone.”
The industry implications of this news are far reaching, and the coming weeks will bring a good deal of reaction.
