E3 this year was a massive disappointment to many; in terms of new games and announcements, I had a difficult time putting this post-mortem together. A lot of this comes down to circumstance. The difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit the gaming industry hard; developers working from home, severe financial losses and the lack of momentum for the ninth generation of consoles have caused severe damage.
As arguably the biggest event in gaming, the Electronic Gaming Expo appears to be on its way out. Companies are either ditching the large press conferences entirely or completely pulling out of the show. A lot of this comes down to the Entertainment Software Association and its controversial moves towards reorganisation both on and off the show floor. External events have also been providing further competition.
Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest, launched last year when E3 was cancelled, has proven to be a broader and more engaging style of presentation. It casts off the barriers of corporate competition and focuses on delivering as many different releases as possible. Keighley is clearly very passionate about what he does and between this and the annual game awards, his events are grouping together for the wider community.
To reflect the slim pickings of the 2021 show, my personal awards have also been scaled back considerably...
Most Improved Of The Big Companies: Microsoft
Least Progressive Of The Big Companies: Square Enix
Most Disappointing: Starfield’s basic showing
Most Awkward Moment: The many skits put on for the PC Gaming Show
Missing In Action: Metroid Prime 4, Bayonetta 3, Beyond Good and Evil 2, Skull And Bones and many, many others
Game of the Show: Halo Infinite
So there you have it, my shortest summary for E3 by a mile. Will the show return to its former glory or will we settle for other community focused events? Looks like we’ll have to wait and find out.
Comments