Samantha Gervais
Assistant Opinions Editor
E3 is known for being one of the largest gaming conventions and heavily anticipated among gamers. Many gamers looked forward to hearing from multiple gaming developers to hear about new releases and really anything about the gaming community.
I’m really no expert when it comes to anything E3 related, but I do have my own thoughts on the convention shutting its doors, so to speak. There has been rumor that this is it for E3, officially; it will never open again and that they’re going digital. This means there won’t be anymore in person E3 conventions for people or the gaming developers to go to moving forward. In hindsight, I feel that this move is a mistake.
For people who attend these conventions, there are a multitude of things that draw them to the physical convention. Traveling, for one. Who doesn’t like to travel and explore new places? Two, where there are gamers, there are now bound to be cosplayers. Cosplayers have taken the gaming community by storm and with their tremendous armor builds and dedication to their craft, they become incredible and sensational mascots for the gaming companies. Some companies are going as far as hiring these cosplayers to represent a specific character from a game or an upcoming game that would be announced.
As E3 began to dwindle, some big names began to drop from the event, which inevitably seemed to be the event’s downfall. This list included Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, some of the biggest gaming companies right now since they make the top three gaming consoles: Xbox Series X, Playstation 5 and the Nintendo Switch.
To say the convention may never happen again seems to be a lingering question, though there have been rumors that the event will go strictly virtual. But what’s the purpose of this?
Understandably, being able to “attend” an event from the comfort of your own home is incredibly comforting and convenient. However, that never stopped the in person conventions from streaming it beforehand to the millions of people who wouldn’t be able to make it to specific panels for specific releases.
Maybe it’s the inner traveler in me and I like to keep things old fashioned. I firmly believe that canceling E3 this year, even if it was the right decision, has already been made. Canceling it going forward however, I think sounds like a drastic decision. Granted, I know the baseline of E3 through a great deal of my friend’s and have gotten so much basic news. I also know people who have been hired to cosplay for large events such as Blizzcon pre scandals and other gaming events, and canceling an event like this that was meant to be in person creates a big blow.
It’s unfortunate the convention was canceled this year, but here is to being hopeful next year we can salvage the future of E3. Keep gaming, gamers.