The Electronic Entertainment Expo video and PC game trade show, better known as E3, has had a tough timeline over the past few years. Now it looks like it will have to do without the official presence of the major game console makers. According to A report from IGNCiting unnamed sources, there will be no Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo booths at E3 2023 when it takes place June 13-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
So far none of the game console companies have confirmed or denied the report. If true, this would be a huge loss for E3 2023. This will be the first E3 since 2019 to have an in-person event. E3 2020 was completely canceled due to the threat of the CoVID-19 pandemic. E3 2021 was held as an all-virtual event, while E3 2022 was also canceled entirely.
In a statement to IGN, E3 organizers ReedPop, which runs the trade show on behalf of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), declined to comment on reports of the game console business pulling out of this year’s show. Did not comment. It said it had sent out invitations to the video game industry to attend the show beginning in January 2023 and had interest from several top game companies. The statement said it is confident that the final E3 2023 exhibitor list will “make the trip to Los Angeles worthwhile for industry and consumers alike.”
Sony previously decided not to attend the last E3 event in person in 2019, so the report would seem to confirm the company’s continued decision not to attend the show. The official lack of participation from Nintendo and especially Microsoft is all the more surprising since both companies have been huge supporters of the show in the past.
In a ___ A recent interview with IGN, Microsoft’s head of Xbox Phil Spencer confirmed that the company will hold an in-person games showcase event in Los Angeles around E3 2023. However, he refrained from saying that the company itself will be attending E3. He added that Microsoft is committed to the ESA trade organization and will work with the group “to help make E3 a success.”
There will be some competition at E3 this year. Summer Games FestivalWhat has been a virtual showcase of upcoming games for the past few years will hold its first physical event on June 8 at the YouTube Theater in LA. It’s possible that one or more console companies could exhibit at the event instead of waiting for E3 a few days later.
