022
The Big 10
STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKINGABOUT
10
IAN DEAN
EDITORJESS KINGHORN
STAFF WRITEROSCAR TAYLOR-KENT
GAMES EDITORMIRIAM MCDONALD
OPERATIONS EDITORWhat next for videogame show
E3 now it’s been cancelled?
E3’S ORGANISERS
SHOULD SEE THIS
AS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO GET BACK TO
THE SHOW’S ROOTS.Thankfully I’m old enough
to remember E3 when it
was less well-organised
and developers with far
less media savvy than
today’s pros were let
loose on the public. The
days of comedian Jamie
Kennedy’s slurred
confusion and poorly
judged jokes, that PS3
reveal, and every Konami
press conference (ever)
have already been
massaged out of the
show. I miss the
craziness of E3, so
maybe it needs to take a
year off and come back
stronger. E3 needs to get
back to being looser and
more fun, to allow devs
to let their personalities
shine at a pool party or
two. E3, find your smile. QTHERE’S NO LOVE
LOST BETWEEN ME
AND THE ESA, BUT
WHAT ABOUT THE
LITTLE GUY?I’ve never been one to
bang the drum for E3 in
the way I saw a lot of
people do through the
’90s and noughties.
However, having
experienced my first E3
last year with usually
far-flung friends from
throughout the industry,
I can’t say that I won’t
miss that week’s sense
of community. But more
importantly, you’ve got to
spare a thought for the
smaller devs who were
previously relying on the
opportunity to get their
game out there. As the
bigger publishers explore
a more, ahem, ‘direct’
digital approach, we need
to ask ourselves how we
can uplift smaller teams
without events like E3. QMUCH OF E3 WAS
ALREADY DIGITAL.
IT’S TIME TO TRY
LEANING MORE IN
THAT DIRECTION.While the cancellation of
the show itself puts a
spanner in the works for
people planning to attend,
for many years the notion
of physically being
present at an E3 was a
fantasy for me anyway.
Instead, it meant hours of
programming to watch
on my TV, with tortilla
chips and lashings of
orange Fanta. This is one
aspect of the show could,
and probably should,
carry on. We’ll miss
Keanu Reeves-style
‘breathtaking’ audience
interactions, but a crowd
isn’t necessary to enjoy
watching developers
show trailers and talk
about their games. And
hey, how about demos for
us to play at home too? QCOULD IT BE TIME
FOR A RANGE OF
SHOWS INSTEAD OF
JUST ONE BIG ONE?Allowing the general
public into E3 was a big
decision, and it had a
massive effect on the
ability of people to
actually work there – in
the first year, lots of
reporters missed
appointments because it
took so long to fight
through the crowds. It’s
no longer the best way
for developers to show
off their games. That
said, having all the world’s
press and influencers in
one place can be useful
for a publisher. It’d be
great to see a smaller,
more compact show, with
less glitz and more time
for reporters to go
hands-on with the games
and talk to developers,
maybe run in parallel with
a consumer show. Qjust one more question...
the team debate this month’s burning issue
E3 SHUTS DOWN
Due to the coronavirus outbreak
E3’s organisers cancelled this
year’s show. Sony wasn’t attending
anyway, but what does this mean
for publishers set to reveal their
PS5 games? We discuss...