Recent reports have revealed that Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, and Nintendo will not be attending the E3 2023 event.
This information was published by IGN and VGC. If you are interested in events in the video game industry, you can check out our other articles here.
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PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo not attending E3 2023?
IGN and VGC reported that Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, and Nintendo will not be part of E3 2023 or present on the Los Angeles Convention Center exhibition floor.
Although Microsoft recently confirmed that it will “return to Los Angeles for our annual expo this summer 2023”, it did not clarify whether it will be part of E3 2023.
Speaking with IGN, Phil Spencer said that they have timed the expo at a time that is “right for the press and even consumers”. This suggests that the expo will be held around the same time as E3 2023.
Nonetheless, VGC added that discussions are ongoing with Microsoft and they could have a business and media presence similar to Gamescom 2022.
VGC understands that Microsoft’s plans are complicated against the backdrop of recent significant layoffs across the company, alongside marketing budget cuts.
Sony Interactive Entertainment, they haven’t participated in E3 since E3 2018.
For Nintendo, VGC reported from their own sources that Nintendo feels it has fewer major titles than usual for E3 2023.
E3 2023 will take place from June 13 – 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
How did ReedPop respond?
E3 2023 organizer ReedPop told IGN and VGC that they have received “tremendous interest” from many of the “biggest companies in the industry” and that they are confident in the event’s lineup.
E3 is a very important event for the gaming industry and being entrusted with such an important cultural touchstone is not a responsibility ReedPop takes lightly. Since ReedPop received the contract to run E3 six months ago, we have been working hard with ESA members based on their feedback to create a new kind of E3 that supports their goals and needs.
This process was time-consuming due to the large number of stakeholders who provided input, although we appreciate that we were able to be more transparent on questions whose answers are still being finalized. We continue to work tirelessly to create an event that brings the global gaming industry together. We believe that we have created a new format for this event that meets the needs of the industry and its fans, and are committed to building and evolving it in the years to come.
As we spent most of 2022 perfecting the shape of E3 2023, reflecting on the feedback we got, we didn’t send out a single contract to exhibitors until earlier this month. We’ve received a tremendous amount of interest and verbal commitments from many of the biggest companies in the industry, and when we’re ready to announce exhibitors, we’re confident it will be a lineup that will make the trip to Los Angeles extremely worthwhile for both the industry and consumers.
ReedPop, Organizer of E3 2023
Internal Problems at ESA and ReedPop?
According to IGN, there has been “ongoing frustration” with ESA over the past 3 years and it has “severely mishandled the E3 brand over the past three years”.
They corroborated other IGN sources by saying that several key E3 organizers had left ESA, “leaving a new group to take over”, and criticized ReedPop’s handling of the event.
IGN claims that ReedPop started contacting publishers about E3 in the fall and promised to reserve a spot in December 2022. But with less than six months to go before E3, IGN’s sources say that there is “a lot of missing information”.
It seems like they would be the perfect shepherds for an event like E3. So, who knows where the problem lies: Is it an ESA problem? Is it a ReedPop problem? But there seems to be a lot of genuine interest from game publishers in the E3 concept, but it’s frustrating that we don’t have a good solution.
With little clarity on whether E3 will represent a good return on investment, and the tech space more uncertain than ever, many publishers seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach to E3 2023, at least for now.
IGN Sources
“The flow of information is not very good. I guess no one wants to be the first one there?” one source told IGN.
According to IGN, there is still no good understanding of what this event will look like or how it will be put together. However, VGC says that there should still be a significant presence from video game companies.
