E3 is going to look a little different when it makes its return to an in-person event this year, with a noticeable lack of the big three video game hardware vendors likely to be a reality.
IGN has exclusively reported that none of the major three console manufacturers in PlayStation, Nintendo or Xbox will have a presence on the show floor at E3 2023 when it takes over the Los Angeles Convention Centre from June 13th to June 16th, according to “multiple knowledgeable sources.”
That means that fans and press attending the show this year likely won’t see the traditional Nintendo booth despite it coming just a month after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, nor anything on the floor from Xbox or PlayStation, both of whom have some fairly major titles releasing this year. Xbox will be holding its own events during the “Summer of Gaming” period, just not as part of the E3 festivities.
The Hype starts now. ?#E32023 will take place in person from June 13-16 in the Los Angeles Convention Center with separated business and consumer days and areas.
More details here: https://t.co/VJc1R7gvrB pic.twitter.com/cHiNgYHjok
— E3 (@E3) September 26, 2022
New organisers, ReedPop, provided the following statement to IGN:
“E3 is such a significant event for the game industry and being entrusted with an important cultural touchstone is not a responsibility ReedPop takes lightly. Since ReedPop took on the contract to run E3 six months ago, we’ve worked diligently with ESA members based on their feedback to create a new type of E3 that supports their goals and needs.
“This process has taken time due to the tremendous amount of stakeholders offering input, though we appreciate that we could have been more transparent to questions for which we were still finalizing the answers. We continue to work tirelessly to create a show that brings together the global gaming industry. We believe we’ve created a new format for the event that serves the needs of both the industry and its fans, and are committed to building and growing it in the coming years.
“As we spent much of 2022 refining how E3 2023 would take shape, reflecting on the feedback we solicited, we did not send a single contract to an exhibitor until the start of this month. We have received a tremendous amount of interest and verbal commitments from many of the biggest companies in the industry, and when we are ready to announce the exhibitors we are confident it will be a lineup that will make the trip to Los Angeles well worth it for the industry and consumers alike.”
