WEBVTT

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you might have heard that this year's version of the electronic entertainment

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expo better known as e3 was cancelled

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due to the covet pandemic and that's no surprise given that major events around

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the globe have been scrapped for the same reason but after the world pulls

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out of this crisis the future of e3 may very much be in doubt for reasons that

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have nothing to do with the pandemic but why i mean e3 has been a big deal

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for a long time the show dates back all

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the way to 1995 when the gaming industry decided that it was tired of being an

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afterthought at tech trade shows and finally said screw you we'll make our

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own event with blackjack and hookers just kidding about that last part but

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after game developers set out on their own e3 quickly developed into an

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important fixture for the industry it became traditional for big-ticket

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consoles and chart-busting aaa games to be unveiled at the event and gamers

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everywhere were envious for years at the industry members who were able to attend

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though it finally opened up to the general public in 2017. so with gaming

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arguably a bigger force in our culture today than it's ever been in history

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with the rise of esports and a smartphone that doubles as a mobile

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gaming platform in everyone's pocket why would a trade show centered around

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video games be struggling one reason has

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a lot to do with digital distribution and social media remember when you're a

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kid and playing games meant getting a shiny new console or shrink-wrapped copy

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of a hotly-anticipated game on christmas morning

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obviously dedicated consoles and physical media are still around but

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companies can now get new games and updates out to gamers quickly think

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about how apex legends which has become hugely popular was revealed with a

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surprise announcement instead of a trade show event and the rise of social media

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has meant that developers can now get information about upcoming titles and

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hardware directly to consumers on their

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own schedules rather than waiting for an industry show nintendo sony microsoft

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they all now have their own virtual events focused on their products only in

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fact sony didn't even bother showing up to the 2019 edition of e3 simply because

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it didn't feel a need to and it wouldn't be surprising if other heavy hitters in

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the gaming industry followed suit in the future what's the point in announcing a

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big name console at an event with limited floor space when you're trying

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to compete with lots of other vendors for attention and eyeballs microsoft has

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already reflected this trend by announcing the xbox series x online

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instead of at a brick and mortar event then throw in the fact that e3 is facing

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increasingly stiff competition from other shows like gamescom or pax

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or ltx which are more focused on gamers and

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consumers than they are in industry insiders potentially making them more

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appealing to developers who immediately want to create buzz with fans even one

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of e3's own has contributed to the show's decline

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jeff keely who was a broadcaster for e3's live streams and a fixture of the

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event announced he would not be at the show prior to its cancellation instead

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keeley announced that he'd be running his own summer game fest which could be

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seen as yet another competitor to e3 now

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e3 has responded by attempting to bring more interactivity to the show and make

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it a little less focused solely on the business side of the industry but it's

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unclear if this will make an impact once the show returns in 2021 though i wonder

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how much interactivity there will really be if we all have to stand six feet

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subscribe and be sure to hit us up in the comments section with your suggestion for topics that we should

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cover in the future