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You might have heard that this year's version of the Electronic Entertainment Expo,

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better known as E3, was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.

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And that's no surprise, given that major events around the globe have been scrapped for the same

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reason. But after the world pulls out of this crisis, the future of E3 may very much be in

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doubt for reasons that 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 the way to 1995, when the gaming industry decided that

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it was tired of being an afterthought at tech trade shows, and finally said,

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screw you, we'll make our own event with Blackjack and Hookers. Just kidding about that last part,

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but after game developers sat out on their own, E3 quickly developed into an important fixture

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for the industry. It became traditional for big ticket consoles and chart-busting AAA games

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to be unveiled at the event. And gamers everywhere were envious for years at the industry members

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who were able to attend, though it finally opened up to the general public in 2017.

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So with gaming 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 gaming platform in everyone's

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pocket, why would a trade show centered around video games be struggling? One reason has a lot

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to do with digital distribution and social media. Remember when you were a kid and playing games

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meant getting a shiny new console or a shrink-wrapped copy of a highly anticipated game on Christmas

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morning? Obviously dedicated consoles and physical media are still around, but companies can now get

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new games and updates out to gamers quickly. Think about how Apex Legends, which has become hugely

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popular, was revealed with a surprise announcement instead of a trade show event. And the rise of

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

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directly to consumers on their own schedules. Rather than waiting for an industry show,

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Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, they all now have their own virtual events focused on their products

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only. In fact, Sony didn't even bother showing up to the 2019 edition of E3 simply because it

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didn't feel a need to. And it wouldn't be surprising if other heavy hitters in the gaming

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industry followed suit in the future. What's the point in announcing a big-name console at an event

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with limited floor space when you're trying to compete with lots of other vendors for attention

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in eyeballs? Microsoft has 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, or LTX, which are more

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focused on gamers and 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 of E3's own

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has contributed to the show's decline. Jeff Keely, who was a broadcaster for E3's live streams and

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a fixture of the event, announced he would not be at the show prior to its cancellation. Instead,

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Keely announced that he'd be running his own Summer Game Fest, which could be seen as yet another

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competitor to E3. Now, E3 has responded by attempting to bring more interactivity to the show

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and make it a little less focused solely on the business side of the industry. But it's unclear

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if this will make an impact once the show returns in 2021. Though I wonder how much interactivity

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there will really be if we all have to stand six feet apart. Thanks for watching guys! If you

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liked this video, give it a thumbs up, hit subscribe, and be sure to hit us up in the comment section with your suggestions for topics we should cover in the future.