E3 2020 is going to “shake things up” with its new partnerships

What should have been a monumental year for the biggest name video game conventions, is instead proving to rather be a period of change for the once mighty E3. You all know the song and dance by now: An annual celebration of video games, E3 was essentially hype dialled up to 11 and saw scores of names from across the industry descend on the hellscape of Los Angeles to show off their wares for the year ahead and beyond.

For a while, it was good! The formula of going all out in the Los Angeles Convention Center and throwing all manner of interactive eye candy at attending press meant that the show dominated the news cycle for weeks on end. Sneak peeks, impressions and interviews made for an ocean of content that kept consumers in the loop and with livestreaming becoming more feasible people were able to sit down for a night of press conferences that brought E3 into their living rooms.

The last couple of years though, have seen some big changes hit E3, as regular partners have slowly realised that they don’t need the show to hype fans up. With attention spans being a finite resource during E3 week, the E3xodus that began with EA would eventually grow to see the likes of Microsoft and Sony ditch the showfloor and result in last year’s E3 being particularly barren.

This year, E3’s daddy the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) says that they’ll be reinvigorating the event with their new partnerships. “You’ll be happy to know that we’re not producing E3 2020 in a vacuum,” the ESA said in a statement.

For E3 2020, we’re collaborating with industry insiders and new creative partners, including the tastemakers at iam8bit.com, to reinvigorate the show and, frankly, to shake things up. E3 2020 will be a new and revitalized experience for everyone – the many exhibitors committed to the show, the members of the media who have supported us for so many years, and the fans and community that are the heart and soul of video games.

QUEUENTERTAINMENT! E3 shows of previous years always had a few merch stands to dig into, from overpriced coffee to an official store that stocked T-shirts with cheesy phrases so bad that you’d rip your own eyelids off from the strain of cringing, but the last couple of years have doubled down on turning a trade show into what the ESA hopes will be the Comic Con of video gaming.

Partnering with a shop and creative production agency further amplifies this message of E3 now being more of a carnival rather than a trade show to tune into and consume news regarding the production of upcoming games. Will it save a show that is quickly becoming more and more irrelevant in the grand scheme of things? That’s something that’ll be answered when E3 takes place from June 9 to June 11.

Last Updated: January 31, 2020