You think E3 press conferences, and you think the big brands. Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft and EA. For years, the big four of E3 ruled the roost with a gauntlet of events that’d leave you breathless by the time they ended, usually being held on the same day. Also if you want to know why anyone attending those events in the flesh were always hyped for Sony at the end of the day, it’s because they’d roll out a few dozen food trucks and allow us to stuff our gobs with free chicken and waffles. That’s the real dirty truth of E3 bias right there.
Times changed, and while E3 would still have a regular presence from the biggest brands in the industry, smaller satellite events began to pop up as well. Bethesda would host their own annual shindig, Square Enix got in on the act and Nintendo’s Direct livestreams were pure humble pie with the best filling possible.
With no E3 this year, the prime eyeball real estate of June is up for grabs. Everyone’s at home, most of the world has an internet connection and nothing better to do. Which means that the anvil for attention is ready for some of that iron-striking action to get people hyped for what’s still to come. PC Gamer and GamesRadar will be hosting their own events come early June, with PC Gamer promising a “showcase of new games, never-before-seen gameplay footage, and announcements from some of PC gaming’s biggest and most interesting developers,” on June 6.
This year’s event will build on the PC Gaming Show’s strong performance in 2019, when it outperformed presentations by Nintendo and EA during E3. As gaming services and livestreaming platforms register all-time audience records, more attention than ever will be on annual press-conference-style presentations. Viewers of this year’s show can expect more announcements, news and trailers in a familiar format. Details about participants and timing will follow shortly.
Intel, Epic Games Store, Tripwire Interactive, Frontier, Merge, Humble Bundle, Guerrilla Collective and Perfect World are among the partners who make this annual showcase possible.
As for GamesRadar, they’ve got a nebulous early June date for their show, which they say will feature “an hour-long broadcast containing exclusive trailers, announcements, and deep dives on existing AAA and indie games, focusing on current (and next-gen) consoles, mobile and streaming platforms”. GamesRadar is also actively scouting for content to show off, so now might be the time for you to grab 15 seconds of fame.
And so it begins! IGN is also hosting their own E3 replacement in the form of a dedicated show, Geoff Keighley will be a part of Steam’s own Summer event and other industry players have promised something soon on the news front. Basically, you’re going to need a keg of coffee for June.
Last Updated: April 27, 2020
Seeker
April 27, 2020 at 12:31
Too many events at around the same time. Surely most of the content will overlap.
This is starting to seem like how companies are quickly releasing Netflix alternatives.