Nintendo has confirmed that it will not participate in E3 2023which will be face-to-face again after the cancellation of the 2020 and 2022 editions, and the holding of a completely virtual event in 2021. Without a doubt, a heavy blow for what used to be the largest meeting point in the video game industry, which seems to have lost its last great ally.
Let’s remember that the possible absence of Nintendo had already been rumored at the end of January, when it was said that the Japanese would skip the event along with Sony and Microsoft. Now, the ratification of the information by the Asians does nothing more than plunge the conference scheduled to be held next June into uncertainty.
“We approach our participation in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans. Since this year’s E3 did not fit into our plans, we have made the decision not to participate. However, we have been and continue to be strong supporters of ESA and E3,” Nintendo told The Verge.
Thus, E3 2023 loses one of its last great attractions. It is that, although what will happen to Sony and Microsoft has not yet been confirmed, everything indicates that they will continue on the same path. Those responsible for PlayStation stopped attending the event in 2019, so the link has been cut since before the pandemic. Whereas Xbox has also gotten by without major problems with its own events in recent years. It only remains to be seen if those from Redmond maintain some presence at the Los Angeles Convention Center through Activision Blizzard.
Indeed, the departure of Nintendo raises an increasingly complex scenario for event organizers. The Japanese have left the door open to continue to be associated with ESA, but no one can guarantee that they will return in 2024. As long as E3 survives this year, of course.
E3 2023 loses Nintendo
The absence of Nintendo does nothing but mark the E3 debacle, which in 2023 will surely face a vital challenge for its subsistence. It is true that some big publishers like Ubisoft and Konami have confirmed their participation, and it is expected to be with important announcements. However, if the three largest console manufacturers in the world are missing, the event loses much of its historical essence.
To all this must be added the increasing push of the events of Geoff Keighley. In fact, the Summer Game Festwhich has PlayStation and Xbox as two of its most important partners, will be held on June 8. That is, the week before E3 2023 begins, scheduled from June 13 to 16.
In fact, neither slow nor lazy, the organizer of the Game Awards took advantage of Nintendo’s announcement to mock the fair organized by ESA. In a tweetOn Twitter, Keighley shared that the company “won’t play any role in the potential E3 2023.”
The use of the word “potential” in the publication is still curious, almost opening the door for E3 2023 not even done. Does Geoff Keighley know something the rest don’t? Or is he pure trolling? It remains to be seen how this story continues, but, for now, the once largest video game event in the world once again shows that it is in its lowest hours.
