We’re in one hell of a position now, aren’t we? A few days ago, we reported E3 was not canceled, and while that was true for the time, it was about to change very quickly. Only twelve hours after writing the article, and a handful following publication, the official E3 site run by the ESA announced to the world, that the gaming convention was canceled. In the days since we’ve been collecting all that has been reported to be taking place instead. This is the time to pick up the pieces and move on with what we have left, figuring out what we can do with those pieces.

Well, the first one to make the big splash each year is Microsoft; Yes, on “day zero” EA tends to open with their shareholder meeting of sports and Star Wars. However, like most who like games and not thinly veiled casinos, I don’t care for sports all that much. I’ll be honest, I don’t care for a lot that Microsoft would have to show either: I’m not a fan of Halo, Gears of War, or other first-party titles. However I do care that they showed 60 different things last year in two and a half hours. The thing I hate about the Microsoft showcase for the last few years has been the director not knowing how to shoot the event, no one likes the crowd.

With the grievances out the way, Microsoft is planning on still doing a show, though without the useless crowd shouting “you’re breathtaking!” at the star of John Wick Hex. As announced by Phil Spencer the day following the E3 cancellation, the team over at Xbox will be doing a digital event in place of their usual conference. The details, of course, aren’t available at this time. With Microsoft being one of the developers letting their staff work from home, teams will be skype-ing and hashing this out. Don’t expect anything solid to be announced within the next week or two.

E3 has always been an important moment for Team Xbox. Given this decision, this year we'll celebrate the next generation of gaming with the @Xbox community and all who love to play via an Xbox digital event. Details on timing and more in the coming weeks https://t.co/xckMKBPf9h

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 11, 2020

I want to say this could mean a better show than before, however, digital events aren’t always the same with every company. Nintendo was the first major console provider to do their own digital events away from E3, some are great and some not so much. Recently Sony has been doing its own State of Play events, many of which aren’t close to Nintendo’s worst Directs, at least the ones that come to memory. If Xbox can continue with their metric ton of games shown, keep the standing about and talking low, and not stand about too long on one topic, this could be good.

Next up would be Ubisoft‘s conference, as they too announced the day of the cancellation that they have plans to cover themselves. Ubisoft is a little behind, at least in terms of what they are looking to do. With Phil Spencer’s announcement it sounds like the digital event will be a Livestream of some pre-recorded bits. Ubisoft might do as Square Enix and Nintendo have done during E3, and stream some highly produced stage show with pre-recorded bits, presenters doing live demos, and developers talking.

I may very well be talking from the point of someone covering the events, however, this sounds like a nightmare. The Sony State of Play, Nintendo’s Direct, or Microsoft’s Indirect might be shorter and not feature direct quotes from men who get sexually aroused by a perfect line of code, but should be easier to digest. I’m not talking just for a possible write up posthaste, but rather as a viewer too. Most of us, whether we’re shut indoors or not, don’t have the time to watch several hour broadcasts with work experience presenters.

An update regarding E3 2020. pic.twitter.com/cThkDIkfVm

— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) March 11, 2020

Meanwhile, Kotaku’s Jason Schreier notes of what was possibly going to be Warner Bros’ first showcase displaying the rumored Harry Potter game and whatever Rocksteady has up its sleeves. Nothing conclusive has been revealed of their further plans following the event’s cancellation, though one might assume some trailers could crop up instead. Given their own event might not be the best thing to do, Warner could shop their announcements out to Sony and Microsoft’s console reveal events.

One event I’m sure some would have died in the cancellation of E3 was the PC Gaming Showcase. Yes, 2015 left like I was Matt Smith in “The Time of the Doctor,” nevertheless, the shows have grown to be something moderately enjoyable. I still don’t care for Sean Plott’s bad Jimmy Fallon impression with a dully produced late-night segment, but the show has found its legs, no matter how wobbly they are. Following the announcement of the E3 cancellation, PC Gamer’s editor-in-chief announced the plan to follow in Microsoft and Ubisoft’s lead with a digital showcase.

I’ve referred to it before, but this is the last resort to keep the event feeling around announcements and industry buzz. It is by far not the best-case scenario, as outside of the front of house showcases, many industry professionals go to E3 to make deals. Representatives for stores in years gone by would make exclusivity deals, all of which have fallen flat in recent years as it’s only prudent to consoles. Even then, selling a console in a single branded store is reductive to the goal of selling consoles. Those deals could and would still go ahead, just not behind the conference room doors of the L,A Convention Center.

All that’s left to cover is the future of the convention and what happens next, we don’t know if publishers (big and small) will find the same success with online presentations. The biggest reason EA joins in, among others, with E3 is how many people watch the event. Not everyone will watch every minute of every showcase, but it is the group event either online or in LA that brings a large number of gamers together. We might not like it all, but we do care to see what Ubisoft’s next open-world sandbox is. We also look forward to Sony’s next pretty shooter, Microsoft’s paint by numbers brown shooter, and the occasional fun indie thing on the big stage.

It is a scary time, not for gaming or the future of E3, but for those that are vulnerable to this Covid-19 disease. I wouldn’t normally do this P.S.A type paragraph at the end, but for the future of these events we as a collective need to grow immunity to this. That’s something we can only do by washing our hands, disinfecting surfaces, not panic buying anything, and in general trying to protect each other. If you are in the US, follow the CDC’s guidance, or if you’re elsewhere follow the equivalent for advice. The ESA does plan to continue E3 in 2021, and until then we’ll see what publishers bring with their digital events.

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