7 Biggest Reasons E3 Is Dying

6. The ESA Are Slowly Losing Their Minds

Another of the major reasons Sony could have turned their back on E3, is the insane price of being part of the showcase itself. Video Game Chronicle revealed back in February that the ESA (E3's owners, the Entertainment Software Association) were asking for six-figure sums to let studios be included.

This came after leaked emails at the close of 2019 showed the ESA were planning an overhaul of E3, to make it a "fan, media, and influencer festival", featuring a focus on "queuetainment" using apps while you wait, and “exclusive/appointment-only activations for select attendees who will create buzz and FOMO”.

The latter stands for "Fear Of Missing Out", and the former centres on manufacturing as much hype as possible. Celebrity guests were mentioned as E3 would apparently become more mainstream than ever, getting about as far away from a tech/video game-focused showcase as humanly possible.

This is the version of E3 that Sony were actively saying they don't agree with, and while 2020 put a spanner in the works, and 2021's all-digital version meant this plan was further delayed, it's clear even the ESA don't really "get" why E3 matters to gaming overall.