7 Biggest Reasons E3 Is Dying

4. People ONLY Want The Games

Breath of the Wild 2
Nintendo

Where in decades gone by, the awkward PR-laden speak of E3 was just part of the show; something that maybe made its way into a cringe compilation afterwards, now it's become "the thing that's getting in the way of what you came to see".

Gaming audiences are more focused and passionate than ever, and as the best streams of 2021's E3 proved - Nintendo and Xbox - the balance for these showcases is minimal humans, maximum video games.

Nintendo's Direct was a lean 40 minutes, rattling through scores of announcements, DLC and brand-new games alike, whilst noting extended gameplay would be covered in their "Treehouse" stream afterwards.

It's no surprise both of these approaches went down the best. While Xbox still took some time out for developers to describe how "innovative" their games were going to be, and Nintendo showed off specific moves for Tekken's Kazuya now added to Super Smash Bros., both were far more worth your time than the pacing of every third-party stream except Devolver Digital.

While the "Superbowl of video games" stature of E3 can be a blast, across the last few years any seasoned gamer knows what the show needs to deliver, and all the fluff alongside often feels like filler.

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Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.