7 Biggest Reasons E3 Is Dying
1. Geoff Keighley
Make no mistake, Geoff Keighley - once a co-host of G4TV.com and freelance journalist turned media figurehead for The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest - is gunning for E3's crown.
Injecting more trailers and showpieces into The Game Awards shifted the spotlight away from E3 being the place where new reveals happen, and during the negativity that came from this year's event, Keighley tweeted that he "Did try to tell us" E3 wasn't going to be very satisfying.
I did try to tell you guys.
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) June 14, 2021
Both of these were calculated moves, and even before this tweet, Keighley shared that he'd been turned away from co-streaming E3 in an official capacity, stating he has "tried to play nice" but was now falling back on third-party studio deals to keep going.
Across the weekend both Geoff and the ESA had a small back n' forth, with an ESA rep telling Kotaku the decision "wasn't personal", and Keighley posting a meme of Mario stroking his chin.
All of this is to say that Geoff obviously sees an opening in making a more "fan-focused" video game show, especially in light of the various mistakes E3 has made across the last few years.
Although Geoff has certainly had his run-ins with over-sponsored set-pieces like the infamous "Doritos interview" of 2012, or 2019's Game Awards focusing on adverts over the games themselves, he continues to make more good decisions than bad, in a bid to inherit the Summer slot.
While the pricing side of what it costs to be part of Geoff's SGF stream is being kept under wraps, it's highly unlikely those figures are anywhere near the six digit number behind E3.
Right now, Geoff Keighley's approach to SGF seems to be "If you have something to show, show it. If not, don't be part of the showcase, or pay for a quick sponsored segment instead".
It avoids the laborious, dragged out third-party conferences that dog E3, and arguably fits better with the majority of studios' schedules, hence him netting Elden Ring, Death Stranding: Director's Cut and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands.