On the VGC Podcast, Geoff Keighley offered up a very debatable commentary regarding the untimely ‘death’ of E3 – the ‘Electronic Entertainment Expo’ – that was unfortunately cancelled (perhaps forever) several weeks ago.
He was talking in response to the claims that he’d essentially been the final nail in the coffin for E3 with his own super-successful event, Summer Game Fest. In his words, he wasn’t directly responsible for the death of E3, but he believes it ‘sort of killed itself in a way.’
Geoff Didn’t Kill E3, He Says
Speaking on the popular VGC Podcast, Keighley explained at length his love for E3 and his relationship with the event that began way back in 1995.
As someone who loves that time of year… for two decades, E3 was part of my life since I was a 15-year-old kid. From the first E3 in 1995, I went to every show. I loved it and it defined my summer. It was so exciting to me, and it was heartbreaking to see that start to fall apart. I think they had a relevancy problem, and then they also had a participation problem over the final years.
He went on to suggest that what killed E3 was the lack of participation of publishers over the years, and he said that if Summer Game Fest hadn’t emerged, E3 would still have ‘splintered apart’.
In March, 2023’s edition of E3 was officially cancelled, following a string of publishers, developers, and operators dropping out of the event in quick succession. In 2020, E3 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, a digital event took place, but it didn’t really take off.
Related – Geoff Keighley Speaks About Summer Game Fest’s Lack of Diversity
In an attempt to clear his name (you know, of the murder), Keighley explained:
I think E3 sort of killed itself in a way. I understand why people say SGF killed E3, but I think if anything, we created Summer Game Fest, and I built Summer Game Fest because I saw the wheels falling off the wagon of E3.
On June 8th, Summer Game Fest will go live, this time being hosted in the YouTube Theatre, with fans attending live and in-person for the first time. It’ll be the place to be for showcases and new game reveals, so stay tuned to Insider Gaming to catch it all as it unravels.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of Street Fighter 6 reaching one million players in just three days.
