Disney Interactive and Wargaming have announced that they will not have booths at E3 in June, GamesBeat reports. They join EA and Activision, which have already confirmed that they will not have booths at the show.
A spokesperson for Disney commented that the company will be hosting “additional direct to fan engagements through the summer this year.”
Critics have argued that booths at E3 are too expensive, with some costing millions of dollars. Speaking to GamesBeat, Rich Taylor of the ESA, the company that runs E3, said booths are often a big part of the reason why companies have major titles to share with fans and the decision to pull out is not due to streaming and so on.
“Individual companies will make their own decisions in each iteration of E3,” Taylor commented. “Overall, E3 for the past several years as been among the best shows we have ever experienced. E3 remains a dynamic and valuable and preeminent show of its kind in the world for video games, entertainment, and innovation. It’s still the place to be. We have a record number of press briefings this year in the ramp to opening the show. That’s an indicator that folks recognize how valuable a launch pad it is. Being a part of E3 adds rocket fuel to the attention and eyeballs and interest and visibility of new titles and hardware and innovations that our industry produces each and every year. E3 is a strong, critical, and integral part of our video game ecosystem.”
“It’s still the place to be. We have a record number of press briefings this year in the ramp to opening the show. That’s an indicator that folks recognize how valuable a launch pad it is. Being a part of E3 adds rocket fuel to the attention and eyeballs and interest and visibility of new titles and hardware and innovations that our industry produces each and every year. E3 is a strong, critical, and integral part of our video game ecosystem.”
52,000 people attended E3 last year and Taylor says the show is nowhere near as badly off as it was in 2007 and 2008 when attendance fell below 10,000.
EA will be hosting fan events in Los Angeles as well as London during E3.
What do you think about the state of E3 this year? Would you like to see it become a fan event like Europe’s gamescom?
