It’s officially June, and we’re about to enter a set of weeks where gamers will have the time of their lives. Why? Because numerous gaming events are going on over the next two weeks that will highlight many titles that are coming out this year and next, and possibly even further into the future. However, one thing that won’t be coming out during this time of year is the Electronic Entertainment Expo. That’s because E3 is currently “dead,” and other things are taking its place. One of those things is the Summer Game Fest, which is being hosted once again by Geoff Keighley.
Keighley is a controversial gaming figure, depending on who you ask. He clearly loves video games and has been hosting gaming content for numerous years, even before he was a mainstream name. He’s also the host of The Game Awards, celebrating ten years on the air later this year.
But many feel that he’s someone who does things “his own way” in sometimes the worst way, and oftentimes sides with people he shouldn’t and dismisses certain issues that the gaming community has. Due to that reputation, many people wondered if his Summer Game Fest was part of why E3 met its doom and canceled its 2023 show despite being announced for months.
He was asked this on the VGC Podcast, and he had a rather blunt answer to give:
“I think E3 sort of killed itself in a way,” Keighley replied. “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. 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.”
He went on to note that once he got Summer Game Fest started, and E3 tried to bounce back, he never really “felt competition” from them, and repeated that he felt they weren’t evolving in the way that they needed to so that the gaming world could grow through them.
Whether you like Geoff Keighley or not, it’s hard to deny that many factors led to E3’s demise. Many felt it was slowly dying even before the pandemic, and so while it’s sad to see it die as it has, it’s unfair to solely blame Keighley for it.
