E3 isn't happening this year, so it's understandable that many think the event is finally coming to a close. And since Summer Game Fest appears to be taking its place alongside The Game Awards, many have pinned the blame on Geoff Keighley, but he believes that E3 was dying before he came onto the scene.

"I think E3 sort of killed itself in a way," Keighley said (thanks, VGC). "I understand why people say [SGF killed E3], but I think if anything... 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. 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."

Keighley argues that, had it not been for Summer Game Fest, that this coming event season would've "really splintered apart". We're already seeing that happen with Xbox and PlayStation choosing to host their own separate showcases rather than folding into a wider event, and without a central showcase like SGF, many other publishers would likely follow suit.

However, he claims that he didn't want to see E3 crumble, and actually had plans for both E3 and SGF to co-exist as they were chasing different audiences. E3 was more focused on being a trade and consumer event, which is "not what [Keighley was] doing with Summer Game Fest."

Keighley used to host the E3 Coliseum before starting his own event, SGF, in 2020 during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdowns, quarantines, and restrictions in place, in-person events like E3 would have to adapt or shut down, and as SGF was an online event streamed to people's homes, it was an immediate hit.

E3 tried to pivot to a similar model with an online-only show in 2021 but cancelled both its 2022 and 2023 shows, signifying what many believe to be the end of the event as we knew it. We'll have to wait and see what happens in 2024, but things are not looking good. By contrast, SGF is continuing with its fourth consecutive event on June 8, essentially having taken E3's place.

Posted: Jun 08, 2023 8:58 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/geoff-keighley-summer-game-fest-e3/