The summer months have long been the time for gaming's biggest publishers to strut their stuff in public, but with E3 basically dead and buried, things aren't what they used to be. Over the last couple of years, we've seen third party publishers like Square Enix and Capcom host their own events — and it's fair to say that some have left a lot to be desired.
But this year could be a lot different. According to gaming hype master Geoff Keighley (as reported by VGC), third parties will probably be looking to peddle their wares at bigger shows. Keighley suggests that events like his own Summer Game Fest will be more appealing to publishers whose plans may have been impacted by the pandemic.
Keighley also says what we've all been thinking — that it's really difficult for individual publishers to put on engaging showcases when they only have their own catalogue to draw from. "There were a lot of shows last year where everyone was disappointed when they weren’t really press conferences, right? Like Take-Two, Capcom, Square Enix and things like that," he explains.
"I think [they] have learned that if you’re going to do a press conference, you kind of need to have 30 minutes-plus of stuff, and sometimes they only have one or two great games to show, which may not be enough to do a full event around,” Keighly continues.
And it's true, isn't it? We've witnessed numerous events in recent years that have bordered on being pointless with regards to meaningful announcements. Of course, this has us wondering about Sony's rumoured showcase, which could apparently happen in June. Something like that would be the perfect place for third party publishers to turn up.
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 17
Probably a good thing, to be honest. Individual publisher shows have generally been dire over the last few years. Much better off putting their games in bigger events.
Can’t be the only one watching this website exclusively for PS Plus news… right?
Not surprised by this news, one big event will always pack more punch for developers.
Over the years the only half decent publisher event was a Square Enix one which if I remember correctly was literally just a digital presentation but on a stage. Glad I will never see an EA, Ubisoft or Bethesda showcase again, I don't need to see presentations where they hire people to scream in a crowd over a new skin or free "dlc" being announced, looking at you Bethesda. Devolver has funny skits though, so I hope they do something again this year, they're the only ones who understand how to do it right, TBH most publishers don't ever have enough content to even consider having a showcase unless you're Square Enix. I know many of Square's games this year have been hit or miss but they just keep pumping out release after release.
Square really needed help anyway in how to run a presentation. Last year they literally neglected to mention titles like Neo: TWEWY which was releasing the same week - and then they wonder why those titles don't sell
Tbf this is a great idea. Some of the publisher press conferences were full of nothing but filler and maybe 1 big game announcement. Last year Konami pulled out because the games weren't ready to show, but other publishers just push through whether or not the have anything to show and it results in a below par showing
I'll never miss the kicking off of E3 with the regularly dire EA presentations. Amalgamating the publishers into fewer showcases is win win. The games will reach a larger audience as people (myself included) are more inclined to watch the "big" showcases and catch up with the small ones afterwards on sites like this.
Looking back to E3 2021 I felt the Nintendo Direct was absolutely fantastic, Xbox Showcase was ok and most of the 3rd party ones were bad. If this summer Nintendo does have a Direct and Sony does have a Showcase, sharing the 3rd party reveals between the big 4 events (Nintendo Direct, Playstation Showcase, Xbox Showcase, Summer Game Fest) would probably work out well.
Logically even without the Pandemic there’s going to be less games released per year in the future. Higher grade graphics, longer development, higher budgets, means that there will be less games which means there won’t be publishers touting 7-10 games a year any more unless you’re Nintendo or a large indie developer. So it makes sense to consolidate these presentations.
So he's hinting at some bigger reveals for his own show maybe?
For as much grief that is piled on Sony for its recent lack of communication, at least they track towards following through on what they show. I think the longest lead item they’ve shown recently is Wolverine. 2023? Probably 2024.
Still, it beats the heck out of the CGI fest that Microsoft heaped on everyone. I thin Forza and Halo are the only two games from that to actually release, with nothing else slated until 2023 at the earliest, and even Halo is incomplete with issues.
https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2022-halo-infinites-season-2-patch-fixes-long-standing-animation-bugs-adds-new-graphics-modes
I'm not cool with an end to June showcases, but I'm totally fine if they get rolled into one big show....kind of like.....E3 used to be.... As long as the big 3 participate again we'll be in good shape. Individual publisher shows were always just filler while we waited for the big 3 even back in the day.
Except Ubisoft. Life won't be the same if we no longer get a dancing panda and cringe-meme hosts presenting actors pretending to be players engaged in srs bsns.
@MrGawain I thought so at first, but with all the cool stuff 1-5 people teams are showing on the ue5 engine that takes them a couple of months makes me think that it makes the dev process more streamlined so we might see more games pop up. Especially now they own studios like megascans.
He’s an extremely biased source on this matter since he has his own gig. I don’t disagree with it but still.
im okay with this but sucking up to activision is kinda scummy
@NEStalgia crazy how it took 2 years for E3 to totally collapse and be taken over.
@Grumblevolcano @pip_muzz @Batesy125s @ShogunRok Agreed, last year's 3rd party events were downright terrible and embarrassing. We'll be better off with less events that show off more games.
I don’t miss E3 marathon really. It lost it’s meaning already many years ago when only the pre E3 presentations were reported and the show floor and side announcements and demos was not only completely ignored but criticised for not being included in a presentation. Useful announcements were criticised because a few minutes before presentation 🤯
The important is the real information and not smoke and mirror in an entertaining tv show where the reporting focuses on the ‘pacing’.
Also lack of sleep for days to keep up wasn’t healthy.
And then all the press was concerned about was ‘who is going to win E3’, ‘who is winning E3’, ‘who won E3’ defining E3 in their own terms (a short presentation) and have so many clickbait to relish.
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