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E3 2020 Officially Canceled Due to Coronavirus

Christopher D. Anderson 1 Comment
E3 2020

As with many events recently, the ESA has announced the cancellation of E3 2020. Concerns of the COVID-19 virus have been growing all week and many scheduled events have been canceled and/or postponed. Not too long ago GDC was postponed as well. So for the first time since its inception in 95, we won’t be getting an E3. Which is a pretty big bummer for many people, both fans and developers alike. The decision wasn’t made lightly and the safety of everyone involved was their main concern.

After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors, and our longtime E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles.

Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today.

All is not lost though. The ESA might be able to still bring E3 to the community, albeit in a different format. They are looking into ways to make E3 announcements through some sort of online experience. Whether that’s something like a Nintendo Direct or State of Play remains to be announced at a later date. Other companies have already jumped onto that ship as well. With both Ubisoft and Microsoft (among others) announcing a showcase of their own.

If there was any kind of silver lining to this situation, it’s that this might just give the ESA a chance to start evolving E3. Companies have been straying away from the big show for a while now, with Sony backing out entirely this year. Industry veteran Geoff Keighley also backed out of the event for the first time. E3 has been a flagship event for gamers and developers for a long time but the ESA has been a bit resistant to changing with the times.  This could be their chance to start anew.

Either way, this cancellation should help keep more people safe. It’s definitely been an interesting year so far. Hopefully this doesn’t delay anything else, such as the launch of the PlayStation 5. Speaking of which, Sony has been awfully quiet lately.

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Sony Skips E3 2020 Citing It Isn’t The “Right Venue”

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
E3 skipped by Sony

It seems Sony is skipping E3 for the second year in a row. The decision to skip comes down to how Sony feels about the event’s vision. Simply put, while they say they have respect for ESA, the event organizer, as a company, they don’t feel E3 2020 is the “right venue” for any major reveals they could be cooking up.

“After thorough evaluation SIE has decided not to participate in E3 2020. We have great respect for the ESA as an organization, but we do not feel the vision of E3 2020 is the right venue for what we are focused on this year.”

The PlayStation spokesperson went on to explain they’ll be going to “hundreds” of events to make fans feel like family. They also assured fans that there are a ton more PS4 titles coming soon.

“We will build upon our global events strategy in 2020 by participating in hundreds of consumer events across the globe. Our focus is on making sure fans feel part of the PlayStation family and have access to play their favorite content. We have a fantastic line up of titles coming to PlayStation 4, and with the upcoming launch of PlayStation 5, we are truly looking forward to a year of celebration with our fans.”

E3 Is A Signature Event

As a response to this, ESA issued a statement, claiming it to be a “signature event” for the gaming industry.

“E3 is a signature event celebrating the video game industry and showcasing the people, brands and innovations redefining entertainment loved by billions of people around the world. E3 2020 will be an exciting, high-energy show featuring new experiences, partners, exhibitor spaces, activations, and programming that will entertain new and veteran attendees alike. Exhibitor interest in our new activations is gaining the attention of brands that view E3 as a key opportunity to connect with video game fans worldwide.”

E3 has been a mainstay event for PlayStation up until last year. They have always used the event as a means to reveal future plans ever since the very first E3 in 1995 when they announced the original PlayStation‘s price and release date.

It’s unclear what they’re plans are in the future and if this means 2018’s E3 will be Sony’s last. E3 2020 will kick off June 9 and end on the 11.

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ESA: 45% Of All Gamers Are Female

Ben-Dutka 21 Comments

The female contingent of avid gamers continues to grow.

According to a new report from The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), we find that nearly half of all gamers – about 45% – are female. This was part of the 2013 Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry, as conducted by Ipsos MediaCT . The poll in question featured over 2,000 "nationally representative" households, whatever that means.

Interestingly, the report also noted that adult women comprised about 31% of the overall gamer population, which is significantly higher than boys 17 and younger (19%). The latter group is obviously what the mainstream considers to be the dominant demographic, but that hasn't been true for a while. Another point worth noting was that 46% of the time, women were the most frequent game purchasers. The study also asked parents about the effect video games have on children, and a surprising 52% said they thought the effect was positive.

As for the female gamers, we always have to ask the same question when we see these findings: What is the percentage of core gamers? They've been saying for years that nearly half of all gamers are female but if you stake out any given GameStop for a day, 80-90% of all customers who enter are male. The problem with these studies is that they often don't differentiate; girls love playing little games on their smartphones, so they qualify as "gamers" in those statistics.

Of course, there is indeed an increasing number of female gamers out there. But to say that half the hardcore group in the world is female…? That still seems highly unlikely. How many women did you see in the audience during E3 presentations? Answer: Not very many.

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Dear ESA, We’re Going To Need You To Define “Gamer”

Ben-Dutka 17 Comments

For a while now, I've been reading the latest ESA results and wondering what they actually mean .

It's all sorts of interesting to say that 47% of all "gamers" are female (which, as all the avid gamers know, absolutely is not true), and that the average age of a "gamer" is 30 (which probably is true). Such numbers promote intriguing discussion. I'll go with that.

But until we get an operational definition for the term "gamer," we can't draw any conclusions from those statistics, now can we? What's the definition? Is it someone who spends a certain amount? Plays a certain amount of time? Or merely someone who, if asked, goes, "yeah, I'm a gamer"? Someone who plays a few games on Facebook or their mobile phone while waiting for a bus isn't a "gamer." That's like saying I'm a race car driver because I drove to the store yesterday.

I know the ESA wants to prove to everyone that gaming is mainstream and that it doesn't cater specifically to males anymore, and that the industry is quite obviously getting more popular with time. But if you hang around GameStop all day, you'll know the numbers are skewed. You'll know that in truth, although I am well aware that more women are playing than ever before, this is still a hobby dominated by males. So until we can understand how the ESA defined "gamer" before racking up these stats, I don't think we can say anything definitive.

Bottom line: Use common sense. Go online with a mic. Pick most any game.  Tell me what percentage of voices you hear are male. Go on any game forum or community anywhere online. See how many women are on there. GameFAQs did a poll recently asking if you were male or female, and I believe the end result was 95% male. As much as I'd love to see more women playing games on an avid basis, it just isn't happening that often.

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E3 2012 Sees 45,700, Generates $40 Million For LA

John-Shepard 17 Comments

Hey, E3 is good for everyone!

The ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has revealed the stats for this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, and a whole lot of people attended the event. The local economy enjoyed a boost, too.

Over 45,700 people showed up at E3 2012, and the event managed to generate $40 million for host city Los Angeles. However, there have been rumors that E3 might leave LA next year; earlier reports have stated that the ESA is considering a logistical shift if planned construction at the LA Convention Center gets in the way. For the record, most all E3s have taken place at that one location. Only twice has it been elsewhere.

The show didn't provide gamers with the any new next-generation hardware, as Sony and Microsoft were mute on that subject, but at least the games impressed. We especially loved the Beyond: Two Souls unveiling, that bad-ass God of War: Ascension and The Last Of Us gameplay, as well as that pretty damn amazing Watch Dogs from Ubisoft.

What were your favorite moments?

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Supreme Court Gives Video Games An Important Decision

Ben-Dutka 67 Comments

It's a big victory for the industry and further legitimizes video games.

Today, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is toasting the U.S. Supreme Court "landmark ruling" that upheld constitutional protections for game designers and artists. The issue was a 2005 California statute restricting the sale and rental of video games; the ESA contended that such a rule "presented unconstitutional limitations on expression."

Well, by a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court agreed and cited many of the same reasons that some of the lower courts cited when striking down this statute. The bottom line is that video games contain expression, which falls under the same protection "as the best of literature." Various studies could not prove that games were harmful to minors and furthermore, it's up to the parents – not the government – to decide what minors can and can't play. By the way, the ESA sorta helps with that. You know, the ratings?

Said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA:

"This is a historic and complete win for the First Amendment and the creative freedom of artists and storytellers everywhere. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we have always known – that free speech protections apply every bit as much to video games as they do to other forms of creative expression like books, movies and music. The Court declared forcefully that content-based restrictions on games are unconstitutional; and that parents, not government bureaucrats, have the right to decide what is appropriate for their children."

In order for California to uphold the statute, they would've had to "prove a compelling government interest for the law and also that California’s proposed remedy was the narrowest possible way of furthering that interest." The Supreme Court ruled that the state failed in both respects and Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, provided these statements:

"The State’s evidence is not compelling. California relies primarily on the research of Dr. Craig Anderson and a few other research psychologists whose studies purport to show a connection between exposure to violent video games and harmful effects on children. These studies have been rejected by every court to consider them, and with good reason: They do not prove that violent video games cause minors to act aggressively (which would at least be a beginning). Instead, ‘[n]early all of the research is based on correlation, not evidence of causation, and most of the studies suffer from significant, admitted flaws in methodology.’"

Lastly, in regards to the "least restrictive" point, the majority opinion said California couldn't verify that "the Act’s restrictions meet the alleged substantial need of parents who wish to restrict their children’s access to violent videos. The video-game industry’s voluntary rating system already accomplishes that to a large extent." Boy, we couldn't have said that better ourselves.

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