SO LONG AND FAREWELL
E3 hits the rocks as Nintendo shutters shops
The 2023 edition of E3 has been cancelled following the confirmation that several major companies would not be attending the event, leaving the future of the exhibition in doubt. Originally established in 1995 by the Entertainment Software Association, for many years the show was the most important games industry gathering and a venue for major announcements including new hardware, major new games and other initiatives. This year’s event was to be co-organised by Reedpop, a major events company which has experience of running gaming events such as PAX and Minecraft Festival in the USA and EGX in the UK, as well as the likes of
New York Comic Con, Emerald
City Comic Con and MCM Comic Con. Speaking to gamesindustry. biz, also owned by Reedpop, ESA president Stanley Pierre-louis noted that economic concerns have caused companies to “reassess how they invest in large marketing events”, and that many were exploring “how to find the right balance between in-person events and digital marketing opportunities”. In the time since the last in-person E3 event was held in 2019, a number of digital showcases have been established including Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, the collaborative
New Game+ Expo and the
Future Games Show run by
Retro Gamer’s publisher Future. This adds to the existing online showcases from platform holders including Nintendo Direct and Sony’s State Of Play shows.
Though the organisers have signalled their intent to hold an E3 show in 2024, many commentators don’t believe it will happen. Reacting on Twitter, former Gizmodo and Mashable journalist Christina Warren said, “E3 is effectively dead. End of an era but it’s been trending this way for a decade. The biggest publishers and console makers just go direct and things like PAX took over for fans/enthusiasts.
Put a cork in it, it’s done.” Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier said, “Personally I’m bummed about it, but after leaking a bunch of people’s numbers and addresses a few years ago, E3 hasn’t exactly garnered a lot of love.”
Time will tell if E3 does return, but one indication of how things may go in its absence came with the announcement of Nintendo Live 2023, an in-person event set to take place in Seattle during September. The Switch
manufacturer has yet to confirm an exact date or venue, but has said that attendees will be able to enjoy live performances and competitions, tournaments, photo opportunities with Nintendo characters and of course the ability to play a variety of Switch games. With the Switch now over six years old, we wouldn’t be too surprised if the event was used to host a new hardware announcement.
Speaking of Nintendo, the company closed the online eshop stores for the 3DS and the Wii U on 27 March. These closures were advertised well in advance, with Nintendo first announcing its intention to shutter the services back in February 2022, confirming the final date a few months later. Although new software cannot be purchased, owners of both consoles are still able to download any previous purchases until further notice, and online services for various games are still available.
Given that both consoles have a number of games that never received a physical release, the most major effect of the store closures is to effectively take those games out of legitimate circulation. Notable 3DS games affected include Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, Liberation Maiden, Harmoknight, Attack Of The Friday Monsters, Pullblox and Pocket Card Jockey. On the Wii U, Affordable Space Adventures, the NES Remix games, Mario Vs Donkey
Kong: Tipping Stars, Dr Luigi and Pushmo World are all now unavailable for purchase (although it’s worth pointing out that some of these games do have regionlocked physical versions in other parts of the world).
Data collected by pricecharting. com also shows that certain physical games have seen major price rises that coincide with the store closures. On the Wii U, Kirby And The Rainbow Paintbrush
is selling for £19, which is 33% more than it did in January. At
£31, Xenoblade Chronicles X is changing hands for 49% more than it did in February, and in the same time the going rate for The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker
HD has risen by 67% to £52. On the 3DS, 7th Dragon III: Code VFD
is trading at around £95, up 25% since January, Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond The Myth has increased 34% since January to a price of around £174, and Professor Layton And The Azran Legacy has shot up to the £70 mark – a 147% increase since January.
Though many great Wii U games were ported to the Switch, 3DS games mostly remain exclusive to that platform. With Nintendo having abandoned the Virtual Console model in favour of subscription-based retro offerings, buying these games for the original hardware is the only way you’re likely to be able to own them for the foreseeable future, so keep a careful eye on the market and consider picking up the titles you want sooner rather than later.