A recent report suggests that Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox will not be participating in this year's iteration of E3. The trade event has had a tumultuous past few years, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic making mass gatherings less safe, thus leading to E3 being canceled in 2020 and 2022.

E3 is perhaps the most widely known gaming trade event in the world with gamers around the world gathering around their screens every summer to see what they can expect from major publishers and console manufacturers. However, the event and its organizers, the ESA, have faced some significant difficulties in recent years, a major example being Sony dropping out of E3 starting in 2019. These issues were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to the cancelation of E3 2020 just a few months before it was set to begin. E3 would return as an online-only event in 2021 but would be canceled again the following year, leaving the future of E3 looking precarious in the eyes of many.

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The future of the event seemed to get brighter with that announcement that E3 would be returning in 2023 with the ESA collaborating with the company ReedPop, previously known for organizing PAX. However, a recent report from IGN suggests that Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox will not be participating in E3 2023. Sources quoted in the report cited "ongoing frustrations" with the ESA as well as disagreements with how ReedPop has handled organizing the event, particularly in comparison with how previous iterations of PAX have gone.

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Another source cited by IGN claimed that ReedPop had been in contact with publishers last fall but has yet to fill in a lot of the blanks since then. Although neither Nintendo, Sony, Xbox, nor the ESA responded to IGN for comment, ReedPop responded by affirming that it has "worked diligently with ESA members" and acknowledged the lack of transparency on its part. It added that it did not send any contracts to exhibitors until this month but did not confirm or deny whether Nintendo, PlayStation, or Xbox will be making their return of an in-person E3.

Some of the diminished popularity of E3 in recent years has been attributed to the increasing prevalence of digital gaming events and showcases. Nintendo opened the door for this form of showcase with the Nintendo Direct, and PlayStation and Microsoft followed suit with the PlayStation State of Play and the recent Xbox Developer Direct. However, the continued popularity of digital events does not necessarily mean that E3 is no longer relevant to these companies. Both Nintendo and Microsoft continued to make appearances at the event, and the upcoming Xbox Summer Showcase is believed to be taking place in conjunction with E3 2023. Whether E3 continues to be held in person or becomes fully digital, it is unlikely that the event will be fully neglected anytime soon.

E3 2023 will take place from June 13-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

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Source: IGN