Thoughitcallsitselfthelargestvideogameconventionintheworldandisactuallynotgamescomments, youknow, doeshave a numberofattendees.
Maynothave.
XboxmaynothavePlayStationmaynothaveActivision.
TheyalreadypulledoutAndy.
A stilllodgeconventiondraws a lotoftraffictodowntown L A.
Sopeoplehavebeenwonderingaboutthisfor a while, butpeoplewhoareactuallyincontactwiththeessayjournalistswhodonotincludemyself.
Trustme.
Ifthecontactsthat I hadattheessaywasstilltalkingtome, I wouldhaveaskedsince I wasprettybrutallyunkindtothemaftertheydockstomyfunnumberandemailaddress, bothofwhichhavebeenchanged.
I feelsosorryforwhoeverlikehasinheritedthatphonenumber.
What a nightmare.
Ah, theywillnottalktomeaboutanything.
Um, which I guess, iswhathappensinthesesituations.
Butalways, Technicaspecifically, um, hasposted e threeasweknowitisovermultiplesourcesfamiliarwiththeEntertainmentSoftwareAssociationessaysplanshaveconfirmedtoOzTechnicathattheorganization, whichisresponsiblefortheannualElectronicEntertainmentExpo, willsooncancelthethreedayexpert.
Buttechnicallythefirstonestoletwhistleblowthis, whichis a reallyrealbowlof, ah, bowlerof a movethatisdevelop a digital.
Thepublisher, theysaid, Cancelyour E threeflightsandhotels.
You'll, um, theystartedthis.
I thinkeveryonekindofhadwhispersthatthiswasgoingtohappenandthendevelop a billlike, Wentofover.
We'regoingforitIfyouhaven't heardofdeveloper, um, justgowatchoneoftheir E threepressconferencesandyou'llget a verygoodunderstandingofwhodevoteddigitalours, a companythatwonderfulbutbacktoyouastechnical.
Ah, itsays.
Onesource, whospoketwohoursonbackgroundsaidthey'd heardthenewsofthe 3 20 twentiescancellationdirectlyfromessaymembersinthatofficialpublicstatementonthematterwassupposedtobetoday, Tuesday, March 10 andslipped.
RepresentativestotheUSAdidnotimmediatelyrespondtoourtechnicalquestionsaboutstateofthethreegoingforwardorwhethertheeventsseismicshiftmayinsteadmean a delay, a moveto a completelydifferentvenueorholyvirtualizedLivestreamevent.
A delaywouldmake a lotmoresense.
Tome, cancelingeveryseemslike a verystrangechoicebecauseheis.
But I feellikeisnotgenerallyinthepublicconscienceisthat E threeisnotthepressconferences.
TheMicrosoftPressConference.
TheNintendodirectsthePlayStationpressconferences.
Inthepast, youbesoftie a squareenix, sometimesPCgetthosearenotactually a partofthethreewhenyouwork e three.
ItstartsusuallyFridaynowanditwasSaturdayFor a while, I wascoveringthatas a journalistforalmost a decadethatthosethosepressconferencesarenotownedorpaidforbytheYes, a.
A pot e threeisactuallyjusttheshowfloordaysattheconventioncenterindowntown L.
A, which I thinkisChuStateofFriday, Wednesday.
Friday.
Oneofthosedaysis 1/2 dayaswell.
Likeit's not.
It's notthefullweek.
Sothisisn't thepressconferenceisbeingcancelledbecausethe E S A can't cancelanyoneelse's pressconference.
Theyhavethemintheirownvenues.
Theyrunontheirownschedules.
Theyfunctionoftheirowntimes.
Youknowthatthey'recompletelyindependent.
I feellikethosecompaniesprobablywillcancelanylifeinpostingpressconferencesbecausetheyalsowanttoavoidthepublicsafetyconcernsofhavingeveryoneintheroomtogether.
Whilethere's a potentialpandemic, it's not a goodlookforanyone.
But, yes, backtothearticle.
Okay, exactlywhytheeventwillbecanceled.
It's notclearatthistimeagain.
I'm surethatit's becauseofftheCoronawireslatelastmonth, theessayaddressedconcernsaboutthespreadofcurrentvirusanditsimpactonmajor 2020 exposearoundtheworldbyinsistingthatitcontinuedtoplanfor a safeandsuccessful E threewhileotherwisemonitoringandevaluatingitspotentialimpactoneventsheldinLosAngeles, whichseemsliketheresponsiblethingtodohonestlyfollowingthatannouncement.
E threecontractIDCreativedirectorsThemuchofdiceandeventscompany I Ameightbitresignedfromitspostoff 25 weeksonthejob.
Thatnewsfollowed a Februaryannouncement.
Thelongtimeteeth E E threecollaborator, JeffKelly, wouldnotbeparticipatinginthisyear's Expo.
What I heardaboutJulie, which I didnothearfromJeffhimself.
So I wanttoabsolutelypresent.
Thisislikejustsomething I heardthat's it.
ButwhathedidforyouthreewasaroundthecallitsingingYouTubeLiveis a separatethingthatJeffdoes.
I'vebeenonthenewtreeblack.
Theythinkthelastfouryearsin a rowthat's youshouldlive a T threeandthatisagainalongsidethepressconferenceis a separatething.
Jeffwasthehostofthe E threeColiseum, and I havehostedpanelsattheColiseum.
I didthreelastyearandtheroomsneverfullanyway.
Um, so, youknow, thatwas a verycoolopportunitytoseesomeonedoDevinterviewsinthesamewaythat I g n watergamespotwoodontheshowflooraspartoftheofficial E threeprogrammingwheretheschedulewouldtellyou, GowatchThispanelispartofthisconvention.
It's inthesamearea.
Youcoulddothatinperson.
Not a lotofpeopledidthat.
What I'veheardisthat E.
Three, uponshifting a lotofthatstrategythisyear, justbasedonsalesingeneralandalso a lotofthepublisherspullingoutofthethreebecause I guessit's notthatbeneficialtothemanymore.
Youcouldjustdothingsremotely, andtendersproventhattimeandtimeagainisthattodrivemoretraffictotheColiseum, whichagainwasnot a hightraffickingthing.
Fromwhat I perceivehavingworkedthere, theywantedtohaveJefforwhateverotherhostsinterview a lot.
Butyes, thebigpublishers, ornotmajorlyaffectedpeoplewhoallmajorlyaffectedfunhousefunhouseisthebiggestweekoftheyear z three i g n biggestweekoftheyear z threeby a dramaticmargin.
Theonething I thinktheywillloseoutonbynotholdingthatpressconferenceisinthesameweekisthehemountoffanswhoaren't necessarilyeveninterestedinanyexports.
ProductsareeveninterestedinanyNintendoproductsoryoubeselfproductswhowatchedallofthosepressconferencesforthespectaclethatis E threeforthecompetitionforthehypesurroundingthewholeevent.
I thinkoncetheysplinteroff, it's lessbeneficialtoeveryone.
Butintermsofactualvideogames, I thinkthepeoplewhohurtthemost.
Uhum, got a themarketingteam's who'vebeenplanningeverythingthey'vebeendoingaroundpreviewbuildsor, youknow, releasesat E threewhohavetojustcompletelyreconfiguretheentireannualbudget.
That's gonnabe a nightmare.
AndalsotheIndieswhodebuttheirgamesonstage.
I thinkforthemthat's a reallybigdeal.
E threeis a chancefor a tinygamefrom a studioyou'veneverheardofftoagainbeinfrontofmillionsofpeople.
Andwithoutthathyper V three, there's almostnowayfor a indiedarlingtojustshowupandstealeveryone's heartsagain.
Look, I personally, um, bummedaboutthisbecauselike, yeah, I'm nothappywiththe U.
S.
A.
Forleakingmydetails.
Itdidtrytostart a classactionlawsuitagainstthem, butitwas a lotmorecomplicatedthanyouwouldthink, butwetried, but I love E three.
It's oneofmyfavoriteweeksoftheyear.
I loveit.
I'm soexhausted, um, runningonpureadrenalinethatwholetime, doingtheliveshowsandbeingontheshowfloorandgettingtoplaygamesthereforthefirsttimeandtalktoDebs, whowassoexcitedtoshowthingsoffanotherreallyspecialparties, likemeeting a lotofindependentjournalistswhoweretryingtobreakintotheindustry.
E three's oneoftheonlytimesofyearthattheycanmeetthepeoplethattheyneedtogetincontactwith.
SameappliestoDebs, whogoto G D.
C.
Whoweren't abletogothisyear.
Youknow, theseconventionsprovidehugeassetstothosepeople, and I havenodoubtthatGCwillbecomingbacknextyear.
Butthatisobviouslynot a focusforthemanymorethan, well, fanfocusnow, anyway, I wouldguesstheywillbecancellednotbecausehethreewascanceled, butbecausetheydon't wanttoputpeoplein a roomduringthisperiodoftime, andmyguestsfor E threeisthatitwillbedelayed.